Cooking assistance method and cooking apparatus

• US 10,210,444 B2
• Filed: 06/16/2016
• Issued: 02/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kamei, Rinako, Yuki, Yasuhiro, Kubotani, Hiroyuki, Funase, Kazuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Goyea, Olusegun
• Application Number:
  US15/184,987
• Publication Number:
  US 20170006669A1
• Time in Patent Office: 978 Days
• Field of Search: 219488, 219711, 219702, 219707, 705 15, 705 16, 705 22, 705 268, 705 28, 705319
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/6441 allowing the input of coded operation instructions, e.g. bar code reader

Abstract

A cooking assistance method includes: receiving, from a first food, first food information indicating the first food; receiving appliance identification information for identifying the cooking apparatus for cooking the first food; obtaining first setting details regarding cooking to be performed by the cooking apparatus, based on the received first food information and the received appliance identification information, the first setting details being associated with the first food and the cooking apparatus; and transmitting first setting information indicating the obtained first setting details to the cooking apparatus.

Claims

1. A cooking assistance method for a cooking assistance system, the cooking assistance system including a processor and being connected through a network to a cooking apparatus, the cooking apparatus for cooking food, the cooking assistance method comprising:

receiving, in association with a first food, first food information indicating the first food;

receiving appliance identification information for identifying the cooking apparatus for cooking the first food;

obtaining first setting details regarding cooking to be performed by the cooking apparatus, based on the received first food information and the received appliance identification information, the first setting details being associated with the first food and the cooking apparatus; and

transmitting first setting information indicating the obtained first setting details to the cooking apparatus,

wherein the cooking apparatus includes a heater and a heating chamber,

the first setting information includes information regarding a placement position of the first food in the heating chamber of the cooking apparatus,

the first setting information is configured to cause the cooking apparatus to present the placement position of the first food to a user, based on the information regarding the placement position, and

the first setting information is configured to cause the cooking apparatus to present the placement position of the first food to the user via a light emitter disposed in the heating chamber of the cooking apparatus, the light emitter being caused to emit light to present the placement position to the user.

2. The cooking assistance method according to claim 1,

wherein the first food comprises a processed food.

3. The cooking assistance method according to claim 1,

wherein the first setting information includes information regarding a heating intensity for the heater.

4. The cooking assistance method according to claim 1,

wherein the cooking assistance system is further connected to a device configured to read information indicated by barcodes, and

the device reads a barcode attached to the first food.

5. The cooking assistance method according to claim 4,

wherein the device comprises a two-dimensional-code reading device or a color-code reading device, and

the barcode attached to the first food is a two-dimensional code or a color code.

6. The cooking assistance method according to claim 1,

wherein the first food information includes image information indicating an image obtained by photographing an external appearance of the first food.

7. The cooking assistance method according to claim 6,

wherein the first food information includes character information indicating a character shown on the first food.

8. The cooking assistance method according to claim 1,

wherein the cooking assistance system is further connected through the network to a point-of-sale device installed at a store that sells one or more foods;

and

the first food information is obtained by the point-of-sale device when the first food is purchased, and is received from the point-of-sale device through the network.

9. The cooking assistance method according to claim 8,

wherein the cooking assistance system further comprises a display and a memory that stores a food list including the one or more foods, and

the cooking assistance method further comprises:

displaying the food list on the display;

receiving second food information indicating a second food that the user selected from the displayed food list;

determining whether or not the received second food information and the first food information match;

obtaining the first setting details when it is determined that the first food information and the second food information match;

obtaining second setting details regarding cooking performed by the cooking apparatus, when it is determined that the first food information and the second food information do not match, the second setting details being associated with the second food and the appliance identification information; and

transmitting second setting information indicating the obtained second setting details to the cooking apparatus.

10. The cooking assistance method according to claim 9,

wherein the memory further stores a table in which the first food is associated with the first food information and the second food is associated with the second food information, and

the cooking assistance method further comprises correcting the first food associated with the first food information in the table to the second food, when it is determined that the first food information and the second food information do not match.

11. The cooking assistance method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, in association with a second food, second food information indicating the second food, in conjunction with the first food information;

obtaining second setting details regarding cooking to be performed by the cooking apparatus, based on the received second food information and the received appliance identification information, the second setting details being associated with the second food and the cooking apparatus; and

transmitting second setting information indicating the second setting details to the cooking apparatus, in conjunction with the first setting information.

12. The cooking assistance method according to claim 11,

wherein

the second setting information includes second information regarding a second placement position of the second food in the heating chamber of the cooking apparatus, and

the second setting information is configured to cause the cooking apparatus to present the second placement position to the user, based on the second information regarding the second placement position.

13. The cooking assistance method according to claim 11,

wherein

the first setting information includes information indicating a first heating time for the first food in the heating chamber of the cooking apparatus,

the second setting information includes information indicating a second heating time for the second food in the heating chamber of the cooking apparatus, and

when the first setting information is compared with the second setting information, and the first heating time is shorter than the second heating time, the first setting information and the second setting information include notification information for causing the cooking apparatus to prompt placement of the first food into the cooking apparatus during cooking of the second food by the cooking apparatus.

15. The cooking assistance method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, in association with a second food, second food information indicating the second food;

obtaining second setting details regarding cooking to be performed by the cooking apparatus, based on the received second food information and the received appliance identification information, the second setting details being associated with the second food and the cooking apparatus; and

transmitting second setting information indicating the obtained second setting details to the cooking apparatus,

wherein the first setting information and the second setting information are configured to cause the cooking apparatus to simultaneously present the placement position of the first food to the user via the light emitter and present a second placement position of the second food to the user via the light emitter, and

the light emitter includes a plurality of light emitters.

16. The cooking assistance method according to claim 15,

wherein the first setting information and the second setting information are configured to cause presentation of the placement position and the second placement position via different modes of light.

17. The cooking assistance method according to claim 1,

wherein the first setting information includes information regarding a shape of a guide mark to be presented at the placement position, the shape of the guide mark corresponding to a shape of a bottom surface of the first food.

18. The cooking assistance method according to claim 1,

wherein the first setting information includes a heating intensity and a heating time for the first food in the cooking apparatus, the heating intensity and the heating time being automatically set for the cooking apparatus.

14. A cooking apparatus for cooking food, the cooking apparatus comprising:

a device that obtains, in association with a food, food information indicating the food;

a storage that stores appliance identification information for identifying the cooking apparatus;

a transmitter that transmits the obtained food information and the appliance identification information to a server;

a receiver that receives setting information from the server, based on the food information and the appliance identification information, the setting information being associated with the food and the cooking apparatus and indicating setting details regarding cooking to be performed by the cooking apparatus; and

a controller that controls the cooking apparatus, based on the setting information,

wherein the cooking apparatus includes a heating chamber, a heater, and a light emitter disposed in the heating chamber,

the first setting information includes information regarding a placement position of the first food in the heating chamber of the cooking apparatus,

the placement position of the first food is presented to a user, based on the information regarding the placement position, and

the placement position of the first food is presented to the user via the light emitter disposed in the heating chamber of the cooking apparatus.