cooker

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing cookers lack accurate sensing and display of the inner state of the cooking chamber, leading to potential image distortion due to changes such as vapor generation during cooking, which hinders user recognition of the food's cooking state.

Innovation Solution

A cooker equipped with an image sensor to scan the cooking chamber, a display part to show the scanned food image, and a control part that corrects image distortions by comparing RGB color values to display a clear, undistorted image of the food.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If an image sensor scans the cooking chamber during cooking, then the cooking state of food can be monitored, but image distortion occurs due to vapor and condition changes in the cooking chamber

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveimage accuracyVSAvoidimage quality
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system captures a reference image of the cooking chamber before cooking begins, when no vapor or condition changes are present. This reference image is stored and later used to compare against images taken during cooking, allowing the system to identify and correct distortions caused by vapor and environmental changes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The control part continuously compares images captured during cooking with the reference image, detecting changes in the cooking chamber conditions. Based on this comparison, the system generates corrected images that compensate for vapor-induced distortions, providing accurate real-time monitoring feedback to the user.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Productivity

If the image sensor continuously scans the cooking chamber to monitor food cooking state, then real-time monitoring is achieved, but the image quality deteriorates due to vapor and temperature changes

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemonitoring efficiencyVSAvoidimage clarity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

A reference image is captured before cooking starts, establishing a baseline for what the cooking chamber looks like under ideal conditions. This preliminary action enables subsequent real-time monitoring to compare against the reference and identify vapor-induced distortions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The control part compares each captured image with the reference image and generates corrected versions, providing continuous feedback on the actual cooking state while compensating for environmental interference, thus maintaining both monitoring efficiency and image clarity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Device complexity

If no image correction is applied, then the system structure remains simple, but the displayed image is distorted and inaccurate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem structureVSAvoidfood state accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The control part stores a reference image captured before cooking begins. This simple preliminary action provides a baseline for comparison without requiring complex correction algorithms, maintaining system simplicity while enabling accurate food state monitoring through image comparison.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The control part compares captured images with the reference image and generates corrected images by identifying and compensating for vapor-induced distortions. This feedback mechanism provides accurate food state information without requiring complex hardware modifications.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP3348910B1cooker
Publication Date: 2021.08.11 LG ELECTRONICS INC
  • EP3348910B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3348910B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3348910B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Provided are a cooker and a method of controlling the cooker. An image of food scanned by an image sensor is corrected, and thus, can be free from distortion due to vapor generated while cooking the food in a cooking chamber. Accordingly, a user can more accurately recognize a cooking state of the food.