RFID Cooking Instruction Selection for Automatic Appliance Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cooking appliances require manual adjustment of power or temperature settings for each use, which is time-consuming and repetitive, especially for pre-packaged food items with consistent content.
Innovation Solution
A computer program product using an RFID antenna to read and select cooking instruction sets from a single RFID tag associated with a food product, automatically controlling the cooking appliance based on the selected set, considering the appliance's capabilities and food properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual entry of cooking settings is required for each use, then the appliance can be operated with basic functionality, but user time and effort increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking instructions are pre-stored in the RFID tag attached to the food packaging. When the packaged food is placed in the appliance, the RFID antenna automatically reads the pre-stored cooking parameters (temperature, time, power level) without requiring user input. This preliminary preparation of cooking data eliminates the need for manual entry during each cooking operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables the food packaging itself to provide the cooking instructions through the RFID tag. The appliance automatically retrieves and applies the cooking parameters from the RFID tag, making the system self-sufficient without requiring user intervention for setting configuration.
2Extent of automation
If cooking instructions are stored in an RFID tag, then automatic cooking control is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The RFID tag serves as an intermediary carrier that stores and transmits cooking instructions between the food packaging and the appliance's control system. This intermediary approach allows automatic cooking control without requiring complex integrated systems, as the RFID technology provides a simple, standardized interface for data exchange.
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
Automates the cooking process by eliminating the need for manual entry of settings, reducing user time and effort, and ensuring optimal cooking conditions based on the food product's specifications and appliance capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
U.S. Pat. No. 6,953,919 discloses a system and method for automatically heating a cooking vessel using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. An RFID tag and a temperature sensor are included with the vessel so that the vessel temperature and heating information within the RFID tag may be read by an RFID antenna
Data Source
AI summary
Method and computer program product for using an RFID antenna of a cooking appliance to read a plurality of cooking instruction sets from a single RFID tag associated with a food product that is positioned to be cooked by the cooking appliance. The cooking appliance selects one of the plurality of cooking instruction sets that the cooking appliance is capable of performing. Furthermore, the cooking appliance may then automatically cook the food product by controlling the cooking appliance according to the selected cooking instruction set. The selection of a cooking instruction set may consider the temperature of the food product or a determination whether the food product is frozen. Alternatively, cooking appliance settings may be interpolated between two cooking instruction sets or calculated on the basis of physical property information about the food product.