COOKING APPARATUS, INFORMATION DISPLAY APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD, COOKING TOOL, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM

• US 20150374162A1
• Filed: 06/22/2015
• Published: 12/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2014
• 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: NONAKA, MASAO, ASO, MITSUHIRO
• Granted Patent: US 10,213,046 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 36/321 the electronic control being performed over a network, e.g. by means of a handheld device

Abstract

A cooking apparatus includes a communicator that communicates with a terminal, a link-state manager that manages link-state information indicating whether or not a link to the terminal is active, a heater that performs a heating operation on a cooking tool, a receiver that receives a user operation, and a controller that controls the communicator or the heater which is a control target, on the basis of the user operation. In the case where the link is active, when the user operation is performed on the receiver, the controller causes the communicator to transmit instruction information to the terminal. The instruction information indicates an instruction to switch an image being displayed on the information display apparatus from a first image to a second image.

Claims

1. A cooking apparatus comprising:

a communicator that communicates with an information display apparatus;

a link-state manager that manages link-state information indicating whether or not a link to the information display apparatus is active;

a heater that performs a heating operation on a cooking tool;

an receiver that receives a user operation; and

a controller that controls the communicator or the heater on the basis of the user operation, the communicator and the heater being a control target,

wherein, in the case where the link is active, when the receiver receives the user operation, the controller causes the communicator to transmit instruction information to the information display apparatus, the instruction information indicating an instruction to switch an image being displayed on the information display apparatus from a first image to a second image.

2. The cooking apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein each of the first image and the second image is an image indicating a work process among a plurality of work processes including work processes performed on the cooking apparatus.

3. The cooking apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the second image indicates a second work process to be performed just after a first work process indicated by the first image.

4. The cooking apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the second image indicates a second work process to be performed just before a first work process indicated by the first image.

5. The cooking apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a switch that switches the control target of the controller through the user operation,

wherein, in the case where the link is active, when the user operation is performed on the switch, the controller controls the heating operation on the heater in accordance with the user operation.

6. The cooking apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a sensor that detects the cooking tool being put on the heater,

wherein the communicator receives link request information for requesting the link to the information display apparatus, from the information display apparatus, and

wherein, after the communicator receives the link request information, when the sensor detects the cooking tool being put on the heater, the communicator transmits link response information to the information display apparatus to establish the link, the link response information being a response to the link request information.

7. The cooking apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein, when the link to the information display apparatus is established, the link-state manager updates the link-state information in such a manner that the link-state information indicates that the link is active.

8. The cooking apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, in the case where the link is not active, when the user operation is performed, the controller controls the heating operation on the heater.

9. The cooking apparatus according to claim 8,

wherein the controller controls a temperature for the heating operation on the heater.

10. An information display apparatus communicating with a cooking apparatus including a communicator that communicates with the information display apparatus, a link-state manager that manages link-state information indicating whether or not a link to the information display apparatus is active, a heater that performs a heating operation on a cooking tool, an receiver that receives a user operation, and a controller that controls the communication unit or the heater on the basis of the user operation, the communicator and the heater being a control target, wherein, in the case where the link is active, when the user operation is performed, the controller causes the communicator to transmit instruction information to the information display apparatus, the instruction information indicating an instruction to switch an image being displayed on the information display apparatus from a first image to a second image, the information display apparatus comprising:

a display that displays an image; and

a display controller that switches the image being displayed on the display from the first image to the second image on the basis of the instruction information.

11. The information display apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein each of the first image and the second image is an image indicating a work process among a plurality of work processes including work processes performed on the cooking apparatus.

12. The information display apparatus according to claim 11,

wherein the second image indicates a second work process to be performed just after a first work process indicated by the first image.

13. The information display apparatus according to claim 11,

wherein the second image indicates a second work process to be performed just before a first work process indicated by the first image.

14. A control method for controlling an operation of a cooking apparatus including a communicator that communicates with an information display apparatus, a heater that performs a heating operation on a cooking tool, an receiver that receives a user operation, and a computer that controls the communicator or the heater on the basis of the user operation, the communicator and the heater being a control target, the method comprising:

by using the computer,

causing the communicator to communicate with the information display apparatus;

managing link-state information indicating that a link to the information display apparatus is active;

causing the heater to perform the heating operation on the cooking tool;

causing the receiver to receive the user operation;

controlling the control target on the basis of the user operation; and

in the case where the link is active, when the user operation is received, causing the communicator to transmit instruction information to the information display apparatus, the communicator being the control target, the instruction information indicating an instruction to switch an image being displayed on the information display apparatus from a first image to a second image.

15. A cooking tool connected to an information display apparatus and a cooking apparatus via a network, the cooking tool comprising:

a communicator that communicates with the information display apparatus and the cooking apparatus;

a link-state manager that manages link-state information indicating whether or not a link to the information display apparatus is active;

an receiver that receives a user operation; and

a controller that causes the communicator to transmit a control signal to the information display apparatus or the cooking apparatus on the basis of the user operation, the information display apparatus and the cooking apparatus being a control target, the control signal being a signal for controlling the control target,

wherein, in the case where the link is active, when the user operation is performed, the controller causes the communicator to transmit instruction information to the information display apparatus, the instruction information indicating an instruction to switch an image being displayed on the information display apparatus from a first image to a second image.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program causing a computer to execute a process for controlling an operation of a cooking apparatus including a communicator that communicates with an information display apparatus, a heater that performs a heating operation on a cooking tool, an receiver that receives a user operation, and a controller that controls the communicator or the heater on the basis of the user operation, the communicator and the heater being a control target, the process comprising:

causing the communicator to communicate with the information display apparatus;

managing link-state information indicating whether or not a link to the information display apparatus is active;

causing the heater to perform a heating operation on the cooking tool;

causing the receiver to receive the user operation;

controlling the control target on the basis of the user operation; and

in the case where the link is active, when the user operation is performed, causing the communicator to transmit instruction information to the information display apparatus, the instruction information indicating an instruction to switch an image being displayed on the information display apparatus from a first image to a second image, the communicator being the control target.