KR20240157943A - Cooking appliance and method for controlling thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An invention relating to a cooking appliance and a method for controlling the same is disclosed. The disclosed invention comprises: a camera for photographing a cooking chamber, and a light source for illuminating the cooking chamber, wherein the light source is characterized in that the brightness of the light illuminating the cooking chamber can be adjusted.

Description

COOKING APPLIANCE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THEREOF

The present invention relates to a cooking appliance, and more specifically, to a cooking appliance equipped with a camera for photographing the inside of a cooking chamber and a control method thereof.

A cooking appliance is a type of home appliance for cooking food, installed in a kitchen space, and cooking food according to the user's intention. These cooking appliances can be classified in various ways depending on the heat source or form used, or the type of fuel used.

If we classify cooking appliances by the way they cook food, they can be classified into open and closed cooking appliances based on the shape of the space where the food is placed. Closed cooking appliances include ovens and microwave ovens, while open cooking appliances include cooktops, hobs, and griddles.

A closed cooking appliance is a cooking appliance that seals the space where food is located and heats the sealed space to cook the food. A cooking chamber is provided in a closed cooking appliance, which is a space where food is placed and sealed when the food is to be cooked. This cooking chamber is actually the space where the food is cooked.

In a closed cooking appliance, a door is provided that can be rotated to selectively open and close the cooking chamber. The door is installed to the main body in a rotatably manner by a door hinge provided between the main body having the cooking chamber formed inside and the door. The door can selectively open and close the cooking chamber by rotating around a portion connected to the main body through the door hinge.

A heat source is provided in the interior space of the cooking chamber that is opened and closed by the above door to heat the cooking chamber. Such heat source may be a gas burner or an electric heater.

Recently, sealed cooking appliances equipped with built-in cameras have been developed. Such cooking appliances can obtain images related to food contained inside the cooking chamber through the built-in camera. Images obtained by the built-in camera can be displayed on a display equipped in the cooking appliance or on a user's smart device, and can also be used as data for controlling the cooking operation of the cooking appliance.

When an image acquired by a built-in camera is used as data for controlling the cooking operation of a cooking appliance, the cooking appliance can analyze the food-related image or video acquired by the built-in camera to determine the type of food or determine the cooking progress of the food, and control the cooking operation of the cooking appliance based on the information analyzed in this manner.

Judging the cooking progress of food, that is, judging the doneness of food, can be mainly done by identifying the surface color of the food. For example, information related to the surface color of food according to the doneness of food (hereinafter referred to as “standard color information”) is stored in a cooking appliance, and the cooking appliance can compare the surface color of food in an image acquired by a built-in camera (hereinafter referred to as “target food”) with the standard color information to identify the actual doneness of the food.

One of the most important factors in determining the surface color of the food being photographed is the brightness inside the cooking room. In other words, the surface color of the food can change depending on the brightness inside the cooking room.

For example, the brighter the interior of the kitchen, the brighter the surface color of the food being photographed may appear, and the darker the interior of the kitchen, the darker the surface color of the food being photographed may appear.

Reasons for changes in brightness inside the kitchen include changes in the condition of the lighting illuminating the kitchen, and sudden changes in the amount of light entering the kitchen from outside.

In other words, the brightness of the kitchen can change at any time depending on the intensity and amount of light illuminating the interior of the kitchen, and the surface color of the food being photographed can also be affected by this changing brightness of the kitchen.

In this way, if the surface color of the food being photographed changes depending on the brightness of the kitchen, the cooking appliance may not be able to properly determine the degree of cooking of the food. In this case, the cooking appliance may not be able to properly adjust the cooking time, which may result in the problem of not being able to cook properly.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a cooking appliance and a control method thereof with an improved structure capable of reliably determining the degree of cooking of food.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooking appliance and a control method thereof with an improved structure capable of appropriately controlling the brightness of a cooking room.

In order to achieve the above object, one embodiment of the present invention provides a cooking appliance including a camera for photographing a cooking chamber and a light source for illuminating the cooking chamber, wherein the light source is provided to be able to adjust the brightness of light illuminated in the cooking chamber.

Through this, the brightness of the cooking room can be appropriately adjusted, and the reliability of the results estimating the actual cooking degree of food can be improved.

In addition, another form of the present invention comprises a camera for photographing a cooking room, a light source for illuminating the cooking room, and a sensor for measuring the brightness of the cooking room, and the light source is characterized in that it adjusts the brightness of light illuminated on the cooking room according to the measurement value of the sensor.

A cooking appliance according to one aspect of the present invention comprises: a cavity having a cooking chamber formed therein; a camera for photographing the cooking chamber; and a light source for illuminating the cooking chamber; wherein the light source may be provided to adjust the brightness of light illuminated on the cooking chamber.

In addition, it is preferable that the light source be a variable light source capable of controlling the brightness of light irradiated into the cooking room.

It may further include a sensor for measuring the brightness of the cooking room.

In addition, it is preferable that the light source adjusts the brightness of light shining on the cooking room according to the measurement value of the sensor.

It is also preferable to include a camera module in which the camera, the light source, and the sensor are provided as one unit.

Additionally, it is preferable that the light source and the sensor are placed spaced apart from each other with the camera interposed between them.

In addition, the present invention may further include a control unit that adjusts the operation of the light source so that the measurement value of the sensor becomes equal to a reference brightness value.

In addition, it is preferable that the control unit adjusts at least one of the heating intensity and heating time for the cooking chamber based on the surface color of the food identified from the image captured by the camera.

In addition, a control method of a cooking appliance according to another aspect of the present invention may include: a measuring step of measuring the brightness of a cooking chamber; a lighting control step of adjusting the brightness of the cooking chamber so that the value measured in the measuring step becomes equal to a reference brightness value; a photographing step of photographing the cooking chamber so that the surface color of food accommodated in the cooking chamber can be identified when the value measured in the measuring step becomes equal to the reference brightness value; and a cooking control step of adjusting at least one of the heating intensity and the heating time based on the surface color of the food identified in the photographing step.

In addition, the cooking control step may include a step of determining the degree of cooking of the food based on the surface color of the food determined in the photographing step; and a step of adjusting at least one of the heating intensity and the heating time according to the determined degree of cooking of the food.

According to the cooking appliance and its control method of the present invention, the cooking degree of food can be reliably determined, and the heating intensity and heating time can be appropriately adjusted according to the thus determined cooking degree of food. As a result, the cooking performance of the cooking appliance can be effectively improved.

In addition, the present invention can enable the brightness of a cooking room to be appropriately adjusted using a sensor provided around a camera, thereby improving the reliability of a result derived through a comparison between information acquired by the camera and standard color information, that is, a result estimating the actual degree of cooking of food.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a cooking appliance according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional side view showing the internal structure of the cooking appliance illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a front view showing the door open state of the cooking appliance illustrated in Figure 1.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of a cooking appliance according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a drawing schematically illustrating the structure of a camera module according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control process of a cooking appliance according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The above-mentioned objects, features and advantages will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings, so that those with ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains can easily practice the technical idea of the present invention. In describing the present invention, if it is judged that a detailed description of a known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same or similar components.

Although the terms first, second, etc. are used to describe various components, these components are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another, and unless otherwise specifically stated, a first component may also be a second component.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but can be implemented in various forms and with various modifications. The embodiments are provided only to ensure that the disclosure of the present invention is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, or substitutes included in the technical spirit and scope of the present invention, as well as substituting or adding the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment.

The attached drawings are only intended to facilitate easy understanding of the embodiments disclosed in this specification, and the technical ideas disclosed in this specification are not limited by the attached drawings, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention. In the drawings, the components may be expressed exaggeratedly large or small in size or thickness for convenience of understanding, but the protection scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited due to this.

The terminology used herein is only used to describe specific implementations or examples and is not intended to limit the present invention. And the singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In the specification, terms such as "comprises", "consists of", etc. are intended to specify the presence of a feature, number, step, operation, component, part or combination thereof described in the specification. That is, it should be understood that terms such as "comprises", "consists of", etc. do not exclude in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof.

Terms including ordinal numbers, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. The terms are used only to distinguish one component from another.

When it is said that a component is "connected" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that it may be directly connected or connected to that other component, but that there may be other components in between. On the other hand, when it is said that a component is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components in between.

When a component is referred to as being "above" or "below" another component, it should be understood that it is not only positioned directly above that other component, but that there may also be other components intervening there.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries, such as those defined in common dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning they have in the context of the relevant art, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly defined in this application.

When the cooking appliance is placed on the floor, the direction in which the door is installed based on the center of the cooking appliance is defined as the front. Therefore, the direction in which the door is opened and the inside of the cooking appliance is the rear. For convenience, the direction facing forward and backward can be called the first direction. Then, the front can be called one side of the first direction, and the rear can be called the other side of the first direction.

Additionally, we could define the direction of gravity as downward, and the opposite direction of gravity as upward.

And, the horizontal direction perpendicular to the front-back direction of the cooking appliance, that is, the width direction of the cooking appliance when looking at the cooking appliance from the front of the cooking appliance door, can be called the left-right direction. For convenience, the left-right direction can be called the second direction. Then, the right side can be called one side of the second direction, and the left side can be called the other side of the second direction.

Also, the width direction of the above cooking appliance can be called the lateral direction. Then, the right side can be called one side of the lateral direction, and the left side can be called the other side of the lateral direction.

And, the above-mentioned up-down direction can be called the third direction. Then, the up direction can be called one side of the third direction, and the down direction can be called the other side of the third direction.

Also, the above-mentioned up-down direction can be called the vertical direction. Then, the front-back direction and the left-right direction, that is, the first direction and the second direction, can be called the horizontal direction.

Throughout the specification, when reference is made to "A and/or B", this means A, B, or A and B, unless otherwise stated, and when reference is made to "C through D", this means C or more and D or less, unless otherwise stated.

[Overall structure of the cooking appliance]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a cooking appliance according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating the internal structure of the cooking appliance illustrated in FIG. 1. In addition, FIG. 3 is a front view illustrating the door open state of the cooking appliance illustrated in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the cooking appliance may have an exterior formed by a main body (10). The main body (10) may be provided in a shape that includes an approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape, and may be formed of a material having a predetermined strength in order to protect a number of components installed in its internal space.

The above body (10) includes a cavity (11) that forms the skeleton of the body (10). The cavity (11) can be formed in the shape of a hexahedron with an open front, and a cooking chamber (12) is provided inside the cavity (11).

The cavity (11) can be formed in the shape of a hexahedron with an open front, and the cooking chamber (12) can be formed inside the cavity (11). That is, the cooking chamber (12) can be formed as a space having a roughly hexahedral shape placed inside the cavity (11), and can be formed as a space that is open to the front.

In a state where the cooking chamber (12) is sealed, food can be cooked while the inside of the cooking chamber (12) is heated. That is, in the cooking appliance of the present embodiment provided as a sealed cooking appliance, the cooking chamber (12) is actually the space where food is cooked.

The cooking appliance is provided with a heating unit (20) that heats the cooking chamber (12). This heating unit (20) may be provided as a heating device that uses gas fuel. As another example, the heating unit (20) may be provided as a heater that uses electricity. In this way, the structure of the heating unit (20) may be changed depending on the type of heat source used.

In this embodiment, it is exemplified that the heating unit (20) is provided as a heating device using gas fuel. According to this, a broil burner may be provided on the upper side of the cooking chamber (12), and a convection device (20) may be provided on the rear side of the cooking chamber (12).

The broil burner can heat the interior space of the cooking chamber (12) from the top. In addition, the convection device (20) heats the air inside the cooking chamber (12) by sucking it in and then discharging it into the interior space of the cooking chamber (12) to cause the air to flow, thereby allowing the interior space of the cooking chamber (12) to be heated evenly.

In the cooking appliance, a door (30) that selectively opens and closes the cooking chamber (12) may be provided in a rotatable manner. As an example, the door (30) may be provided in a form that opens and closes the cooking chamber (12) in a pull-down manner in which the upper part of the door (30) rotates up and down around the lower part.

A cooktop unit (40) may be placed on the upper part of the main body (10) to heat food or a container containing food to cook food. The cooktop unit (40) may be provided with a top plate that closes the upper part of the main body (10) while forming an upper surface appearance.

At least one heating unit may be provided in the central portion of the cooktop (40) to heat food to be cooked or a container containing food. For example, the heating unit may be provided as a heating device that uses gas fuel.

As another example, the heating element may be equipped with an induction heater that uses electricity. In this way, the structure of the heating element may be changed depending on the type of heat source used.

A control panel (50) may be provided on the upper front surface of the cooking appliance, that is, the upper front surface of the cavity (11). The control panel (50) may form a part of the front exterior of the cooking appliance. The control panel (50) may be provided with a knob (51) for controlling the operation of the cooking appliance and a display (52) for indicating the operating status of the cooking appliance.

An electrical compartment (60) that provides a space where electrical components are located may be provided in the internal space of the main body (10), that is, the space between the cooktop (40) and the cooking chamber (12). The electrical compartment (60) may be a space formed between the cooktop (40) and the cooking chamber (12), or may be a space that combines the space formed between the cooktop (40) and the cooking chamber (12) and the space inside the cooktop (40). The front of the electrical compartment (60) may be shielded by the control panel (50), or as exemplified in this embodiment, may be shielded by the door (30).

[Camera module structure]

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of a cooking appliance according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of the camera module illustrated in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 5, the cooking appliance of the present embodiment may further include a camera (110). The camera (110) may be installed inside the cooking appliance and is provided to photograph the cooking chamber (12).

As an example, the camera (110) may be placed on the upper side of the cavity (11). This camera (110) can obtain an image related to food contained inside the cooking chamber (12) by photographing the inside of the cooking chamber (12) from the upper side of the cooking chamber (12).

As another example, the camera (110) may be placed on the front side of the cooking chamber (12). For example, the camera (110) may be installed on the door (30). This camera (110) may capture the inside of the cooking chamber (12) from the front upper side of the cooking chamber (12), thereby obtaining an image related to food contained inside the cooking chamber (12).

The position of the camera (110) is not limited to the above-described position, and may be appropriately selected from among various positions suitable for effectively photographing food contained in the cooking room (12).

In addition, the cooking appliance of the present embodiment may include a light source (120). The light source (120) is provided to shine light into the cooking chamber (12).

Typically, a lighting lamp is provided inside the cooking appliance. This lighting lamp is provided to illuminate the inside of the cooking chamber. The lighting lamp can be turned on to illuminate the inside of the cooking chamber when the heat source is turned on and food is cooked inside the cooking chamber, so that the cooking status of the food can be easily identified from the outside. In addition, the lighting lamp can be turned on to illuminate the inside of the cooking chamber when the door is opened.

In this embodiment, the light source (120) can be defined as a concept distinct from the lighting lamp. That is, the light source (120) of this embodiment can be provided to be operated separately from the lighting lamp for illuminating the inside of the cooking room.

As another example, the light source (120) may be at least one of the lighting lamps for illuminating the interior of the cooking chamber, or the entire lighting lamps for illuminating the interior of the cooking chamber may be composed of the light source (120).

According to the present embodiment, the light source (120) is provided so as to be able to adjust the brightness of light shining on the cooking chamber (12). This light source (120) may be a variable light source that can adjust the brightness of light irradiated on the cooking chamber (12).

As an example, the light source (120) may include an LED whose brightness can be adjusted. It goes without saying that, in addition to the LED, various types of configurations capable of adjusting the brightness of light may be applied as the light source (120) of the present embodiment. In addition, the number of light sources (120) may be appropriately determined according to the intensity and area of the lighting effect to be implemented through the light source (120).

In the image acquired by the camera (110), the surface color of the food being photographed may change depending on the brightness of the light emitted by the lighting lamp and light source (120).

For example, the brighter the light from the lighting lamp and light source (120) is, the brighter the surface color of the food to be photographed may appear, and the darker the light from the lighting lamp and light source (120) is, the darker the surface color of the food to be photographed may appear.

The light source (120) of the present embodiment can be operated so that the brightness of the cooking room (12) is maintained in a set state.

For example, the light source (120) can be operated to illuminate the cooking room (12) by shining light when the cooking room (12) is darker than the set brightness, and accordingly, the brightness of the cooking room (12) can be maintained at the set brightness.

In addition, the light source (120) can be operated in a manner to lower the brightness of the light shining on the cooking room (12) when the cooking room (12) is brighter than the set brightness, and accordingly, the brightness of the cooking room (12) can be maintained at the set brightness.

The cooking appliance of the present embodiment may further include a sensor (130) for measuring the brightness of the cooking chamber (12). The sensor (130) may be provided in the form of a light sensor capable of measuring the illuminance of the cooking chamber (12). This sensor (130) may measure the illuminance of an area of the cooking chamber (12) that is the subject of a photograph by the camera (110).

As an example, at least two of a camera (110), a light source (120), and a sensor (130) can form one module. In this embodiment, it is exemplified that the camera (110), the light source (120), and the sensor (130) form one camera module (100). That is, the camera module (100) of this embodiment includes all of the camera (110), the light source (120), and the sensor (130) and can form one module.

As an example, the light source (120) and the sensor (130) provided in the camera module (100) may be arranged to be spaced apart from each other. For example, the light source (120) and the sensor (130) may be installed together in one camera module (100), but may be arranged to be spaced apart from each other with the camera (110) interposed therebetween. This is to prevent the light source (120) that is too close to the sensor (130) from having an unnecessary influence on the measurement result of the sensor (130), and thus the measurement reliability of the sensor (130) may be improved.

In addition, the cooking appliance of the present embodiment may include a control unit (70). The control unit (70) may be provided to control the operation of the cooking appliance. For example, the control unit (70) may control the operation of the heating unit (20) according to an input signal input by a knob (51) or switch provided on the control panel (50).

In addition, information acquired by the sensor (130), i.e., the measurement value obtained by the sensor (130) measuring the brightness of the cooking chamber (12), can be transmitted to the control unit (70). The control unit (70) can control the operation of the light source (120) based on the measurement value received from the sensor (130).

[Camera module operation and effect]

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control process of a cooking appliance according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an automatic cooking control process of a cooking appliance according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 6, the cooking appliance according to the present embodiment can provide an automatic cooking function using a camera module (100). This cooking appliance can analyze a video or image related to food acquired by the camera module (100) to determine the type and size of the food or determine the cooking progress of the food, and control the cooking operation of the cooking appliance based on the information analyzed in this manner.

To this end, the cooking appliance can first analyze the food-related video or image acquired through the camera module (100) to identify the type and size of the food. As a result, when the type and size of the food are identified, the cooking appliance can set the heating intensity and heating time appropriate for cooking the food, and then control the operation of the heating unit (20) so that cooking is performed at the set heating intensity and heating time.

As described above, while cooking is taking place in the cooking appliance, the cooking appliance can check whether cooking is being done properly and adjust the heating intensity and heating time of the heating unit (20) based on the result of the check.

That is, information necessary to confirm the actual cooking degree of food at a specific point in time is acquired through the camera module (100), and information on how the actual cooking degree of food is compared to a reference can be acquired based on the information acquired by the camera module (100).

For example, at a point when half of the total cooking time has elapsed, the cooking appliance extracts information about the surface color of the food from the video or image captured through the camera module (100), and compares the extracted information with standard color information to determine the actual degree of cooking of the food.

In order to obtain information about the actual surface color of food being cooked in the cooking chamber (12), the cooking appliance can first measure the brightness of the cooking chamber (12) (S10).

Brightness measurement for the cooking room (12) can be performed by a sensor (130). The sensor (130) can measure the brightness of the cooking room (12), but can also measure the illuminance of the area that is the subject of the camera (110).

As described above, the result measured by the sensor (130), i.e., the measurement value of the sensor (130), can be transmitted to the control unit (70), and the control unit (70) can control the operation of the light source (120) based on the transmitted measurement value of the sensor (130).

According to the present embodiment, the light source (120) may be provided in the form of a variable light source capable of adjusting brightness, and the control unit (70) may adjust the operation of the light source (120) so that the measured value of the sensor (130) becomes the same as the reference brightness value. That is, the control unit (70) may adjust the operation of the light source (120) so that the brightness of the cooking chamber (12) becomes the same as the set brightness value, i.e., the reference brightness value (S20).

According to the present embodiment, the standard color information includes surface color information according to the degree of cooking of the food that appears when the brightness of the cooking chamber (12) corresponds to the reference brightness value. Therefore, in order for the standard color information to be used to estimate the actual degree of cooking of the food, the condition that the brightness value of the cooking chamber (12) measured by the sensor (130) is equal to the reference brightness value must be satisfied.

Taking these points into consideration, in this embodiment, the operation of the light source (120) is adjusted so that the measured brightness of the cooking chamber (12) becomes the same as the reference brightness value, and the sensor (130) can provide the control unit (70) with information related to the brightness of the cooking chamber (12) necessary for adjusting the operation of the light source (120).

As a result, when the measurement value of the sensor (130), i.e., the value measured for the brightness of the cooking chamber (12), becomes equal to the reference brightness value, the camera (110) photographs the cooking chamber (12) so that the surface color of the food contained in the cooking chamber (12) can be identified (S30).

The image or video acquired by the camera (110) can be transmitted to the control unit (70). The control unit (70) extracts information on the surface color of the food from the image or video transmitted from the camera (110) and compares the extracted information with standard color information to determine the actual degree of cooking of the food (S40).

As described above, when the actual cooking degree of food is determined based on information extracted from an image or video transmitted from the camera (110), the control unit (70) can control the operation of the heating unit (20) based on the determined information.

That is, the control unit (70) can control the operation of the heating unit (20) so that at least one of the heating intensity and the heating time is adjusted depending on the actual degree of cooking of the food (S50).

For example, if the actual cooking degree of the food is less than the reference, the control unit (70) can control the operation of the heating unit (20) so that either the heating intensity or the heating time is increased. Conversely, if the actual cooking degree of the food is more than the reference, the control unit (70) can control the operation of the heating unit (20) so that either the heating intensity or the heating time is decreased.

Cooking can be continued while at least one of the heating intensity and heating time is adjusted as described above, and after the food is heated for the adjusted heating time, cooking can be completed.

As described above, the cooking device of the present embodiment can reliably determine the cooking degree of food, and can effectively improve the cooking performance of the cooking device by appropriately adjusting the heating intensity and heating time according to the determined cooking degree of food.

In addition, the cooking appliance of the present embodiment can appropriately adjust the brightness of the cooking chamber (12) by using a sensor (130) provided in the camera module (100), i.e., provided around the camera (110), thereby improving the reliability of the result derived through comparison between the information acquired by the camera (110) and standard color information, i.e., the result of estimating the actual cooking degree of the food.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, these are merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible from this. Accordingly, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the following patent claims.

10 : Body
11 : Cavity
12 : Kitchen
20: Convection device
30 : Door
40: Cooktop section
50 : Control Panel
51: Knob
52 : Display
60: Battle room
70 : Control Unit
100 : Camera module
110 : Camera
120 : Light source
130 : Sensor

Claims (8)

A cavity in which a cooking space is formed inside;
A camera filming the above kitchen; and
A light source for illuminating the above cooking room;
A cooking appliance in which the light source is provided so as to be able to adjust the brightness of light shining into the cooking room.
In the first paragraph,
The above light source is a cooking appliance that is a variable light source capable of controlling the brightness of light irradiated into the cooking chamber.
In the first paragraph,
Further comprising a sensor for measuring the brightness of the above cooking room,
The above light source is a cooking appliance that controls the brightness of light shining on the cooking chamber according to the measurement value of the sensor.
In the third paragraph,
A cooking appliance including a camera module in which the camera, the light source, and the sensor are provided as one unit.
In paragraph 4,
A cooking appliance in which the light source and the sensor are spaced apart from each other with the camera interposed therebetween.
In the third paragraph,
Further comprising a control unit that adjusts the operation of the light source so that the measurement value of the sensor becomes equal to the reference brightness value;
The above control unit is a cooking appliance that controls at least one of the heating intensity and the heating time for the cooking chamber based on the surface color of the food identified from the image captured by the camera.
A measurement step to measure the brightness of the kitchen;
A lighting control step for controlling the brightness of the cooking room so that the value measured in the above measurement step becomes the same as the reference brightness value;
When the value measured in the above measurement step becomes equal to the reference brightness value, a photographing step for photographing the cooking room so that the surface color of the food accommodated in the cooking room can be identified; and
A control method for a cooking appliance, comprising a cooking control step of controlling at least one of heating intensity and heating time based on the surface color of the food identified in the above photographing step.
In the seventh paragraph, the cooking control step,
A step of determining the degree of cooking of food based on the surface color of the food identified in the above photographing step; and
A method for controlling a cooking appliance, comprising: a step of adjusting at least one of heating intensity and heating time according to the identified degree of cooking of food;

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