Cooking device and a method for individually guiding a cooking process

• US 6,299,921 B1
• Filed: 01/11/2000
• Issued: 10/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rational AG, Rational GmbH
• Original Assignee: Rational AG
• Inventors: Schweinfest-Feile, Thomas, Löffler, Erhard, Kohlstrung, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): YEUNG, GEORGE CHAN PUI
• Application Number:
  US09/403,963
• Time in Patent Office: 637 Days
• Field of Search: 426/231, 426/233, 426/523, 993/26, 993/27, 993/31, 993/32, 993/35
• US Class Current: 426/233
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 5/15 using wave energy, irradiation, electrical means or magnetic fields, e.g. oven cooking or roasting using radiant dry heat
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 5/17 in a gaseous atmosphere with forced air or gas circulation, in vacuum or under pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 36/32 Time-controlled igniting mechanisms or alarm devices
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 7/08 Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices

Abstract

A method for cooking in a cooking device which has a cooking chamber and a measuring device to detect variables pertaining to a given state of food which is being cooked. The variables vary according to the cooking process. The cooking process is carried out according to at least one measured value corresponding to a cooking state variable. The cooking process is also carried out according to one of several values corresponding to a derivative of a cooking state variable obtained as a function of a duration of the cooking process.

Claims

1. In a method for cooking a food product in a cooking device comprising a cooking space and a measuring device for registering values of at least one doneness quantity relating to a characteristic of the food product, the value of which doneness quantity changes on the basis of a cooking process, whereby the time of the end of the cooking process is extrapolated at various times during the cooking process by applying the respective last registered measurement values and a prescribed final value of a doneness quantity at the end of the cooking process, the improvements comprising obtaining at least one value of a time derivative, guiding the course of the cooking process on at least one measured value of a doneness quantity and on one or more values of a time derivative of the doneness quantity during the cooking process, and during the cooking process, defining at least one value of a setting point of the cooking device that influences the cooking process so as to depend on a time derivative, during the cooking process, of a doneness quantity.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, during the cooking process, a value or a time sequence of values of a setting point of the cooking device is defined depending on the last registered value of a doneness quantity and on the appertaining value of its first time derivative.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein one or more values of setting points are defined depending on a time period over which the first time derivative of a doneness quantity essentially equals zero.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the temperature and/or the moisture in the cooking space is one setting point of the cooking device for which a value is specified depending on a time derivative of a doneness quantity.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the time of the end of the cooking process is determined based on the last obtained value of a doneness quantity, on the appertaining values of its first and second time derivatives, and on a prescribed final value of the cooking quantity at the end of the cooking process.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein from a time with a predetermined time interval from the calculated end of the cooking process, one or more setting points of the cooking device are set to a value that was specified in advance or corresponding to a specified time sequence of values.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the core temperature of the food product is a doneness quantity, a value of a setting point of the cooking device being specified depending on the time characteristic of the core temperature.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein a change of the mode of operation of the device at a time depends on one or more values of a derivative of a doneness quantity.

9. In a cooking device with a cooking space, at least one measurement sensor for registering values of at least one doneness quantity relating to a characteristic of a food product, the value of which quantity changes based on a cooking process, and with a storage unit and a control means for purposes of automatically guiding the cooking process, which receives the output signal of the measurement sensor as an input signal and which accesses the storage unit in the determination of desired values for the setting points, the improvement comprising the control means being arranged to guide the cooking process according to at least one measured value of the doneness quantity and at least one time derivative of a doneness quantity during the cooking process.

10. The cooking device according to claim 9, which includes second means for inputting and storing parameter values relating to the food product and/or the cooking process, whereby the control means applies one or more of these parameter values as input values for guiding the cooking process.

11. The cooking device according to claim 10, wherein the second means receives a final core temperature that is to be attained at the end of the cooking process and/or a temperature in the cooking space at the end of the cooking process.

12. The cooking device according to claim 10, wherein the second means receives a value for the moisture in the cooking space at the end of the cooking process.

13. The cooking device according to claim 9, which includes a storage unit in which an allocation is kept of values of at least one of the time derivatives of a doneness quantity to desired values of setting points of the cooking device.

14. The cooking device according to claim 9, wherein the cooking device is arranged for a manual influencing of setting points and comprises a means for storing the values for setting points that are prescribed by the control means or by the user, together with the appertaining measurement values of a doneness quantity and/or one or more of its time derivatives, so that the control means can reproduce the sequence of values of the setting points of an earlier process based on the stored data of the earlier cooking process and on the measurement values registered by one or more measurement sensors in a current cooking process.