Oven Heating Control Using Camera and 3D Product Feature Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing baking ovens require significant user interaction and are not fully automated, as they lack accurate methods for controlling the heating process based on product characteristics, leading to suboptimal heating results.
Innovation Solution
An oven equipped with a product-feature extracting system using cameras and contour-level units to record and analyze product top-views and contour-levels, allowing for the precise extraction of features like shape, volume, and weight, enabling automated heating processes with minimal user interaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If automated heating control is implemented using temperature sensors and numerical approximation methods, then user interaction is reduced, but measurement precision and heating accuracy remain insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional temperature sensor-based detection with optical imaging systems (cameras) and laser-based contour-level detection. This substitution enables non-contact, high-precision measurement of product geometry, surface characteristics, and volume, thereby improving measurement precision while maintaining automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces contour-level units as intermediary devices that project laser lines onto the product surface and capture the deformation patterns. These contour-levels serve as mediators between the optical system and the product geometry, enabling accurate extraction of three-dimensional shape information without direct contact.
2Device complexity
If simple temperature control methods are used, then device complexity is reduced, but heating accuracy and product feature utilization are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple detection functions into a unified imaging system. The camera system simultaneously captures product position, shape, volume, and surface characteristics, while the contour-level units provide additional geometric information. This multi-functional approach enables precise heating control without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates digital copies of the product's physical characteristics through optical imaging and contour-level capture. These digital models (three-dimensional shape, volume, surface area) are then used by the control system to determine optimal heating parameters, separating the complexity of precision measurement from the heating control process.
3Manufacturing precision
If no product feature detection is performed, then device complexity is minimized, but automated heating control accuracy cannot be improved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex physical measurement devices with optical imaging systems. Cameras and laser contour-level units non-contactly capture product geometry and characteristics, reducing mechanical complexity while enabling accurate extraction of product features such as volume, shape, and surface area for precise heating control.
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
The system enables precise and reliable automated heating by accurately determining product features, optimizing the heating process, and reducing user intervention, thus enhancing the automation and efficiency of baking ovens.
Implementation Method 1
The product-feature extracting system comprises at least one camera, e.g. a digital camera, designed and positioned for recording product top-views
Implementation Method 2
The contour-level unit can comprise at least one of a distance sensor designed for measuring distances between the sensor and upper surface levels of the product and the object, respectively, and a light emitting device, preferably a laser, more preferably a line laser
Data Source
AI summary
The invention in particular relates to an oven (1) for baking food products (3). In order to improve automated heating procedures, the oven (1) comprises a camera (7) and a distance sensor (8), for example, which are used in concert to enable precise extraction of product-features that are relevant and used with automated heating procedures.