U.S. patent application number 15/329387 was filed with the patent office on 2017-07-20 for intelligent electric stove.
The applicant listed for this patent is Won Young SEO. Invention is credited to Won Young SEO.
Application Number | 20170205077 15/329387 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55217815 |
Filed Date | 2017-07-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170205077 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
SEO; Won Young |
July 20, 2017 |
INTELLIGENT ELECTRIC STOVE
Abstract
An intelligent electric stove has: a controller including a
hardware interface for communication with hardware, wherein the
controller has a memory to store therein a pre-set cooking solution
as an application program; a user interface coupled to the
controller and configured to allow a user to control an operation
of the stove; a timer coupled to the controller and configured to
set operation timing of the stove; a display unit coupled to the
controller and configured to output operation states of the stove;
a sensing unit coupled to the controller and configured to detect
operation state; and a wireless communication unit coupled to the
controller and configured to allow the stove to communicate
wirelessly with external devices.
Inventors: |
SEO; Won Young; (Seoul,
KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SEO; Won Young |
Seoul |
|
KR |
|
|
Family ID: |
55217815 |
Appl. No.: |
15/329387 |
Filed: |
July 24, 2015 |
PCT Filed: |
July 24, 2015 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/KR2015/007712 |
371 Date: |
January 26, 2017 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24C 7/087 20130101;
F24C 7/081 20130101; F24C 7/082 20130101; H05B 6/1236 20130101;
H05B 2213/06 20130101; F24C 7/083 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F24C 7/08 20060101
F24C007/08 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 26, 2014 |
KR |
10-2014-0095148 |
Claims
1. An intelligent electric stove comprising: a controller including
a hardware interface for communication with hardware, wherein the
controller has a memory to store therein a pre-set cooking solution
as an application program; a user interface coupled to the
controller and configured to allow a user to control an operation
of the stove; a timer coupled to the controller and configured to
set operation timing of the stove; a display unit coupled to the
controller and configured to output operation states of the stove;
a sensing unit coupled to the controller and configured to detect
operation state; and a wireless communication unit coupled to the
controller and configured to allow the stove to communicate
wirelessly with external devices.
2. The intelligent electric stove of claim 1, wherein the memory
stores therein an operating system, and application programs
operatively associated with the operation system, wherein the
application programs includes the cooking solution.
3. The intelligent electric stove of claim 1, wherein the user
interface includes a heating region selection menu, a heating power
adjustment menu, and/or a timing menu.
4. The intelligent electric stove of claim 1, wherein the display
unit is operatively associated with the user interface.
5. The intelligent electric stove of claim 1, wherein the
communication unit communicates with a cooking utensil and/or
mobile device using at least one of RFID, NFC, Bluetooth, Zigbee,
and WiFi protocols.
6. The intelligent electric stove of claim 1, wherein the
communication unit communicates with a stove hood using at least
one of RFID, NFC, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and WiFi protocols.
7. The intelligent electric stove of claim 1, wherein the
controller is configured to download and/or update the cooking
solution from a web server or a mobile device using the
communication unit.
8. The intelligent electric stove of claim 1, further including an
audio interface configured to output operation states of the
electric stove to the user using a voice and/or to input a user
voice input to the controller.
9. The intelligent electric stove of claim 8, wherein the audio
interface includes a sound output unit, a sound input unit and a
voice recognition engine.
10. The intelligent electric stove of claim 1, further including a
weight sensor configured to detect a weight of a cooking utensil
placed on a heating region, wherein the weight sensor is positioned
nearby or in the heating region.
11. The intelligent electric stove of claim 1, further including a
DC (direct current) wireless power transmitter configured to
wirelessly supply a power to a cooking utensil placed on the stove,
wherein the cooking utensil has a communication unit or sensor
unit.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean patent
application No. 10-2014-0095148 filed on Jul. 26, 2014, the entire
content of which is incorporated herein by reference for all
purposes as if fully set forth herein.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Field of the Present Disclosure
[0003] The present disclosure relates to an electric stove, and,
more particularly, to an intelligent electric stove wherein a
cooking utensil and the electric stove communicate with each other
via a machine-to-machine communication or the person and the
electric stove communicate with each other via a person-to-machine
communication.
[0004] Discussion of Related Art
[0005] Electric stove is excellent in terms of control of output
and safety in comparison with gas stove.
[0006] Further, since it does not burn gas to generate a heat
source, it is attracting attention as a clean kitchen appliance
which does not generate carbon dioxide and harmful gas during
cooking and does not pollute indoor air.
[0007] Such an electric stove is divided into a halogen lamp type,
a heating coil type and an induction type depending on a method of
generating a heat source. The halogen and heating coil types are
used in combination to complement each other's disadvantages.
[0008] FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a function control unit or
user interface generally used in the conventional electric stove
described above. The function control unit or user interface
includes a power button 10, a thermal power control button 20, and
a reserved time setting button (timer) 30 having a time switch
function. The buttons may be displayed using LEDs.
[0009] These control buttons are arranged variously depending on
the stove designer. They focus on the functional arrangement rather
than user's convenience. Thus, position variations of the control
interfaces may not feasible or additional functions may not be
added.
[0010] The conventional electric stoves may not provide a
functional merit or user convenience other than the safety, the
firepower output control in a step by step manner, and the timer
function.
SUMMARY
[0011] In order to solve the problems, the present disclosure is
intended to improve the user's convenience by configuring the
electric stove such that a cooking utensil and the electric stove
communicate with each other via a machine-to-machine communication
or the person and the electric stove communicate with each other
via a person-to-machine communication.
[0012] Another object of the present disclosure is to enable an
audio input function, a remote control function, and an output
function of an operation state of the stove or a cooking utensil
placed on the stove.
[0013] In one aspect, there is provided an intelligent electric
stove comprising: a controller including a hardware interface for
communication with hardware, wherein the controller has a memory to
store therein a pre-set cooking solution as an application program;
a user interface coupled to the controller and configured to allow
a user to control an operation of the stove; a timer coupled to the
controller and configured to set operation timing of the stove; a
display unit coupled to the controller and configured to output
operation states of the stove; a sensing unit coupled to the
controller and configured to detect operation state; and a wireless
communication unit coupled to the controller and configured to
allow the stove to communicate wirelessly with external
devices.
[0014] In one implementation, the memory stores therein an
operating system, and application programs operatively associated
with the operation system, wherein the application programs
includes the cooking solution.
[0015] In one implementation, the user interface includes a heating
region selection menu, a heating power adjustment menu, and/or a
timing menu.
[0016] In one implementation, the display unit is operatively
associated with the user interface.
[0017] In one implementation, the communication unit communicates
with a cooking utensil and/or mobile device using at least one of
RFID, NFC, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and WiFi protocols.
[0018] In one implementation, the communication unit communicates
with a stove hood using at least one of RFID, NFC, Bluetooth,
Zigbee, and WiFi protocols.
[0019] In one implementation, the controller is configured to
download and/or update the cooking solution from a web server or a
mobile device using the communication unit.
[0020] In one implementation, the intelligent electric stove
further includes an audio interface configured to output operation
states of the electric stove to the user using a voice and/or to
input a user voice input to the controller.
[0021] In one implementation, the audio interface includes a sound
output unit, a sound input unit and a voice recognition engine.
[0022] In one implementation, the intelligent electric stove
further includes a weight sensor configured to detect a weight of a
cooking utensil placed on a heating region, wherein the weight
sensor is positioned nearby or in the heating region.
[0023] In one implementation, the intelligent electric stove
further includes a DC (direct current) wireless power transmitter
configured to wirelessly supply a power to a cooking utensil placed
on the stove, wherein the cooking utensil has a communication unit
or sensor unit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] FIG. 1 shows a view of control buttons for a conventional
electric stove.
[0025] FIG. 2 show a view of a system in which a smart electric
stove in accordance with the present disclosure is implemented.
[0026] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an intelligent electric stove
in accordance with a first embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0027] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an intelligent electric stove
in accordance with a second embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0028] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an intelligent electric stove
in accordance with a third embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0029] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an intelligent electric stove
in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present
disclosure.
[0030] FIG. 7 is a flow chart for illustrating a first example of
an operation of the intelligent electric stove in accordance with
the present disclosure.
[0031] FIG. 8 is a flow chart for illustrating a second example of
an operation of the intelligent electric stove in accordance with
the present disclosure.
[0032] FIG. 9 is a flow chart for illustrating a third example of
an operation of the intelligent electric stove in accordance with
the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS
[0033] Examples of various embodiments are illustrated and
described further below. It will be understood that the description
herein is not intended to limit the claims to the specific
embodiments described. On the contrary, it is intended to cover
alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included
within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by
the appended claims.
[0034] It will be understood that when an element or layer is
referred to as being "connected to", or "coupled to" another
element or layer, it can be directly on, connected to, or coupled
to the other element or layer, or one or more intervening elements
or layers may be present. In addition, it will also be understood
that when an element or layer is referred to as being "between" two
elements or layers, it can be the only element or layer between the
two elements or layers, or one or more intervening elements or
layers may also be present.
[0035] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing
particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of
the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms "a" and
"an" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood
that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "includes", and
"including" when used in this specification, specify the presence
of the stated features, integers, operations, elements, and/or
components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or
more other features, integers, operations, elements, components,
and/or portions thereof. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes
any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed
items. Expression such as "at least one of" when preceding a list
of elements may modify the entire list of elements and may not
modify the individual elements of the list.
[0036] FIG. 2 show a view of a system in which a smart electric
stove in accordance with the present disclosure is implemented. In
the system, the electric stove 100 may be communicatively connected
to a cooking utensil 200, a stove hood 300, and a mobile device 400
in a M2M (Machine to Machine) manner and may be communicatively
connected to a person in a M2P (Machine to People) manner. This may
be achieved using IoT (Internet of Things).
[0037] Further, to act as a communication hub between devices, the
intelligent electric stove 100 collects and stores operation data
in the stove, and finally transmits the data to the cloud server so
that the data is integrated and managed.
[0038] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an intelligent electric stove
in accordance with a first embodiment of the present disclosure.
The intelligent electric stove may include a main control unit 110,
a display unit 140, a communication unit 170, and a heating unit
120.
[0039] The main control unit 110 has a configuration in which a
hardware (H/W) having an interface for connecting various devices
and software (S/W) installed for the operations of the hardware are
integrated. Further, the software includes an operating platform OS
and a service or application platform.
[0040] The operating platform uses an open source OS such as Linux
and Android, and may be used with an application Tizen in the
future. The service platform creates a cooking solution that allows
all functions of the stove to be controlled.
[0041] The operation and function selection of a function
controller 131 and a timer 132 used for controlling the thermal
power, and selecting a heating region, etc. are integrated into a
touch screen 140. The function controller 131 may include the user
interface to allow the user to select operation of the stove.
[0042] The display unit 140 displays an operation state of the
electric stove or an array of menus that are supported by the
cooking solution and may include a liquid crystal panel. The
display unit 140 may be designed to realize User Interface (UI) and
User Experience (UX). Further, the designed menus and buttons may
be associated with the touch screen 130 attached to the liquid
crystal panel.
[0043] The communication unit 170 supports NFC, RFID, ZigBee,
Bluetooth and WiFi for wireless communication with external devices
such as the cooking utensil 200, stove hood 300 and mobile device
400. Via the communication unit 170, firmware or service platform
or a software can be added to the main control unit 110 or may be
updated. The firmware or service platform or a software may be
downloaded via Internet directly or via a mobile device through the
communication unit 170.
[0044] Reference numeral 120 denotes a heating unit which is a heat
source connected to a power source through a power control unit.
Reference numeral 130 denotes a power button. Reference numeral 160
denotes a sensor unit for sensing operational conditions and
installed inside the electric stove for safety.
[0045] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an intelligent electric stove
in accordance with a second embodiment of the present disclosure,
wherein an audio interface 180 is added to the configuration of the
first embodiment of the intelligent electric stove.
[0046] The audio interface 180 is used to inform the status of the
electric stove using a voice form and/or to control the function of
the stove directly by voice when the user can not directly touch
the function button during cooking.
[0047] To this end, the audio interface 180 includes a microphone
181 connected to the main control unit 110 for input/output, a
loudspeaker 182, and a voice recognition engine 183 installed as a
middleware of the main platform.
[0048] In one example, when the user voices words "turn off", "heat
up", "heat down", "turn on a hood", or "turn off a hood", the audio
interface 180 senses and recognize the words to form signals and
send the signals to the main control unit 110 to control the
operations of the stove correspondingly.
[0049] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an intelligent electric stove
in accordance with a third embodiment of the present disclosure. In
this embodiment, the configuration of the second embodiment further
includes a weight sensor 161 as a sensing unit 160. The weight
sensor 161 is located adjacent to a heating region of the electric
stove so as to protrude from a surface of the heating region. The
weight sensor 161 is used to measure the weight of the contents in
the container when the cooking utensil is put on the heating region
to load on the weight sensor 161.
[0050] This may be used to predict the cooking time of the food
contained in the cooking utensil, or to prevent the cooking utensil
from being heated without food being filled.
[0051] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an intelligent electric stove
in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.
In this embodiment, the configuration of the third embodiment
further includes a wireless power supply unit 190. The wireless
power supply unit or transmitter unit 190 may be configured to
supply wireless DC power to the cooking utensil in order that the
status of the cooking utensil 200 may be sent to the electric stove
wirelessly. In this connection, the cooking utensil 200 has a
sensing unit to sense the state thereof. For example, the cooking
utensil 200 has a temperature sensor.
[0052] Hereinafter, various examples of operations of the
intelligent electric stove in accordance with the above embodiments
will be described.
First Example (Automatic Control Function for Pot)
[0053] First, the example may begin by registering dedicated
cooking utensils the user wants to use on the electric stove.
Registration method is as follow: when the dedicated cooking
utensil is placed on the stove, the stove is synchronized with the
cooking utensil, such that information such as model name,
container floor area, capacity and weight of the cooking utensil is
registered into the cooking solution via RFID, NFC, Zigbee and
Bluetooth. In this connection, the cooking utensil may have a
transmitter or RFID transmitter to transmit the information thereof
to the stove.
[0054] FIG. 7 is a flow chart for illustrating a first example of
an operation of the intelligent electric stove in accordance with
the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 7, when the water filled
pot is placed on one heating region of the electric stove 100, the
electric stove is synchronized with the pot to prepare for the
operation. When the start button is pressed, the firepower will
start heating and adjust the level of the heating power based on
the sensed floor area of the pot and the sensed amount of water
(S1, S2).
[0055] At this time, the stove estimates the cooking time by
measuring the amount of water contained in the pot through the
weight sensor 161.
[0056] When the internal temperature of the pot reaches 100.degree.
C., the sensor in the pot may detects this and sends it to the
electric stove (S3).
[0057] When the electric stove receives the detection, the electric
stove adjusts the level of the fire power to zero and notifies the
completion of the cooking process through a beep or a mobile device
application and finishes the cooking process (S4, S5, S6)
[0058] When the cooking time that is expected in this process
exceeds a predetermined time, the stove adjusts the firepower to 0
level and sends warning alarm.
[0059] The above example can be applied to any cooking utensil that
is used to boil water in the registered cooking utensil rather than
limited to the pot. The above operation of the first example may be
programmed in the cooking solution stored in the memory in the main
control unit 110.
Second Example (Control Function Based on Recipe)
[0060] FIG. 8 is a flow chart for illustrating a second example of
an operation of the intelligent electric stove in accordance with
the present disclosure. FIG. 8 shows an example of registering and
executing a recipe such as ramen cooking in a cooking solution.
[0061] Referring to FIG. 8, when the water filled pot is placed on
one heating region of the electric stove 100, the electric stove is
synchronized with the pot to prepare for the operation. When the
start button is pressed, the firepower will start heating and
adjust the level of the heating power based on the sensed floor
area of the pot and the sensed amount of water (S1, S2).
[0062] At this time, the stove estimates the cooking time by
measuring the amount of water contained in the pot through the
weight sensor 161.
[0063] When the water starts to boil, the sensed information in the
vessel is sent to the electric stove and informs the user that the
water has boiled and noodle and seasoning agents should be put in
(S3, S4). At this time, sound can be informed directly.
Alternatively, the display of the electric stove may display the
image of the food to be injected into the pot. Alternatively, the
mobile device can may display the image of the food to be injected
into the pot. This procedure may be set into the cooking
solution.
[0064] Thereafter, in operation S6, it is recognized by the timer
whether the indicated proper cooking time on the ramen package, for
example, 4 minutes and 30 seconds has lapsed. If so, the electric
stove adjusts the heating power level to 0 level (S7). Then, the
stove informs the user of the cooking completion of the ramen (S8).
In this way, the cooking process may end (S9).
[0065] In this example, the recipe of simple ramen cooking is given
as an example. However, in the case of complicated cooking process,
time for food injection into the pot and/or the thermal power
control may be pre-set in the cooking solution.
Third Example (Programmed Control for Pressurized Cooking
Container)
[0066] FIG. 9 is a flow chart for illustrating a third example of
an operation of the intelligent electric stove in accordance with
the present disclosure. FIG. 9 describes the process of cooking
rice using pressurized cooking container merely by selecting the
menu preprogrammed in the cooking solution until the completion of
rice cooking.
[0067] A dedicated pressurized cooking container used here has a
solenoid valve which is operated by an electrical signal in
addition to the temperature sensor.
[0068] First, when the water and raw rice is injected into the
pressurized cooking container registered onto the present electric
stove and is placed on the heating region of the stove, the user
may press the rice cooking button in the user interface
corresponding to the menu of the cooking solution. In this
embodiment, the heating power level may be adjusted automatically
according to the timing schedule preset into the cooking
solution.
[0069] The operation A in the figure is to maintain the proper
cooking condition of 1.2 atmospheric pressure and 122.degree. C. in
the cooking process using the pressurized cooking container. The
operation A may be incorporated at least one time during the entire
cooking process.
[0070] In operation (S7), the firepower level of the stove is
adjusted to 0 and the zero level lasts for a predetermined time
while the cooking completion is not notified to the user. This is
for complete softening of the raw rice by uniform transfer of the
heat to the inner portion of the rice. Thereafter, in order to open
the lid of the container safely after the lapse of the cooking
time, the user may remove the operating pressure on the solenoid
valve to relieve pressure.
[0071] The heating powers and cooking times presented here are for
explanation purposes only. Thus, the present disclosure is not
limited thereto.
[0072] Combining these series of cooking factors, various kinds of
foods for example, rice, potato, beef, chicken, etc. can be cooked
using the combination of the present stove and the pressurized
cooking utensil.
[0073] Further, regarding the operation of the stove hood 300,
which is missing from the examples, when the cooking temperature of
the cooking utensil 200 during cooking by electric stove 200 react
a predetermined temperature, the electric stove confirms the
operation status of the stove hood by inter-communication between
the hood and the stove. When the hood is not in operation, the
stove sends an operation signal so that the stove hood 300
operates.
[0074] At a predetermined time after the cooking process of the
electric stove is completed, the operation of the stove hood 300 is
checked again. When the stove hood 300 is still operating, the stop
signal is transmitted to stop the operation.
[0075] Further, when the stove hood is continuously operated for a
certain period of time when the electric stove is not in operation,
the user is notified of the stove hood abnormality to the user.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION
[0076] In addition, although the above-described examples only
describe general containers such as pots, general cooking utensils
and pressurized cooking containers, the present disclosure is not
limited thereto. For example, the present stove may be combined
with the steamer container or boiler container, etc.
* * * * *