Image-Based Heating Parameter Selection for Cooking Appliances
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooking devices, such as microwave ovens, require cumbersome setting operations when reheating specific food items, as users must manually select numerical heating parameters like wattage and time, making it difficult to choose the correct settings for repeated cooking tasks.
Innovation Solution
A device with an image capturing unit that stores images of food items along with their corresponding heating control settings, allowing users to select the appropriate settings by choosing images from a list, thereby simplifying the selection process and improving usability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual setting of heating parameters is used, then heating control can be precisely adjusted, but operation becomes cumbersome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically capturing images of food items and pre-storing their corresponding optimal heating parameters in a database. When a user places food in the cooking cavity, the system automatically retrieves and applies the pre-stored parameters, eliminating the need for manual setting while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating system serves itself by automatically identifying food items through image recognition and selecting appropriate heating parameters without user intervention. The system captures images, compares them with stored images, and autonomously sets heating power and time based on matched food items.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple heating sources are provided for various cooking types, then cooking versatility is improved, but setting operation becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The control system serves multiple heating sources (microwave, convection, steam, grill) through a single unified interface. By using image-based food identification and automatic parameter selection, the system provides universal access to various cooking functions without requiring users to navigate complex settings for each heating type.
Solution Approach 2:
The image database and automatic recognition system act as an intermediary between the user and multiple heating sources. Instead of directly controlling complex heating parameters for different cooking types, users simply select from pre-configured options based on food images, and the intermediary system translates this into appropriate heating source combinations.
3Loss of information
If heating parameters are displayed as numerical values, then parameter information is provided, but user understanding and selection become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of displaying abstract numerical parameters, the system creates visual copies of food items through image capture and storage. Users interact with realistic image representations of their food, which are more intuitive than numerical values. The system stores and displays images that visually represent the food and its corresponding heating conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses visual differentiation through image display to represent different heating parameters and cooking states. By showing color-rich images of food items rather than monochromatic numerical displays, the system makes parameter selection more visually distinctive and easier to understand at a glance.
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
This solution eliminates the need for burdensome manual setting operations by associating images with heating control settings, ensuring accurate and easy selection of previous cooking parameters, thus enhancing user experience and simplifying the cooking process.
Implementation Method 1
an image capturing unit for capturing the inside of the cooking cavity
Implementation Method 2
a heating unit for heating food that is accommodated in a cooking cavity
Data Source
AI summary
A device for cooking by heating comprises: a heating unit for heating food that is accommodated in a cooking cavity, a setting unit for setting a heating control content of the heating unit, a display unit for displaying the heating control content set by setting unit, and a display controller for controlling display on the display unit. Moreover, the device for cooking by heating comprises: an image capturing unit for capturing the inside of the cooking cavity, and a storage unit for storing an image captured by image capturing unit and the heating control content set by setting unit in a correspondence table in association with each other. The display controller controls display so as to display images stored in the storage unit in a list on the display unit, and the setting unit sets, based on selection of an image from the list, the associated heating control content in the correspondence table in the storage unit.