Gesture-Controlled Cooking Hob Without Surface Controls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hobs require significant installation space for control elements, restrict accessibility, and pose safety risks due to their size and location, necessitating direct user interaction with potentially hot surfaces for setting operating conditions.
Innovation Solution
A hob equipped with at least two gesture recognizers, including near-field recognition sensors, infrared sensors, and cameras, allowing users to set operating conditions through contactless gestures, reducing the need for physical controls and enhancing user safety and convenience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If control elements are installed on the hob, then operating conditions can be set, but installation space is consumed and accessibility is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The control elements are extracted from the physical hob surface and replaced by gesture recognizers (sensors, cameras, motion sensors) that detect hand gestures in the air above the hob. This removes the need for physical buttons or touch controls on the hob surface, freeing up installation space while maintaining full control functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary system consisting of gesture recognition sensors and cameras is introduced between the user and the control system. Instead of direct contact with controls, the user performs gestures in the air, and the intermediary sensors detect and interpret these gestures to operate the hob functions.
2Ease of operation
If control elements are installed on the hob, then operating conditions can be set, but control elements can be damaged or destroyed by accidental contact
Solution Approach 1:
Control elements are completely removed from the hob surface, eliminating physical components that could be accidentally bumped, knocked, or damaged. The control function is transferred to invisible gesture detection in the air space above the hob.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical control system (buttons, switches, touch surfaces) is replaced by an optical and electromagnetic detection system (cameras, infrared sensors, motion sensors) that detects gestures without physical contact, eliminating mechanical wear and accidental damage risks.
3Ease of operation
If control elements are installed on the hob, then operating conditions can be set, but the hob surface requires cleaning to remove fingerprints and soil
Solution Approach 1:
Control elements are extracted from the hob surface entirely, so there are no buttons, switches, or touch controls on the glass or ceramic surface that could accumulate fingerprints or require cleaning. The control interface exists only in the air space above the hob.
4Ease of operation
If control elements are installed on the hob, then operating conditions can be set, but users must touch potentially hot zones to operate controls
Solution Approach 1:
Control elements are extracted from the hot hob surface and replaced by gesture detection in the cool air space above the hob. Users can operate the hob by making gestures in the air, completely avoiding contact with hot surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
Gesture recognition sensors and cameras act as intermediaries that allow users to control the hob from a safe distance, detecting hand gestures in the air without requiring users to approach or touch the hot cooking surface or control panel area.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables fast, user-friendly, and space-efficient operation with reduced risk of damage and soiling, providing intuitive and barrier-free control that avoids accidental settings and simplifies cleaning, while preventing errors and unauthorized operation.
Implementation Method 1
The gesture recognizer can in particular have at least one near-field recognition sensor
Implementation Method 2
and/or an infrared sensor
Implementation Method 3
a camera that is sensitive at least in the spectral range that is visible to humans
Implementation Method 4
and/or a motion recognition sensor
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
The method involves setting operating conditions by a user, where the operating conditions are set through gestures of the user. The setting of the operating conditions is performed after starting a gesture recognition mode by actuating a control element or by carrying out of a starting gesture, where a gesture is recognized based on the position and/or orientation of a hand of the user relative to cooking zones (2-5), and correct recognition of the operating conditions needs the hand to be placed in a specific position and/or orientation within a predetermined time interval. An independent claim is also included for a cooking hob.