Method of cooking

Abstract

 A cooking apparatus (1) has a display unit (8), which display (8) shows a cooking recipe so as to improve the operational facility of the cooking apparatus and, in addition, can show an image from a TV receiver (4a), a monitoring camera (5), a video-reproducing apparatus (7) or the like, so that the display unit (8) is used for several purposes. The cooking apparatus also has a sound input device (12) and a sound synthesizing device (18) for additionally improving the operational facility.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This invention relates to a cooking appliance equipped with a picture display means such as a cathode ray tube display unit, wherein cooking methods are displayed on the picture display means to improve the operability of the cooking appliance and picture signal inputs from a plularity of picture signal source means, such as a cathode ray tube controller, a television receiver, a monitor camera and a video playback unit, are selectively switched to display them on the picture display means, thus enhancing effective use of the picture display means.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] Recently, incorporation of microcomputers into household electric and electronic equipment has progressed to a remarkable extent, giving birth to high-performance, high value-added products. For example, in the field of cooking appliances, it has become possible to execute very complicated cooking sequences by utilizing a microcomputer while attaining satisfactory results.

[0003] However, in order to improve the performance of cooking appliances, it is important not only to improve cooking performance, as described above, but also to provide for ease of use. Particularly, as performance is improved by microcomputer control, operation tends to be increasingly complicated, calling for improved operability.

[0004] Concerning operability, reference may be made, e.g., to Japanese Patent Application Disclosure No. 68541/1980, which makes proposals for searching for a menu and representing cooking data including the kinds and amounts of materials in visual form.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0005] This invention relates to a display device for cooking appliances such as a microwave oven, and provides a cooking appliance wherein cooking methods are displayed on such a picture display means as a cathode ray tube display unit to improve the operability of the appliance, while.with cooking not called for, picture signals from.a plurality of picture signal sources, such as a television receiver, a monitor camera and a video playback unit, are selectively switched to display them on the picture display means, thus adapting the appliance for multipurpose use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] 

.Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance, showing an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the principal portion of the appliance;

Fig. 3 is a system diagram of said appliance;

Fig. 4 is a side view, partly broken away of the appliance;

Fig. 5 a, b, c, d, e, f and g shows displays on a screen, illustrating the operation of a display device for the cooking appliance;

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of the appliance;

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of the appliance;

Fig. 8 is a block diagram of the appliance; and

Fig. 9 is a block diagram of the appliance.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0007] Fig. 1 is a perspective view, wherein 1 denotes a cooking appliance body and 2 denotes a forwardly pivotal door, having a viewing window through which the food in the oven can be seen. The numeral 3 denotes an operating panel constituted of a cathode ray tube (hereinafter referred to CRT), a keyboard, speaker sound openings, a simple printer, a microphone, etc. The numeral 4 denotes a television receiving antenna; 5 denotes a monitor camera; 6 denotes a floppy disk device; and 7 denotes video tape recorder (hereinafter referred to as VTR): these are connected to a connecting section (not shown) provided on the- back of the oven body.

[0008] Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the operating panel. The numeral 8 denotes a CRT for displaying characters, pictures and patterns. The numeral 9 denotes a keyboard having 12 keys 9a-9ℓ of various functions. The numeral 10 denotes speaker sound openings formed in the cooking appliance body 1. The numeral 11 denotes a simple printer capable of hard-copying sata displayed on the CRT screen, as needed. The numeral 12 denotes a voice input device such as a microphone, which-controls cooking appliance by voice inputs.

[0009] Fig. 3 is a system diagram of a cooking oven control device. The numeral 13 denotes a microprocessor having 8-bit or 16-bit processing capacity, forming the nucleus of oven control. The numeral 14 denotes a main memory unit constituted of a ROM part having an overall control program stored therein and a RAM part for the writing and reading of data. The numeral 15 denotes a bus for transferring signals, which is constituted of an address bus, a data bus and a control bus. The numeral 16 denotes a voice recognition unit which recognizes a voice input from the voice input device 12 such as a microphone and informs the microprocessor what the voice input is about. The numeral 17 denotes an interface for the simple printer 11. The numeral 18 denotes a synthesizer-which, as needed, synthesizes a sound specified by the microprocessor 13 and drives a spaker 19. The numeral 20 denotes a door control unit for automatically opening the door 2; for example, if the user says, "Open the door" these spoken words are recognized by the voice recognition unit 16 and the microprocessor 13 signals the door control unit 20 to open the door, whereupon the door control unit 20 automatically opens the door. Fig. 4 shows an example of a door opening mechanism. The numeral 30 denotes a solenoid adapted to driven by the door-controller 20. When the solenoid 30 is driven, a lever 31 is turned downwardly around the axis of a pivot 32, raising a hook 34 installed on the door, until it is disengaged from a fitting body 33 on the oven, whereupon the door 2 opens. The numeral 35 denotes a spring which produces a fitting force between the hook 34 and the fitting body 33.

[0010] The numeral 21 denotes an interface for driving a heater, e.g. a magnetron 22 for the cooking oven. The numeral 23 denotes an interface for the keyboard 9. The numeral 24 denotes a CRT controller which produces a video signal to write to a refresh memory 25 CRT picture display data transferred by the bus 15 and to display said data on the CRT screen. The numeral 26 denotes an interface for the floppy disk device 6. The numeral 27 denotes an interface for a switching device 28 adapted to selectively switch video signals from the CRT controller 2-4, monitor camera 5, VTR 7 and TV receiver 4a and transfer them to the CRT 8. The numeral 29 denotes an interface for controlling the monitor camera 5, VTR 7 and television receiver 4a.

[0011] The operation of the invention arranged in the manner described above will now be described.

[0012] At the start of cooking, the user searches for a desired menu. Pressing the "COOK" key 9a on the keyboard 9 produces a character display, as shown in Fig. 5 a, on - the CRT screen. This is a category list for selection of a category for cooking. The numeral 36 denotes a pointer display body which, when the function selection keys 9c and 9d called "SELECT" keys are pressed, is moved to a desired function (cooking category) position to selectively set such function. The key 9c is a reverse function selection key used to move the pointer display body 36 in the reverse direction, and the key 9d is a forward function selection key.

[0013] This completes the selection of cooking category, and the next step is to select a desired one from among the menus contained in the selected category. The key 9i is a picture scroll key called "STEP" key and, when pressed, produces a character display, as shown in Fig. 5 b. -This is a menu list contained in said selected category. In this case also, the use of the "SELECT" keys 9c and 9d moves the pointer display body-36 to a desired menu, whereby the latter is selected and set, and at the same time a state which makes possible the execution of the cooking sequence is established.

[0014] It is now possible to start cooking by pressing the "START" key 9j, but a video picture demonstrating the expected result of the selected menu can be obtained, as shown in Fig. 5 c, by pressing the "STEP" key 9i.

[0015] Subsequently, pressing the "STEP" key 9i produces a character display showing a. list of materials needed for making the selected menu, as shown in FIg. 5 d. At this time, if the "PRINT" key 9ℓ is pressed, the list of materials depicted on the CRT 8 will be printed out by the printer 11.

[0016] Further, when the "STEP" key 9i is pressed, information is displayed in character form teaching the cooking sequence of the selected menu, as shown in Fig. 5 e.

[0017] Further, when the "STEP" key 9i is pressed, a video pictur- showing the cooking sequence of the selected menu is sent from the VTR 7 and displayed. In this case, a concurrent explanation in sound form will facilitate the understanding.

[0018] In addition, the key 9i is a forward picture scroll key for renewing the content of display on the screen in the forward direction, and the key.9h is a reverse picture scroll key for revival in the reverse direction.

[0019] Further, if the picture search key 9b called "SEARCH" key is pressed subsequent to the selection of the desired function (cooking category) by said "COOK" key 9a and function selection keys 9c and 9d, video pictures demonstrating the expected results of a plurality of menus contained in the selected cooking category will be successively shown on the CRT 8 at fixed intervals of time. When a desired display picture comes out, the user presses the picture stop key 9e called "STOP" key to bring it to a halt. At this time, the menu displayed on the screen is selected and set, and the cooking sequence becomes executable.

[0020] After the preparatory operation for cooking described above has been completed, the "START" key 9j is pressed, whereby heating is started and a cooking sequence pattern 37 stored in advance is displayed, as shown in Fig. 5 g. In what seems like a bar graph shown therein, cooking time is represented in the horizontal direction and heating power in the vertical direction. If different colors are used to represent different amounts of heating power, the resulting display system is intuitive and easy to understand.

[0021] Furhter, the progress of the cooking sequence can be more visually definitely indicated as by using different colors for the elapsed time portion 39 of the cooking sequence pattern 37 and the other time portion to-go or by putting some mark in the portion going on.

[0022] Further, it is possible to present the user accurate t-me counts by providing a timer display section 38 indicating the cooking time in digital form. It is also possible to acoustically report the remaining time by the synthesizer 18.

[0023] In the above description concerning the picture-displays in Fig. 5 a through g, in the character display pictures the picture signal source is principally the semiconductor memory or floppy disk device 6 and in the video pictures the picture signal source in VTR 7.

[0024] The operation of the present invention described above, which is difficult to illustrate in drawing form because it is performed by the microprocessor 13 executing the control program stored in the main memory unit 14, is as shown in FIgs. 6 through 9 if represented in block diagram form.

[0025] Fig. 6 is a block diagram for an explanation of the operation of the picture scroll keys 9h and 9i. Each time the picture scroll keys 9h and 9i are pressed, one of the picture signal sources 41-1 through 41-N is successively addressed by address generating means 40. Picture display data from the selected picture source is transferred to the picture display means 8 and displayed on the screen.

[0026] In addition, the picture signal sources 41-1 through 41-N each have a set of data, and which data should be : used is determined by moving the pointer display body 36 by means of the function selection keys 9c and 9d.

[0027] Fig. 7 is a block diagram for an explanation of the operation of the function selection keys 9c and 9d. Each time the function-selection keys 9c and 9d are pressed, one of the decode output lines 44-1 through 44-N is selected by decode means 43. The selected decode output line 44-1 through 44-M displays a pointer display body 8a in the predetermined position on the picture display means 8, and the function execution means 45 executes the predetermined function.

[0028] Fig. 8 is a block diagram for an explanation of the pattern display operation for the cooking sequence.

[0029] Cooking sequence data 48 stored in the semiconductor memory or floppy disk is selectively set in cooking sequence execution means 46 via.the function execution means 45 by the picture scroll keys 9h and 9i and function selection keys 9c and 9d. The content of the cooking sequence is processed by the pattern generating means 47 on the basis of a predetermined picture data format to provide picture display data and written to memory 25 is displayed on the screen of the picture display means 8 by the CRT controller 24.

[0030] Fig. 9 is a function block diagram for an explanation of the operation of the picture search key 9b and picture stop key 9a. Pressing the picture search key 9b causes timing means 49 to start, producing, after predetermined intervals of time, a START signal to operate motor drive means 50 and an address renewal signal to cause address counter means 51 count up.

[0031] The motor drive means 50 rotates a motor 52 to drive a video tape 53. Denoted by 53-1 is a video signal memory portion and 53-2 is a picture address memory portion. The numeral 54 denotes a video signal read-out head; a read-out video signal is pictured on the picture display means 8 through an amplifier 55. The numeral 56 denotes a picture address read-out head; a read-out picture address is transferred to address-comparison means 58 through an amplifier 57. The address comparison means 58 judges whether or not the read-out picture address agrees with the address value outputted from the address counter 51, and if it agrres, outputs a STOP signal to the motor drive means to stop the rotation of the motor 52 so as to temporarily fix the picture display.

[0032] After a given period of time, the timing means 49 outputs a START signal and an address renewal signal, whereupon the motor 52 is rotated again, and through the same operation aas described above a video signal having the next picture address is pictured on the picture display means 8.

[0033] With such operation repeated, the video picture"is successively renewed.

[0034] Further, if the picture stop key 9e is pressed, the operation of the timing means 49 is stopped, so that no START signal or address renewal signal is outputted, with the picture coming to be held still. The function (menu) corresponding to the display picture at this time can be identified by the address data outputted from the address counter means 51, and the setting of the cooking sequence is effected through the function execution means 45. The "TV" key 9i'is a key for actuating the television receiver 4a to present a TV.picture on the CRT 8. The "MONITOR" key 9g is a key for actuating the monitor camera 5 to picture on the CRT 8 a picture input from the monitor camera. By these means, it is possible to know whether or not there is a caller at the door or what is going on in the children's room.- The "DOOR" key 9k is a key for opening the door 2, whose function is'equivalent to the operation for orally opening the door.

[0035] As for the voice input function, besides the above function of opening the door 2, it is possible to realize, e.g., the function of switching the CRT picture to one showing the expected result of the menu in Fig. 5 c in response to a voice input "ROAST BEEF."

[0036] As described above, the present invention is arranged so that (1) cooking data including a menu., materials and cooking sequence, (2) picture data recorded in the VTR 7 including a picture showing the expected result of the menu and a picture showing the cooking steps, (3) pictures from the TV receiver, and (4) pictures from the monitor camera can be suitably-selectively displayed, thus providing a multipurpose multifunction cooking oven control device.

[0037] Further, it is possible to obtain a hard copy of the list of materials depicted on the CRT screen from the printer 11 by pressing the "PRINT" key 9ℓ or to report the necessary information in sound form to the user by means of the synthesizer 18.

[0038] The door 2 can be opened by a voice input from the voice input device (microphone) 12 or the switching of the CRT picture can be easily realized, so that an improved-operability cooking oven control device can be provided.

[0039] Further, one of the plurality of function displayed on the picture display means 8 such as CRT 8 can be selected by the function keys 9c and 9d called "FUNCTION" keys, and the various items of cooking information on the selected function can be successively displayed on the picture display means 8 for the user by the picture scroll keys 9h and 9i called "STEP" keys.

[0040] Further, the cooking sequence is changed into a pattern form for intuitive representation of the progress of cooking, and the cooking time is represented in digital form, so that the accurate cooking time and progress can be reported to the user.

[0041] Further, a search for a function (menu) can be made by using the picture search key 9b called "SEARCH" key while viewing the video picture screen, and when a desired function (menu) comes out, it can'be selected and set by-pressing the picture stop key 9e, so that the cooking sequence can be automatically set.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0042] As has been described so far, the present invention consists in providing a cooking appliance such as a microwave oven with a display device, and picturing cooking means on said display device, thereby allowing the operator to do the cooking smoothly while watching the pictures. Further, it is also possible to control the cooking appliance by the voice input means, and besides being used for picturing the cooking means, the display device can be used to project pictures from the monitor camera and video playback device; thus, it is utilizable for many purposes.

Claims

1. A display device 'for cooking appliances, comprising picture display means, a plurality of picture signal source means, and chngeover switch means for selectively switching picture signals outputted from said plurality of picture signal source means to input them into said picture display means.

2. A display device for cooking appliances as set forth in Claim 1, wherein a cathode ray tube is used as said picture display means, and a television receiver, a video tape recorder and a monitor camera are used as said plurality of picture signal'source means.

3. A display device for cooking appliances as set forth in Claim 1, including keyboard means for operating the changeover switch means.

4. A display device for cooking appliances as set forth in Claim 1, wherein the keyboard means has operating keys corresponding to the various picture signal source means.

5. A display device for cooking appliances as set forth in Claim 1, including voice recognition means for actuating the changeover switch means by sounds, and voice input means for inputting voice signals into said voice recognition means.

6. A display device for cooking appliances as set forth in Claim 1, including a forwardly openable door, door control means, voice input means, and voice recognition means, the arrangement being such that a predetermined input from said voice recognition means drives the door control means toopen the door.

7. A display device for cooking appliances as set forth in Claim 1, having the picture display means and keyboard means for selecting and setting one of a plurality of functions displayed, e.g. in characters on the picture display means, wherein a pointer display body for selecting and indicating one of the plurality of functions displayed on the picture display means is simultaneously displayed, function selection keys are provided as said keyboard means and each time a key is pressed, the pointer display body is moved in the forward or reverse direction so as to select a function displayed on the screen.

8. A display device for cooking appliances asset forth in Claim 1, including picture display means, cooking sequence execution means, and pattern generating means for picture-wise displaying the content of the cooking execution means in pattern form.

9. A display device for cooking appliances as set forth in Claim 8, wherein in the cooking sequence pattern picture-wise displayed on the picture display means, the portion already executed and the portion to be executed are distinctively distinguishably represented as by colors or shapes.

10. A display device for cooking appliances as set forth 'in Claim 8, wherein in addition to the picture-wise represented cooking sequence pattern, the.cooking time is digitally displayed on the picture display means and is incrementally or decrementally changed in each unit time.

11. A display device for cooking appliances as set forth in Claim 3, having the keyboard means for selectively switching picture signals outputted from the plurality of picture signal source means to display them on said picture display means, wherein said keyboard means has at least what is called a picture scroll key arranged so that each time it is pressed, one of the plurality of picture signal means is selected in the reverse or forward direction and the picture signal from said selected-picture signal means is displayed on the picture display means.

12. A display device for cooking appliances as set forth in Claim 3, having a picture search key for successively taking out a plurality of realted picture display data from the picture signal means to successively display them on the picture display means.

13. A display device for cooking appliances-as set forth in Claim 3, including a picture stop key whereby when a desired display is made, it is fixed at that scene on the picture display means.

14. A display device for cooking appliances as set forth in Claim 11, including, as picture scroll keys, what is called a forward picture scroll key for selecting picture signal source means one-by one in the forward direction each time it is pressed, and what is called-a reverse picture scroll key for selecting them one by one in the reverse direction each time it is pressed.

15. A display device for cooking appliances as set forth in Claim 7, including, as function selection keys, what is called a forward function selection key for moving the pointer display body in the forward direction each time it is pressed to select one of the plurality of functions displayed on the picture display means, and what is called a reverse function key for moving the pointer display body in the reverse direction each time it is pressed.

Drawing