Cooking device and cooking system

Abstract

To provide a heating cooker which can suppress the overheating of food even by a remote operation, and a heating cooking system.SOLUTION: A heating cooker 1 comprises a microwave generation device 44 for heating a cooked product, apparatus control means 51 for controlling the microwave heating means 58 of the microwave generation device 44 and antenna drive means 60, and communication means 23 which can receive a cooking process being a condition of the heating of the microwave generation device 44, and a heating condition having items of an output, a cooking time and a temperature via a network 3. When the apparatus control means 51 receives the heating condition by the communication means 23, the apparatus control means controls the microwave generation device 44 at setting for adding a prescribed condition to the heating condition.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooking device and a cooking system that enable wireless communication with an information terminal. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a cooking device is known that is provided with an operation panel for setting heating conditions and that sets the heating conditions using the operation panel to perform cooking. Here, recipe information for automatic cooking that the cooking device automatically performs cooking when selected is stored in the storage means of the cooking device together with the heating conditions of the cooking device, and when specific recipe information for automatic cooking is selected from the operation panel, the cooking device automatically performs cooking under the heating conditions corresponding to the recipe information. However, since the storage means of the cooking device has a limited capacity, the number of recipe information for automatic cooking that can be stored in the storage means is also limited, and it is difficult to additionally store new recipe information for automatic cooking in the storage means. Therefore, the applicant has proposed a cooking system that includes a cooking device equipped with a communication unit and an information terminal that enables wireless communication with the communication unit, and transmits communication data of heating conditions to the cooking device from the information terminal to perform cooking (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-027705 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above Patent Document 1, the heating control is not switched between when the heating conditions are set on the cooking device and when they are set remotely. Therefore, when the heating conditions are sent to the cooking device via a network from a remote location, such as when away from home for a child who is left at home alone, and the heating conditions are set remotely and cooking is started, cooking is started without finally checking the amount of food to be actually heated, making it difficult for the user to notice the condition of the food during cooking, and if the amount of food is less than expected, there is a risk of the food being overheated.

[0005] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooking device and a cooking system that can prevent overheating of food even when remotely operated. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The cooking device of the present invention includes a heating means for heating food, a control means for controlling the heating means, and a communication means capable of receiving heating conditions, which are heating conditions of the heating means, via a network. When the control means receives the heating conditions via the communication means, the control means controls the heating means under settings in which a predetermined condition is added to the heating conditions. The heating conditions include a cooking time item, which is a time for cooking the food to be cooked, and the predetermined condition is a heating stop time for controlling the heating means to stop heating or reduce the heating output a predetermined time before the end of the cooking time. It is characterized by the above. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, when the heating conditions are set remotely in a way that would cause the food to be overheated, the control means can control the food to further prevent overheating, thereby improving safety. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of a heating and cooking system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3]FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing the inside of a hot air unit, an upper heater, and a lower heater in the cooking appliance according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an internal explanatory diagram of a steam unit in the cooking appliance. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the cooking device. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the cooking device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the information terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] 11A and 11B are diagrams showing the transition of the screen on the display unit of the information terminal when setting an automatic cooking menu. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a flow when transmitting heating conditions. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the transition of the screen of the display means of the cooking device. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram showing the cooking process of the cooking device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 14] 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the cooking time set in the heating conditions for microwave heating and the heating stop time threshold at which the heating output is stopped. [Figure 15] 11A and 11B are diagrams showing the transition of the screen on the display unit of the information terminal when a manual cooking menu is set according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen of a display unit of an information terminal when a manual cooking menu is set in a heating cooking system in a modified example of an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a cooking system 100 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a cooking system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the diagram, reference numeral 1 denotes a cooking appliance such as an oven range capable of cooking food, and reference numeral 2 denotes a wireless LAN router serving as an access point that serves as a wireless terminal, with cooking appliance 1 being wirelessly connected to wireless LAN router 2. Wireless LAN router 2 functions as a means for accessing network 3, and is configured to exchange various types of information and data with cooking appliance 1 via wireless LAN router 2.

[0011] Reference numeral 6 denotes an information terminal such as a smartphone or tablet terminal having display and communication functions, and reference numeral 7 denotes an access point serving as a wireless terminal, with the information terminal 6 being wirelessly connected to the access point 7. The access point 7 functions as a means for accessing the network 3, and is configured such that various information and data are exchanged between the information terminal 6 and the server 5 on the cloud 4 connected to the network 3 via the access point 7. Note that the wireless LAN router 2 and the access point 7 may be the same thing.

[0012] The server 5 stores and holds, for the cooker 1, recipe information for all menus that can be cooked by that cooker 1. The recipe information for a menu stored in the server 5 includes all information necessary for a user to prepare a dish of that menu using the cooker 1. The server 5 will be described in detail later.

[0013] Next, the configuration of cooking device 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Reference numeral 11 denotes a body formed in a substantially rectangular box shape, and this body 11 includes a metal cabinet 12 as a member that covers the outer shell of cooking device 1, which is the product. Reference numeral 13 denotes a door that is provided to cover substantially the entire front surface of body 11 and can be opened and closed freely.

[0014] The door 13 is provided at its upper part with a handle 14 for opening and closing the door 13, and at its lower part with an operation panel section 15 for display, notification and operation. The operation panel section 15 is provided with a display means 16 for displaying the cooking settings and progress status, as well as a cooking menu selection and manual time setting means 17a, a cooking process selection means 17b, a manual heating selection means 17c, a cooking start instruction means 17d and a cancellation instruction means 17e as an operation means 17 for enabling various operation inputs related to cooking. Therefore, as described later, the operation means 17 acts as a selection means for selecting heating conditions. In addition, a communication means 23 such as a communication module is provided at the lower front part of the main body 11 as a transmitting / receiving section for enabling wireless communication between the cooking device 1 and the wireless LAN router 2.

[0015] A water supply cassette 21 and a water receiver 22, which can be attached and detached from the front of the main body 1, are disposed below the main body 11. The water supply cassette 21 is a bottomed container that holds liquid water as a liquid supply source for steam heating food placed in a cooking chamber 24, which will be described later. The water receiver 22 is also a bottomed container that receives food debris, water droplets, steam, and the like from the main body 11.

[0016] The display means 16 is a backlit display that displays all information related to cooking, such as the type of heating, the name of the dish, the heating time, the temperature, and a photo of the cooking, in color using letters, numbers, symbols, photos, etc. Here, it is composed of a liquid crystal display that uses TFTs (thin film transistors) as switching elements, but other display devices such as organic electroluminescence (EL) may also be used, and it is not limited to color display and may be black and white display.

[0017] The cooking menu selection and manual time setting means 17a of this embodiment has a rotatable dial knob and is provided as a rotation operation unit that accepts a rotation operation from the user, and is used when selecting a cooking menu displayed on the display means 16 and setting the time of a cooking menu for manual heating. The cooking process selection means 17b, manual heating selection means 17c, cooking start instruction means 17d, and cancellation instruction means 17e of this embodiment are provided as push operation units that accept a push operation from the user. The cooking process selection means 17b is pushed to select a cooking process such as oven heating or microwave heating in the manual cooking menu, and the manual heating selection means 17c is pushed to select a manual cooking menu. The cooking start instruction means 17d is pushed to start cooking, and the cancellation instruction means 17e is pushed to stop cooking midway or to cancel an operation or setting.

[0018] 3 to 5 are schematic diagrams illustrating the internal structure of the cooking device 1 according to the present embodiment. In each of these drawings, the peripheral walls forming the cooking chamber 24 are made up of a ceiling wall 24a, a bottom wall 24b, a left side wall 24c, a right side wall 24d, and a rear wall 24e. The ceiling wall 24a is dome-shaped, convex upward, while the walls 24b to 24e other than the ceiling wall 24a are all formed flat.

[0019] The back wall 24e of the cooking chamber 24 has an intake port 26 in its center, and horizontally long hot air outlets 27, 28 are provided above and below the intake port 26. In addition, an upper heater 29 that heats the food to be cooked from above the cooking chamber 24 is embedded in the ceiling wall 24a of the cooking chamber 24, and a lower heater 30 that heats the food to be cooked from below the cooking chamber 24 is embedded in the bottom wall 24b of the cooking chamber 24.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 3, reference numeral 31 denotes a hot air unit provided inside main body 11, behind cooking chamber 24. This hot air unit 31 is composed of a hot air heater 32 as a heating means for heating air, a hot air fan 33 as a centrifugal fan for sending heated air into cooking chamber 24 and circulating it, and a hot air motor 34 for rotating hot air fan 33 in the forward or reverse direction.

[0021] A hot air fan 33 is provided in the approximate center of the hot air unit 31 facing the suction port 26, and a hot air heater 32 is arranged around it. When the hot air fan 33 rotates as a result of the hot air motor 34 being energized, air sucked in through the suction port 26 from inside the cooking chamber 24 is blown out in the radial direction of the hot air fan 33, heated by the hot air heater 32, and supplied into the cooking chamber 24 through the hot air outlets 27, 28. This forms a path for circulating hot air inside and outside the cooking chamber 24, and the food to be cooked in the cooking chamber 24 is heated and cooked in the oven. The hot air unit 31 is stored in a case 35 attached to the rear of the cooking chamber 24.

[0022] As mentioned above, upper heater 29 and lower heater 30 are provided in cooking chamber 24, and when electricity is applied to upper heater 29 and lower heater 30, infrared heat radiation from upper heater 29 and lower heater 30 is generated in the sealed space within cooking chamber 24, thereby heating the food to be cooked in cooking chamber 24 and grilling it.

[0023] As shown in Fig. 4, reference numeral 36 denotes a steam unit serving as a steam generating device provided inside main body 11 on the side of cooking chamber 24. This steam unit 36 ​​is configured to be connected in communication with a steam generator 39 via a pump 37 that delivers water from inside water supply cassette 21 and a water supply pipe 38 in order to supply saturated steam or superheated steam into cooking chamber 24.

[0024] The steam generator 39 has a sheathed heater 41 embedded in a hollow evaporation chamber 42 made of die-cast aluminum, and a water supply pipe 38 connected to the evaporation chamber 42. Water supplied to the evaporation chamber 42 is heated by passing electricity through the sheathed heater 41 to generate steam, which can be supplied into the cooking chamber 24 from a plurality of steam outlets 43 formed in the left side wall 24c of the cooking chamber 24. This generates a flow of steam in the cooking chamber 24 as shown by the dashed lines in Figure 4, and heats the food to be cooked in the cooking chamber 24, thereby performing steam cooking.

[0025] As shown in Fig. 5, 44 is a microwave generator provided below the bottom wall 24b of the cooking chamber 24, which irradiates microwaves from below the cooking chamber 24 to the food to be cooked, thereby heating it in the microwave oven. The microwave generator 44 is configured to include a magnetron 45 as a source for generating microwaves, a waveguide 46 for guiding the microwaves from the magnetron 45 to the inside of the cooking chamber 24, an antenna 47 for radiating microwaves from the waveguide 46 to the cooking chamber 24, an antenna motor 49 such as an AC motor for horizontally rotating the antenna 47 around an upright shaft 48, and a microswitch 50 attached near the antenna 47. As a result, when a current is applied to the microwave generator 44, microwaves are radiated to the food to be cooked placed in the cooking chamber 24, thereby heating the food in the microwave oven, thereby cooking the food in the microwave oven.

[0026] In addition, a device control means 51, which will be described later, is incorporated below the bottom wall 24b of the cooking chamber 24, a temperature detection means 25 is incorporated above the left side wall 24c of the cooking chamber 24, and a food temperature detection means 52 is incorporated above the right side wall 24d of the cooking chamber 24. The temperature detection means 25 detects the temperature inside the cooking chamber 24, and is constituted, for example, by a thermistor. The food temperature detection means 52 is constituted by an infrared sensor (not shown) equipped with a swing mechanism, and detects the temperature distribution inside the cooking chamber 24, thereby making it possible to detect the temperature of the food to be cooked therein in a non-contact manner. This food temperature detection means 52 is used, for example, to detect the temperature of the food to be cooked when automatically heating the food by microwave heating, and the detected temperature of the food to be cooked is used, for example, to determine whether or not to end the heating, as will be described later.

[0027] Fig. 6 shows the main electrical configuration of the cooking device 1. In the figure, 51 denotes device control means constituted by a microcomputer, and as is well known, this device control means 51 includes a CPU as a calculation processing means, storage means 57 such as a memory, a timer as a timekeeping means, input / output devices, etc.

[0028] In addition to the aforementioned cooking menu selection and manual time setting means 17a, cooking process selection means 17b, manual heating selection means 17c, cooking start instruction means 17d, operation means 17 by cancellation instruction means 17e, communication means 23, temperature detection means 25, and food temperature detection means 52, the input port of the equipment control means 51 is electrically connected to hot air motor rotation detection means 53 which detects the rotation of the hot air motor 34 incorporated in the hot air unit 31, door opening / closing detection means 54 which detects the open / closed state of the door 13, antenna position detection means 55 equipped with a microswitch 50 which detects the origin position of the antenna 47 which constitutes the microwave generator 44, and evaporation chamber temperature detection means 56 such as a thermistor which detects the temperature of the evaporation chamber 42 which constitutes the steam unit 36.

[0029] In addition to the display means 16 using an LCD display and the communication means 23, the output port of the equipment control means 51 is electrically connected to microwave heating means 58 including the magnetron 45 of the microwave generator 44 and its driving means, heater driving means 59 such as a relay that turns on and off the upper heater 29 and lower heater 30 for grill heating, the hot air heater 32 for oven heating, and the sheathed heater 41 for steam heating, antenna driving means 60 for driving the antenna motor 49 that serves as the driving source for the antenna 47, hot air motor driving means 61 for driving the hot air motor 34 that serves as the driving source for the hot air fan 33, pump driving means 62 for operating the pump 37 of the steam unit 36, and buzzer notification means 63 having a sound output function such as a buzzer.

[0030] The device control means 51 has a function of receiving operation signals from the operation means 17 and each detection signal from the temperature detection means 25, the food temperature detection means 52, the hot air motor rotation detection means 53, the door opening / closing detection means 54, the antenna position detection means 55, the vaporization chamber temperature detection means 56, and the vaporization chamber temperature detection means 57, and outputting drive control signals to the microwave heating means 58 and the heater driving means 59, which are heating means, the antenna driving means 60, the hot air motor driving means 61, the pump driving means 62, and the buzzer notification means 63, and outputting display control signals to the display means 16, at a predetermined timing based on the timekeeping from the clocking means, based on the heating information taken in from the communication means 23. These functions are realized by the device control means 51 reading a program recorded in the storage means 57 as a storage medium, but in this embodiment in particular, the device control means 51 is provided with a program that causes the device control means 51 to mainly function as a heating control unit 65, a display control unit 66, and a notification control unit 67.

[0031] The heating control unit 65 mainly controls the operation of each unit related to the cooking of the food placed in the cooking chamber 24. When the communication means 23 receives heating information from the server 5 through an operation on the information terminal 6, or an operation signal from the operation means 17, if the door 13 is determined to be closed based on a detection signal from the door opening / closing detection means 54, the heating control unit 65 sends control signals to the microwave heating means 58, the heater driving means 59, the antenna driving means 60, the hot air motor driving means 61, and the pump driving means 62 in response to the operation signal to control the cooking of the food in the cooking chamber 24. In this embodiment, recipe information of the menu that can be cooked by the cooking device 1 is stored and held in the recipe information storage unit 68 that is a part of the storage means 57, and when an operation is performed from the operation means 17 to instruct the start of cooking for one menu selected from the recipe information storage unit 68, the heating control unit 65 heats and cooks the food in a predetermined procedure according to the recipe information of the selected menu. In addition, when cooking information such as cooking conditions including the type of heating required for the cooking device 1 to cook the food to be cooked, i.e., cooking process, output, cooking time, temperature, etc., is received via the communication means 23 from the recipe information of a specific menu selected by operation from the information terminal 6, and then an operation is performed from the operation means 17 to instruct the start of cooking, the cooking unit 65 is configured to cook the food to be cooked in a predetermined procedure in accordance with the heating information of the selected specific menu.

[0032] The menus stored in the recipe information storage unit 68 can be roughly divided into manual cooking menus and automatic cooking menus. The manual cooking menu is a menu in which, for a menu selected from the recipe information storage unit 68, a setting screen is displayed by pressing the manual heating selection unit 17c before operating the cooking start instruction unit 28, a cooking process such as oven heating, microwave heating, grill heating, and steam heating is selected by pressing the cooking process selection unit 17b, and heating conditions such as time, power, and temperature are set by rotating the cooking menu selection and manual time setting unit 17a. For example, a manual microwave menu corresponds to this. The cooking process selected and the heating conditions set at this time are configured to be stored in the cooking process storage unit 69. The automatic cooking menu is a menu in which, for a menu selected from the recipe information storage unit 68, a cooking menu is selected by rotating the cooking menu selection and manual time setting unit 17a before operating the cooking start instruction unit 28, and heating conditions such as time, power, and temperature are not set. For example, a "hamburger" menu, which will be described later, corresponds to this.

[0033] The display control unit 66 mainly controls operations related to the display of the display means 16, and has a function of switching between various screens to be displayed on the display means 16, which is a liquid crystal display. In particular, in this embodiment, the recipe information for each menu stored in the recipe information storage unit 68 includes various display information for displaying a screen related to that menu on the display means 16. Meanwhile, the display of cooking information received by the communication means 23 will be described in detail later.

[0034] The notification control unit 67 mainly controls the operation related to notifications from the buzzer notification means 63, and is configured so that, for example, when the communication means 23 receives the above-mentioned heating information, the notification control unit 67 causes the notification means 63 to notify that fact for a certain period of time.

[0035] The above describes the main configuration of the cooking device 1 with range cooking function, but this is merely one example, and the cooking device 1 may also have a grill cooking function in which the lower heater 30 is omitted, for example.

[0036] 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the external configuration of the information terminal 6. In the diagram, the information terminal 6 is configured to include a display means 71 capable of displaying a screen, and a touch panel 74 as an operation means provided on the upper surface that becomes the surface of the display means 71, which allows operation from the information terminal 6 by selecting one of a plurality of display bodies displayed on the display means 71 by a touch operation of a fingertip. In addition, a communication module 73 as a terminal communication means is mounted inside the main body of the information terminal 6 as a transmitting / receiving unit that enables wireless communication between the cooking appliance 1 and the wireless LAN router 2 or the access point 7. Note that the information terminal 6 also includes communication means such as a microphone and a speaker, and imaging means such as a camera, but these are not shown here.

[0037] Fig. 8 shows the main electrical configuration of the information terminal 6. In the figure, 77 is a terminal control means constituted by a microcomputer, and as is well known, this terminal control means 77 is equipped with a CPU as a calculation processing means, a memory as a storage means, a timer as a timekeeping means, an input / output device, etc. A touch panel 74 and a communication module 73 are electrically connected to the input port of the terminal control means 77, and a display means 71 and a communication module 73 are electrically connected to the output port of the terminal control means 77.

[0038] The terminal control means 77 has a function of receiving an operation signal from the touch panel 74, and outputting a display control signal to the display means 71 at a predetermined timing based on the time measured by the timing means, based on the recipe information retrieved from the communication module 73. Such a function is realized by the terminal control means 77 reading a program recorded in the memory as a storage medium, and in this embodiment in particular, the terminal control means 77 is provided with a program that causes the terminal control means 77 to mainly function as a communication control unit 78 and a display control unit 79.

[0039] The communication control unit 78 mainly controls operations related to the communication module 73, and by operating the communication module 73 as necessary, has the function of sending various information and data from the terminal control means 77 via the network 3 to the server 5, and conversely, importing various information and data including recipe information from the server 5 to the terminal control means 77 via the network 3.

[0040] The display control unit 79 mainly controls operations related to the display of the display means 71, and has a function of switching and displaying various screens on the display means 71. Particularly in this embodiment, when recipe information or nutritional information is received from the server 5 via the communication module 73, the display control unit 79 is configured to display the recipe information or nutritional information on the display means 71.

[0041] FIG. 9 shows the main electrical configuration of the server 5, which is an example of an information processing device. In the figure, 81 is a server control means composed of a microcomputer, and as is well known, this server control means 81 is equipped with a CPU as a calculation processing means, a memory as a storage means, a timer as a timekeeping means, an input / output device, etc. An operation means 82 that enables an operation from the administrator of the cooking system 100 and a communication module 83 that enables connection to the network 3 are electrically connected to an input port of the server control means 81, and a communication module 83 and a display means 84 that can display a screen are electrically connected to an output port of the terminal control means 77. The communication module 83, which is the server communication means, is mounted on the server 5 as a transmission / reception unit that enables communication with the cooking appliance 1 and the information terminal 6 via the network 3.

[0042] The server control means 81 has a configuration that mainly functions as a device information registration unit 86, a recipe information registration unit 87, a recipe information provision unit 88, and a cooking information provision unit 91 by reading a program stored in the memory as a storage medium. In addition to these programs, the memory built into the server control means 81 is provided with a device information storage unit 93 that stores device information that associates the information terminal 6 owned by the user with the cooking appliance 1 used by the user, a total recipe information storage unit 94 that stores recipe information of menus related to the cooking appliance 1 connectable to the server 5, and a favorite information storage unit 96 that stores favorite menus designated by the user through an operation from the information terminal 6 and favorite information associated with the information terminal 6. The recipe information of the menu here includes all display information for displaying an image related to the menu on the display means 71 of the information terminal 6, and cooking information such as the type of heating and heating conditions required for cooking the food to be cooked for the cooking appliance 1 that can cook the food to be cooked with the menu.

[0043] When the first identification information for identifying the information terminal 6 or the user and the second identification information for identifying the cooking appliance 1 used by the user are input from the information terminal 6 held by the user, the device information registration unit 86 associates the first identification information with the second identification information and stores and registers the device information in the device information storage unit 93. Specifically, for example, when a user who owns one information terminal 6 accessed via the network 3 uses the cooking appliance 1, when device information in which the unique first identification information input from the information terminal 6 to identify the user or the information terminal 6 is associated with the unique second identification information input from the information terminal 6 to identify the cooking appliance 1 is transmitted from the information terminal 6 to the server 5, the device information registration unit 86 stores and registers this device information in the device information storage unit 93 of the server 5.

[0044] The recipe information registration unit 87, in response to an operation input from the operation means 82 by the administrator, additionally stores and registers recipe information of a new menu that has not been stored and registered in the all recipe information storage unit 94 in the all recipe information storage unit 94, or partially changes the recipe information of a menu that has been stored and registered in the all recipe information storage unit 94 and overwrites and updates the all recipe information storage unit 94 and the menu nutritional component storage unit 95-2. Specifically, when the administrator operates the operation means 82 to register recipe information of a new menu, the administrator inputs display information for displaying the characteristics of the menu, including a photo of the recipe, the name of the recipe, an introduction to the recipe, an estimate of cooking time, a classification of functions, the main ingredients used in the recipe, and the difficulty of cooking, on the display means 71 of the information terminal 6, and heating information, including the type of heating and heating conditions required for cooking with the heating cooker 1 capable of cooking, and the like, and the recipe information registration unit 87 stores and registers the recipe information of such a menu in the all recipe information storage unit 94.

[0045] The recipe information providing unit 88 extracts and transmits one or more pieces of recipe information from the recipe information for all menus stored in the total recipe information storage unit 94 to multiple information terminals 6 that can access the server 5 via the network 3, and displays this on the display means 71 in cooperation with the display control unit 79 of the information terminals 6.

[0046] Specifically, in the above example, when a display request for recipe information of a menu related to the cooking appliance 1 already registered by the device information registration unit 86 is transmitted to the server 5 via the network 3 by the user operating the touch panel 74 of the information terminal 6, the recipe information providing unit 88 of the server 5 extracts recipe information of a menu that can be cooked by the cooking appliance 1 stored in the all recipe information storage unit 94 of the server 5 and transmits it to the information terminal 6. The display control unit 79 of the information terminal 6 that receives this can suitably display the recipe information of the menu corresponding to the cooking appliance 1 on the display means 71. The recipe information providing unit 88 of this embodiment is configured to transmit recipe information of one menu to the information terminal 6 and display it on the display means 71, as well as transmit and display nutritional component information of the menu stored in the menu nutritional component storage unit 95-2 for that menu, for example, by operation from the operating means of the information terminal 6 or automatically.

[0047] The recipe information providing unit 88 is configured to work in cooperation with the display control unit 79 of the information terminal 6 so that when recipe information for a specific menu is selected from the recipe information for multiple menus displayed on the display means 71 by operation from the information terminal 6, information about the recipe information for the selected menu, such as a photo of the recipe, the name of the recipe, whether or not the recipe uses tools, cooking process settings, cooking time settings, the main ingredients used in the recipe, and how to prepare the dish, is displayed on a single screen on the display means 71 of the information terminal 6.

[0048] When recipe information for a specific menu is selected from the recipe information for multiple menus that the recipe information providing unit 88 has displayed on the display means 71 of the information terminal 6 through operation from the information terminal 6, the cooking information providing unit 91 transmits cooking information regarding the cooking of the food to be cooked from the recipe information for the selected menu to the heating cooker 1.

[0049] The server 5 in this embodiment also serves as a management device that manages the recipe information of menus stored and registered in the all-recipe information memory unit 94 by an administrator operating the operation means 82. However, the management device including the operation means 82 and the display means 84 may be provided separately from the server 5 and connected to the network 3 so as to enable communication therebetween, and various information and data may be exchanged between the management device and the server 5.

[0050] Next, the operation of the cooking system 100 configured as above will be described in detail. First, the operation of the system will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 7 and Fig. 10 to Fig. 12 when cooking an automatic cooking menu by remote control using the information terminal 6.

[0051] When the display control unit 79 of the information terminal 6 receives recipe information for an automatic cooking menu related to the cooker 1 from the recipe providing unit 88 of the server 5 via the network 3, it causes the display means 71 to display a recipe screen G1 as shown in Fig. 7. This recipe screen G1 displays a list of recipes for menus that can be cooked in the oven range 1 so that the user can easily see their outlines. The manager inputs necessary items and information related to the recipe information for the menu into the server 5, which serves as the management system for the recipe provision management system 100, and the recipe information registration unit 87 stores and registers this in the all recipe information storage unit 94, making it possible to display the screen.

[0052] Explaining with reference to FIG. 7, the recipe information for a menu sent by the recipe information providing unit 88 of the server 5 includes information such as a photo of the recipe, the name of the recipe, whether or not the recipe includes utensils, cooking process settings, cooking time settings, the main ingredients used in the recipe, and how to prepare the dish. Correspondingly, in the left column of the recipe screen G1 displayed on the display means 71 of the information terminal 6, an image display P1 showing a photo of the recipe, a text display D1 showing the name of the recipe, for example, "5 Hamburger steak," an image display P2 showing a diagram of the utensils used in the recipe, such as a square plate, and a text display D3 showing the type and amount of the main ingredients used in the recipe, and the number of servings for which the ingredients are for, are arranged in this order from top to bottom. Also, in the right column of the recipe screen G1, there are a text display D4 called "How to make", a text display D5 showing how to make a dish, for example, "1. Put onion and butter in a heat-resistant container, place it in the center of the oven without plastic wrap, heat, and cool", an image display P5 showing a diagram without accessories, a text display D6 showing a cooking process setting, for example, "Microwave 600W", a text display D7 showing a cooking time setting, for example, "2 minutes", a button display B8 having a text display D8 called "Send", a text display D9 showing how to make a dish, for example, "2. Put breadcrumbs in a bowl and soak in milk", a text display D10 showing how to make a dish, for example, "3. Put minced meat and salt in a bowl and mix well until sticky (about 2 minutes). When it becomes sticky, add 1, 2, pepper, and nutmeg and mix", and a text display D11 showing how to make a dish, for example, "4. do not put anything inside the oven and preheat it.", an image display P11 showing a diagram without accessories, a text display D12 showing the cooking process settings, for example, "Preheat oven at 250°C," a text display D13 showing the cooking time setting, for example, "Estimated preheat time: approximately 12 minutes," a button display B14 having a text display D14 reading "Send," a text display D15 showing how to prepare the dish, for example, "5 Cut 3 into half, shape them into hamburgers, arrange on a square plate and make a depression in the center," and another text display D16 showing how to prepare the dish, for example, "6 After preheating is complete, place 5 on the top shelf and heat.Arranged from top to bottom are a text display D16 showing the cooking process setting, for example, "Oven 250°C," an image display P16 showing a diagram of placing a square plate on the upper level, a text display D17 showing the cooking process setting, for example, "Oven 250°C," a text display D18 showing the cooking time setting, for example, "13 minutes," a button display B19 having a text display D19 reading "Send," and a text display D20 showing how to prepare the dish, for example, "7. After heating is finished, plate the hamburger steak and add sauce."

[0053] In FIG. 10(A), in addition to the text display D5 which is an explanation of the preparation, which is "1" of the recipe, a text display D6 indicating the type and power of the heating process, "Microwave 600W", a text display D7 indicating the heating time, "2 minutes", and a button display B8 of "Send" are displayed, and the text displays D6 and D7 can be changed as appropriate using the touch panel 74. The data stored in the all recipe information storage unit 94 corresponding to the text displays D6, D7, D12, D13, D17 and D18 indicating the type, power, temperature, etc. of heating also includes information on the judgment temperature, and this judgment temperature is set to a value of the inside temperature at which the heating conditions are not sent in order to prohibit heating according to the heating conditions. Here, when the ingredients are placed in a heat-resistant container according to the text display D5, the heat-resistant container is placed in the cooking chamber 24, and the door 13 is closed while holding the handle 14 by hand, the process proceeds to step S1-1 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 11.

[0054] In step S1-1, as shown in FIG. 10(A), when the user operates the touch panel 74 at a portion overlapping the button display portion B8 corresponding to the text display body D5 with the user's finger F, the process proceeds to step S1-2.

[0055] In step S1-2, an operation signal is transmitted from touch panel 74 to terminal control means 77, and upon receiving this operation signal, communication control section 78 of terminal control means 77 transmits a "status request" signal requesting information on the status of cooker 1 from communication module 73 via network 3 and communication module 83 to server 5, and upon receiving this "status request" signal, cooking information providing section 91 of server control means 81 transmits a "status request" signal to cooker 1. When device control means 51 receives this "status request" signal from communication module 83 via network 3 and communication means 23, the process proceeds to step S1-3.

[0056] In step S1-3, the appliance control means 51 receives a detection signal of the internal temperature in the cooking chamber 24 of the cooking appliance 1 from the temperature detection means 25. The appliance control means 51 also checks whether a cooking menu and a cooking process have been selected by the operation means 17 to determine whether the heating conditions have been set and receives a detection signal from the door opening / closing detection means 54 to determine whether the door 13 is open. The appliance control means 51 then receives each detection signal from the hot air motor rotation detection means 53, the door opening / closing detection means 54, and the antenna position detection means 67, and checks whether a control signal generated in response to the selected cooking menu and cooking process is being output from the output port of the appliance control means 51 to determine the current heating operation state of the cooking appliance 1, for example, whether the door 13 is open, and whether grill heating, range heating, or oven heating is being performed. Thereafter, the equipment control means 51 transmits the information on the internal temperature and the judgment result as signals of "internal temperature, heating condition setting status, heating operation status, response" from the communication means 23 via the network 3 and the communication module 83 to the server control means 81, and proceeds to step S1-4.

[0057] In step S1-4, the server control means 81 that has received the response signal transmits this response signal to the information terminal 6. When this response signal is received by the terminal control means 77 from the communication module 83 via the network 3 and the communication module 73, the process proceeds to step S1-5.

[0058] In step S1-5, the terminal control means 77 judges whether or not a response signal has been received in step S1-4 within a certain time period since the "status request" signal was sent in step S1-2. If the terminal control means 77 judges that a response signal has been received in step S1-4 within the certain time period, it proceeds to step S1-7.

[0059] On the other hand, if the terminal control means 77 determines that the response signal has not been received within a certain time in step S1-4 and that the response has not returned within the certain time, it determines that there has been some communication failure, such as the cooking appliance 1 being turned off or a failure in the network 3 making it impossible to communicate, and proceeds to step S1-6. In step S1-6, the display control unit 79 of the terminal control means 77 cooperates with the browser software to display a pop-up display unit P22 having a text display unit D22 indicating that transmission is impossible due to a communication failure, such as "Communication not possible, transmission was not possible" as shown in (C-1) of FIG. 13, and also controls the display means 71 to darken the screen other than the pop-up display unit P22. With this configuration, the user can know on the information terminal 6 that communication with the cooking appliance 1 is impossible. Then, when the button display unit B23 having the text display unit D23 of "X" in the pop-up display unit P22 is selected, the process returns to step S1-1.

[0060] In step S1-7, the terminal control means 77 judges whether the current temperature inside the cooking chamber 24 of the cooking appliance 1 is equal to or higher than the judgment temperature at which cooking is possible under the heating conditions when the touch panel 74 overlapping with the button display unit B8 is selected and operated, based on the detection signal for the temperature inside the cooking chamber 24 in the received response. If the terminal control means 77 judges that the temperature inside the cooking chamber 24 is below the judgment temperature at which cooking is possible under these heating conditions and cooking is possible under these heating conditions, the process proceeds to step S1-9.

[0061] On the other hand, for example, when the temperature inside the cooking chamber 24 is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, the temperature inside the cooking chamber 24 is a judgment temperature, and the temperature is configured to be equal to or higher than the judgment temperature in the microwave oven, since the temperature has a large effect on the ingredients inside the heat-resistant container, the ingredients cannot be heated, and the terminal control means 77 judges that cooking is not possible under the heating conditions at the judgment temperature corresponding to the text display D6 indicating the type and output of heating, "microwave 600W". For example, when the explanation in the text display D5 of the recipe information is about fermenting bread, etc., yeast will die if the temperature inside the cooking chamber 24 is equal to or higher than 60°C, which is the judgment temperature, so the terminal control means 77 judges that cooking is not possible under the heating conditions because the temperature inside the cooking chamber 24 is equal to or higher than the judgment temperature, which is equal to or higher than the judgment temperature in the microwave oven. In these cases, the process moves to step S1-8, and the terminal control means 77 cooperates with the browser software to display a pop-up display section P24 having a text display D24 indicating that transmission is not possible due to high temperature, saying "Transmission was not possible due to high temperature inside the oven," as shown in (C-2) of Fig. 10, and also controls the display means 71 to darken the screen other than the pop-up display section P24. By configuring in this way, it is possible to inform the user that cooking that will result in poor results is prohibited if the temperature inside the oven is higher than the judgment temperature. Then, when the button display section B25 having the text display D25 of "X" in the pop-up display section P24 is selected, the process returns to step S1-1.

[0062] For example, in the case of a heating step in which oven heating is performed after preheating as shown in recipe information text display D16, the terminal control means 77 may be configured to determine whether or not the current temperature inside the cooking chamber 24 of the cooking appliance 1 is equal to or lower than a judgment temperature at which cooking is possible under the heating conditions when the touch panel 74 overlapping with the button display B19 is selected and operated, based on the detection signal for the temperature inside the cooking chamber 24 in the received response. In this case, the pop-up display P23 that pops up in step S1-8 when it is determined that the temperature inside the cooking chamber 24 is equal to or lower than the judgment temperature at which cooking is possible under the heating conditions when the touch panel 74 overlapping with the button display B19 is selected and operated is displayed as a text display indicating that transmission is not possible due to a low temperature, saying "Transmission could not be made because the temperature inside the cooking chamber is low."

[0063] In step S1-9, the terminal control means 77 judges whether the current cooking appliance 1 is in a heating condition setting state, whether the door 13 is open, and whether the cooking appliance 1 is in a heating operation state, based on the information on the judgment result in the received response. If the terminal control means 77 judges that the cooking appliance 1 is not in a heating condition setting state because the heating conditions have not been set, that the door 13 is not open, and that the cooking appliance 1 is not in a heating operation state, it proceeds to step S1-11.

[0064] On the other hand, when the terminal control means 77 judges that the cooking appliance 1 is in any of the following states: the heating conditions are set and the cooking appliance 1 is in a heating condition setting state, the door 13 is open, or the cooking appliance 1 is in a heating operation state, the terminal control means 77 judges that the cooking appliance 1 is currently being used by another user, or that the cooking appliance 1 is already cooking, and proceeds to step S1-10, where the terminal control means 77 cooperates with the browser software to pop up a pop-up display section P26 having a text display D26 indicating that the cooking appliance is in use and cannot be sent, as shown in (C-3) of Fig. 10, and also controls the display means 71 to darken the screen other than the pop-up display section P26. By configuring in this way, it is possible to give priority to another user currently operating the cooking appliance 1, and it is possible to prevent the user from setting the cooking appliance 1 differently on the information terminal 6. Furthermore, if the cooking appliance 1 is already cooking, the cooking appliance 1 cannot perform another cooking operation, and therefore the user can know on the information terminal 6 that the cooking appliance 1 cannot receive the transmitted heating conditions even if they are transmitted. Then, when the button display section B27 having the text display section D27 of "X" in the pop-up display section P24 is selected, the process returns to step S1-1.

[0065] In step S1-11, the terminal control means 77 transmits data indicating the type of cooking process, "microwave 600W" corresponding to the text display D6, and data indicating the cooking time, "2 minutes" corresponding to the text display D7, as heating condition data from the communication module 73 to the server control means 81 via the network and the communication module 83. Then, the cooking information providing unit 91 of the server control means 81, which has received this heating condition data, transmits this heating condition data to the cooking appliance 1 as cooking information data regarding the cooking of the food to be cooked. When the appliance control means 51 receives this heating condition data from the communication module 83 via the network 3 and the communication means 23, the process proceeds to step S1-12.

[0066] In step S1-12, the appliance control means 51 performs settings for cooking for "2 minutes" in a "600 W microwave oven" based on the received data on heating conditions, which is cooking information data related to cooking of the food to be cooked. The appliance control means 51 then controls the display means 16 to switch from displaying only the "0" display element D31 as shown in Fig. 12(A) to displaying the "600 W" display element D32, the "2 minutes 00 seconds" display element D33, the "microwave" display element D34, the "metal x" display element D35 displayed during microwave heating, and the microwave display element D36 as shown in Fig. 12(B). After completing the settings and switching the display on the display means 16, the process proceeds to step S1-13.

[0067] In step S1-13, the device control means 51 transmits a "heating condition setting completed, response" signal from the communication means 23 to the server control means 81 via the network 3 and the communication module 83. After that, the server control means 81, having received the response signal, transmits this response signal to the information terminal 6, and proceeds to step S1-14.

[0068] In step S1-14, the response signal from the server control means 81 is received by the terminal control means 77 from the communication module 83 via the network and the communication module 73. When the terminal control means 77 receives the response signal, the process proceeds to step S1-15.

[0069] In step S1-15, the terminal control means 77 judges whether or not a response signal has been received in step S1-14 within a certain time period since the heating condition data was transmitted in step S1-11. If the terminal control means 77 judges that a response signal has been received in step S14 within the certain time period, it proceeds to step S1-16.

[0070] On the other hand, if the terminal control means 77 determines that the response signal has not been received within a certain time in step S1-14 and that the response has not returned within the certain time, it determines that there has been some communication failure, such as the cooking appliance 1 being turned off or communication being impossible due to a failure in the network 3, and proceeds to step S1-17. In step S1-17, the display control unit 79 of the terminal control means 77 cooperates with the browser software to display a pop-up display unit P22 having a text display unit D22 indicating that transmission is impossible due to a communication failure, such as "communication not possible, transmission was not possible" as shown in (C-1) of FIG. 10, and also controls the display means 71 to darken the screen other than the pop-up display unit P22. With this configuration, the user can quickly confirm that the cooking appliance 1 has not received the data on the heating conditions, and can also know on the information terminal 6 that communication with the cooking appliance 1 is impossible. Then, when the button display unit B23 having the text display unit D23 of "X" in the pop-up display unit P22 is selected, the process returns to step S1-1.

[0071] In step S1-16, the terminal control means 77 cooperates with the browser software to pop up a pop-up display section P28 having a text display D28 indicating that preparation for starting heating is complete, saying "Sent", as shown in Fig. 10(B), and controls the display means 71 to darken the screen except for the pop-up display section P22. This configuration allows the user to quickly confirm that the cooking device 1 has received the heating condition data. In addition, the user does not need to go to the cooking device 1 to set the heating conditions on the operation panel section 15, and can transmit the heating conditions to the cooking device 1 via the network 3 from a remote location, such as when away from home, and set the heating conditions by remote control.

[0072] Thereafter, when the cooking start instruction means 17d of the cooking appliance 1 is pressed, since the setting of the heating conditions has been completed in step S1-12 in the cooking appliance 1, the process proceeds to step S2-1 in Fig. 13, and the cooking appliance 1 starts cooking by heating in the microwave at 600 W for 2 minutes. At this time, the appliance control means 51 controls the display means 16 to blink the display element D34 for "microwave" and the display element D36 for microwave as shown in Fig. 12(C), indicating that the cooking appliance 1 is heating. When cooking starts, the process proceeds to step S2-2.

[0073] In step S2-2, the heating control unit 65 of the cooking device 1 controls each heating means so that cooking is performed under the heating conditions set in step S1-12. For example, in the case of the above settings, the heating control unit 65 sends a control signal to the magnetron 45 to generate microwaves at an output of 600 W, and also sends a control signal to the antenna driving means 60 to rotate the antenna 47, thereby radiating microwaves to the food to be cooked contained in the cooking chamber 24 and heating the food in the microwave. The display control unit 66 also controls the display means 16 to count down the time shown by the display element D33 by one second at a time. After step S2-2 is completed, the process proceeds to step S2-3.

[0074] In step S2-3, the appliance control means 51 judges whether the setting of the heating conditions, such as the type of cooking process, output, and cooking time, was performed remotely using the information terminal 6, or whether the setting was performed not remotely but using the operation means 17. If the appliance control means 51 judges that the setting of the heating conditions was performed not remotely but using the operation means 17, the process proceeds to step S2-4, and if the appliance control means 51 judges that the setting was performed remotely using the information terminal 6, the process proceeds to step S2-4.

[0075] First, to explain the case where remote control is not performed, in step S2-4, the device control means 51 determines whether the remaining cooking time, which is set using heating condition data, has been timed by a timer since the start of step S2-1, and is controlled by the display control unit 66 to count down the time shown in display element D33 by one second at a time, is 0 seconds. If the device control means 51 determines that the remaining cooking time is 0 seconds, it proceeds to step S2-10, where cooking ends, and if it determines that the remaining cooking time is not 0 seconds, it proceeds to step S2-6.

[0076] In step S2-3, the appliance control means 51 judges whether the food temperature, which is the temperature of the food to be cooked detected by the food temperature detection means 52, is equal to or higher than the first temperature threshold of 100°C. For example, in the case of manual microwave heating, in which the heating conditions are not set by remote control, the time set by the user using the operation means 17 is set as the heating condition data, and the food is heated in the microwave for the set time. However, if the set time is erroneously too long for the amount of food to be cooked, the food may be overheated and may bump due to the overheating. To prevent such a situation, in this embodiment, the temperature of the food to be cooked is constantly checked by the food temperature detection means 52 during heating, and when the food temperature becomes sufficiently high, for example, 100°C or higher, the heating control unit 65 of the appliance control means 51 controls the heating means to stop heating before the remaining cooking time reaches 0, and the display control unit 66 controls the display means 16 to continue counting down the time indicated by the display element D33. Therefore, if device control means 51 determines in step S2-3 that the food temperature is 100° C. or higher, it proceeds to step S2-8 where it stops heating, and if it determines that the food temperature is less than 100° C., it proceeds to step S2-2.

[0077] Next, in the case of remote control, in step S2-5, the appliance control means 51 adds a change from the first temperature threshold as a predetermined condition to a second temperature threshold lower than the first temperature threshold, and judges whether the food temperature, which is the temperature of the food to be cooked detected by the food temperature detection means 52, is equal to or higher than the second temperature threshold of 90°C, which is lower than the first temperature threshold of 100°C when remote control is not used. This is because, for example, if the food is overheated due to the heating time being too long for the amount of food to be cooked, the user may not easily notice the overheating if the heating conditions are set by remote control. Even in such a case, by changing the temperature to the second temperature threshold of 90°C, which is lower than the first temperature threshold of 100°C when remote control is not used, the appliance control means 51 can control the food to further suppress overheating, thereby improving safety. Therefore, if device control means 51 determines in step S2-5 that the food temperature is 90° C. or higher, it proceeds to step S2-8 where it stops heating, and if it determines that the food temperature is less than 90° C., it proceeds to step S2-7.

[0078] The first and second temperature thresholds may be configured to differ depending on the heating condition settings, such as the output of the heating means and the cooking time. For example, the higher the output of the heating means or the longer the cooking time, the lower the first and second temperature thresholds can be set, and the lower the output of the heating means or the shorter the cooking time, the higher the first and second temperature thresholds can be set, thereby averaging out the total amount of heat applied to the food being cooked.

[0079] In step S2-4, the appliance control means 51 adds a heating stop time Ts as a predetermined condition to the heating conditions, and judges whether the remaining time of the cooking time, which is set by the heating condition data, is timed by a timer from the start of step S2-1, and is controlled by the display control unit 66 to count down the time shown in the display element D33 by one second at a time, is less than the predetermined heating stop time threshold Ts of 20 seconds. This is because, as in the case of step S2-5, if the food becomes overheated due to overheating, the user may not easily notice the overheating if the heating conditions are set by remote control. By setting the heating stop time threshold Ts so that the heating time, which is the time for which the microwave generator 44 is driven, is shorter than when it is not set by remote control, the appliance control means 51 can control the food to further suppress overheating, thereby improving safety. In particular, when the cooking process of the heating conditions is microwave heating, if the heating time is extended, overheating is likely to occur, and there is a risk of bumping when the food is removed. Therefore, when the heating conditions are set by remote control, a heating stop time threshold Ts can be set to stop heating a predetermined time before the end of cooking, or the heating output can be reduced, allowing the food temperature to settle and drop slightly, thereby preventing bumping when the food is removed after cooking is completed.

[0080] Figure 14 shows the cooking time T total 14, the relationship between the cooking time T total When the cooking time T is short, that is, less than 40 seconds, the heating stop time threshold Ts is set to 0 seconds. Since the probability of overheating the food is low, the heating stop time threshold Ts, which is the period during which heating is stopped or reduced, is shortened to suppress the effect of insufficient heating resulting in poor cooking results. total If the heating time is longer than 120 seconds, the cooking time T totalSince the ratio of the heating stop time threshold Ts to the total is small, the effect of underheating on the finished product is small, and the possibility of overheating is high. Therefore, the heating stop time threshold Ts is set to a long value of 20 seconds to effectively prevent overheating. total When the cooking time T is between 40 and 120 seconds, total As the cooking time T increases, the heating stop time threshold Ts increases linearly. total is set to 2 minutes, i.e., 120 seconds, the heating stop time threshold Ts is set to 20 seconds. Note that, although the above-mentioned setting of microwave heating is used in the explanation given here, the present invention is not limited to this, and the heating stop time threshold Ts may be configured to be set not only for microwave heating, but also for heating by other heating means such as oven heating, grill heating, and steam heating.

[0081] If in step S2-4 the appliance control means 51 determines that the remaining cooking time is less than 20 seconds, which is the heating stop time threshold Ts, it proceeds to step S2-8, where heating is terminated, and if it determines that the remaining cooking time is 20 seconds or more, it proceeds to step S2-2.

[0082] In step S2-8, the heating control unit 65 controls the heating means to stop heating, and in the case of the microwave heating set above, sends a control signal to the magnetron 45 to set the output to 0 W and stop the generation of microwaves, and also sends a control signal to the antenna driving means 60 to stop the rotation of the antenna 47, thereby stopping the microwave heating of the food to be cooked. Meanwhile, the display control unit 66 controls the display means 16 to continue counting down the time indicated by the display element D33. In this embodiment, the heating control unit 65 controls the heating means to stop heating in step S2-8, but the heating means may not be stopped but may be controlled to be weaker than the heating in the previous step. For example, in the case of the above setting, the heating may be controlled to be performed at a weaker output than 600 W, which is the output set in the heating conditions. After step S2-8 is completed, the process proceeds to step S2-9.

[0083] In step S2-9, the device control means 51 determines whether or not the remaining cooking time is 0. If the device control means 51 determines that the remaining cooking time is 0, it proceeds to step S2-10, where cooking ends, but if it determines that the remaining cooking time is not 0, it repeats step S2-9 until the remaining time becomes 0.

[0084] In step S2-10, the cooking appliance 1 finishes cooking the food, and the display control unit 66 of the appliance control means 51 controls the display means 16 to display that cooking has finished, and the notification control unit 67 controls the buzzer notification means 63 to notify by buzzer that cooking has finished. The appliance control means 51 may transmit a cooking completion signal from the communication means 23 to the server control means 81 via the network 3 and the communication module 83, and the server control means 81 may transmit this cooking completion signal to the information terminal 6, and the display control unit 79 of the information terminal 6 may control the display means 71 to display that cooking has finished in the cooking appliance 1.

[0085] The user then follows the text display D5 explaining step "1", as well as the text display D9, D10, D11, D15, D16 and D20 explaining steps "2" to "7", in order to complete the cooking of the hamburger steak, which is the menu item of the dish.

[0086] Next, with reference to FIG. 15, the operation of the cooking system 100 configured as described above will be described in detail for the case where a manual cooking menu is cooked by remote control using the information terminal 6.

[0087] When the display control unit 79 of the information terminal 6 receives recipe information of a manual cooking menu related to the cooking appliance 1 from the recipe providing unit 88 of the server 5 via the network 3, it controls the display means 71 to display a cooking process selection screen G2 as shown in Fig. 15(A). This cooking process selection screen G2, a heating output selection screen G3 described later, and a cooking time setting screen G4 display a list of cooking processes, heating outputs, and cooking times that can be selected in the manual cooking menu of the oven range 1 so that the user can easily see the outline of each of them. The administrator inputs necessary items and information related to the recipe information of the menu in advance to the server 5, which serves as the management system of the recipe provision management system 100, and the recipe information registration unit 87 stores and registers this in the all recipe information storage unit 94, making it possible to display them.

[0088] Explaining with reference to FIG. 15(A), the recipe information of the manual cooking menu transmitted by the recipe information providing unit 88 of the server 5 includes information such as the settings of the cooking process, and correspondingly, the cooking process selection screen G2 displayed on the display means 71 of the information terminal 6 has, arranged from top to bottom, a text display unit D41 indicating the manual cooking menu, for example, as "MANUAL SETTING", a button display unit B42 having a text display unit D42 reading "RANGE", a button display unit B43 having a text display unit D43 reading "OVEN", a button display unit B44 having a text display unit D44 reading "GRILL", and a button display unit B45 having a text display unit D45 reading "STEAM".

[0089] Here, as shown in FIG. 15(A), when the user uses his / her finger F to select, for example, a portion of the touch panel 74 overlapping with the button display portion B42, the display control portion 79 controls the display means 71 to switch the display to a heating output selection screen G3 as shown in FIG. 15(B).

[0090] Referring to FIG. 15(B), in addition to the text display D41, the heating output selection screen G3 has, arranged from top to bottom, a text display D46 indicating the cooking process selected on the cooking process selection screen G2, for example, "microwave", a button display B47 having a text display D47 reading "1000W", a button display B48 having a text display D48 reading "600W", a button display B49 having a text display D49 reading "500W", and a button display B50 having a text display D50 reading "200W".

[0091] Here, as shown in FIG. 15(B), when the user uses his / her finger F to select a portion of the touch panel 74 overlapping, for example, the button display portion B48, the display control portion 79 controls the display means 71 to switch the display to a cooking time setting screen G4 as shown in FIG. 15(C).

[0092] 15(C), in addition to the text display D41, the cooking time setting screen G4 has a text display D52 showing the cooking process and heating output selected on the cooking process selection screen G2 and the heating output selection screen G3, for example, "Microwave 600W", a button display B53 having a text display D53 saying "Send", and a time setting display area that enables the setting of the microwave heating time, which are arranged vertically from left to right. In this time setting display area, the following display parts are arranged from left to right in order: a picker display B54 including a text display D54 showing the set number in the units of minutes, a text display D55 saying "minutes" that reminds the user that the number displayed on the text display D54 is the time in minutes, a picker display B56 including a text display D56 showing the set number in the tens of seconds, and a text display D57 saying "seconds" that reminds the user that the number displayed on the text display D56 is the time in seconds.

[0093] To increase or decrease the value of the microwave heating setting time displayed in the picker display sections B54 and B56, the user slides the part of the touch panel 74 overlapping the picker display section B54 or B56 displaying the value to be increased upward or downward. For example, when the user slides the part of the touch panel 74 overlapping the picker display section B54 upward with the user's finger F, the display control section 79 switches the display of the text display section D54 in the picker display section B54 as shown in Fig. 15(C), and controls the display means 71 to switch the display of the text display section D54 to "2" as shown in Fig. 15(C).

[0094] After setting the cooking time by increasing or decreasing the numerical value of the microwave heating setting time displayed on the picker display sections B54, B56, when the user operates the touch panel 74 at a position overlapping the button display section B53 with his / her finger F as shown in Fig. 15(D), an operation signal is sent from the touch panel 74 to the terminal control means 77. The subsequent operations are similar to those described above in steps S1-2 to S1-12 of the flowchart shown in Fig. 11 and steps S2-1 to S2-10 of the flowchart shown in Fig. 13, and therefore will not be described.

[0095] As described above, the cooking device 1 of this embodiment includes the microwave generator 44 as a heating means for heating the food to be cooked, the equipment control means 51 as a control means for controlling the microwave heating means 58 and the antenna driving means 60 of the microwave generator 44, and the communication means 23 capable of receiving heating conditions having items such as cooking process, output, cooking time and temperature, which are the heating conditions of the microwave generator 44, via the network 3. When the equipment control means 51 receives the heating conditions via the communication means 23, it controls the microwave generator 44 with settings that add, to the heating conditions, predetermined conditions such as stopping heating a heating stop time threshold Ts before the heating stop time threshold Ts and changing the temperature from the first temperature threshold of 100°C to the second temperature threshold of 90°C.

[0096] By configuring in this manner, when the heating conditions are set remotely in a way that would cause the food to be overheated, the equipment control means 51 can control the food to better prevent overheating, thereby improving safety.

[0097] In addition, the heating cooker 1 of this embodiment further has an operation means 17 as a selection means for selecting heating conditions, and the equipment control means 51 is configured to control the microwave generator 44 with the settings of heating conditions when heating conditions are selected with the operation means 17. Therefore, even with the same heating conditions, heating control can be different when selected with the operation means 17 and when performed by remote control, and convenience can be improved because the food to be cooked can be heated with settings of heating conditions that do not add specified conditions.

[0098] The heating conditions in this embodiment are a cooking time T total The predetermined conditions include the items of "cooking time T total The heating stop time threshold Ts controls the microwave generator 44 so that the heating is stopped or the heating output is reduced a predetermined time before the end of the heating process.

[0099] By configuring in this manner, when the heating conditions are set by remote control and the food would be overheated, the heating stop time threshold Ts is set so that the heating time, which is the time that the microwave generator 44 is operated, is shorter than when not controlled by remote control, so that the equipment control means 51 can control the food to better prevent overheating, thereby improving safety.

[0100] In addition, the device control means 51 of this embodiment controls the cooking time T total The heating stop time threshold Ts is determined according to the graph of FIG. totalWhen the cooking time T is short, the probability of overheating the food is low, so the heating stop time threshold Ts can be shortened to suppress the effect of insufficient heating and poor cooking quality. total If the heating time is long, the cooking time T total Since the proportion of the heating stop time threshold Ts to the total is small, there is little impact from insufficient heating resulting in poor cooking results, and conversely, there is a high possibility of overheating. Therefore, the heating stop time threshold Ts is set to a longer value, thereby effectively preventing overheating.

[0101] In addition, the cooking device 1 of this embodiment further includes food temperature detection means 52 as a temperature detection means for non-contactly detecting the temperature of the food being cooked, and when the food temperature detection means 52 detects that the food has reached a first temperature threshold of 100°C, the equipment control means 51 controls the microwave generator 44 to stop heating by setting the output to 0 W or to reduce the output of the microwave generator 44, and the specified condition is a change from the first temperature threshold of 100°C to a first temperature threshold of 90°C that is lower than the first temperature threshold of 100°C.

[0102] By configuring in this manner, when the heating conditions are set by remote control and would cause the food to be overheated, the temperature is changed to the second temperature threshold of 90°C, which is lower than the first temperature threshold of 100°C when not controlled by remote control, so that the equipment control means 51 can control the food to further prevent overheating, thereby improving safety.

[0103] In the cooking device 1 of this embodiment, the heating conditions include the output of the microwave generator 44 and the cooking time T total The output value of the microwave generator 44 and the cooking time T total For example, the higher the output of the microwave generator 44, or the higher the cooking time T totalThe longer the cooking time T total The shorter the time, the higher the first temperature threshold and the second temperature threshold can be set, thereby averaging the total amount of heat applied to the food to be cooked.

[0104] In addition, the heating cooking system 100 equipped with the heating cooker 1 of this embodiment further includes an information terminal 6 connectable to the network 3, and the information terminal 6 has a communication module 73 as a transmission means for transmitting heating conditions. Therefore, the user does not need to go to the heating cooker 1 to set the heating conditions. For example, the user can transmit the heating conditions to the heating cooker 1 via the network 3 from a remote location, such as while away from home, and set the heating conditions remotely.

[0105] 16 shows a modification of this embodiment. In this modification, cooking is started by remote control without operating cooking start instruction means 17d of cooking appliance 1.

[0106] 16 shows a cooking time setting screen G4' which is switched to when a selection is made on touch panel 74 at a location overlapping with button display units B47-B50 on heating output selection screen G3 on information terminal 6 of this modified example. This cooking time setting screen G4' differs from cooking time setting screen G4 of the present embodiment in that a button display unit B61 having a text display unit D61 reading "Start Heating" is arranged in place of button display unit B53. Other points are the same as those of cooking time setting screen G4, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0107] Next, the operation of the cooking system 100 having the above configuration will be described in detail. In the case of cooking a manual cooking menu by remote control using the information terminal 6, as in the present embodiment, the cooking process, heating output, and cooking time are set as described above in Figs. 15(A)-(C), and as shown in the cooking time setting screen G4' in Fig. 16, when the user's finger F selects and operates the touch panel 74 at a position overlapping the button display section B53, an operation signal is sent from the touch panel 74 to the terminal control means 77. Then, after executing steps S1-2 to S1-12 of the flowchart shown in Fig. 11, the device control means 51 automatically proceeds to step S2-1 in Fig. 13 because the setting of the heating conditions has been completed in step S1-12, and cooking is started by performing 600W microwave heating for 2 minutes as set in the heating conditions. Therefore, there is no need to press the cooking start instruction means 17d of the cooking device 1 when starting cooking, and the instruction to start cooking can also be executed remotely. If the command to start cooking is also executed remotely, there is a risk that the user will not notice that the food has been overheated, for example because the heating time is too long for the amount of food being cooked. However, even in such cases, as described above in this embodiment, by setting the second temperature threshold to a temperature lower than the specified temperature when remote control is not used, and setting the heating stop time threshold Ts to a cooking time shorter than the cooking time when remote control is not used, the equipment control means 51 can control the food to further prevent overheating, thereby improving safety.

[0108] As described above, in the heating and cooking system 100 of this modified example, the information terminal 6 connectable to the network 3 further has a button display unit B61 as a cooking start instruction means for starting cooking in the heating cooker 1, so that there is no need to press the cooking start instruction means 17d of the heating cooker 1 when starting cooking, and the instruction to start cooking can also be executed remotely.

[0109] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, various additions and modifications are possible for the contents of the information shown in the present embodiment, with the same gist. In addition, the network is not limited to the current Internet network, and various communication networks that will be constructed in the future can be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0110] 1 Cooker 3. Network 6 Information terminal 17 Operation means (selection means) 23 Means of communication 44 Microwave generator (heating means) 51 Equipment control means (control means) 52 Food temperature detection means (temperature detection means) 73 Communication module (transmission means) 100 Cooking system B61 Button display unit (cooking start instruction means) T total Cooking time Ts Heating stop time threshold (heating stop time)

Claims

1. A heating means for heating the food to be cooked; A control means for controlling the heating means; A communication means capable of receiving heating conditions, which are heating conditions of the heating means, via a network, when the control means receives the heating conditions via the communication means, the control means controls the heating means under settings in which a predetermined condition is added to the heating conditions; The heating conditions include a cooking time item, which is a time for cooking the food to be cooked, The cooking device according to the present invention, wherein the predetermined condition is a heating stop time in which the heating means is controlled to stop heating a predetermined time before the end of the cooking time, or to reduce the heating output.

2. Further comprising a selection means for selecting the heating conditions, 2. The cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls the heating means according to the settings of the heating conditions selected by the selection means.

3. 2. The cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the control means determines the value of the predetermined time based on the value of the cooking time.

4. Further comprising a temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the food to be cooked in a non-contact manner, The control means controls the heating means to stop heating or reduce the heating output when the temperature detection means detects that the food has reached a first temperature, 4. The cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is a change from the first temperature to a second temperature lower than the first temperature.

5. The heating conditions include an output of the heating means and a cooking time for cooking the food to be cooked, 5. The cooking device according to claim 4, wherein the first temperature value or the second temperature value varies depending on the output value of the heating means and the cooking time value.

6. A cooking system including the cooking device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, Further comprising an information terminal connectable to the network, The heat cooking system according to the present invention is characterized in that the information terminal has a transmission means for transmitting the heating conditions.

7. 7. The heating and cooking system according to claim 6, wherein the information terminal further comprises a cooking start instruction means for starting cooking in the heating cooker.

Images