阅读说明：本技术 用于确定烹饪时间的方法和系统 (Method and system for determining cooking time ) 是由 陈韵 包炜顺 肖卫民 于 2020-03-05 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种用于确定用于操作烹饪设备的定比烹饪时间的计算机实施的方法。方法包括：获取(302)包括与以下项相关联的信息的食谱：一个或多个食物配料、食谱份量和食谱烹饪时间；获取(304)目标份量；基于目标份量和食谱份量,确定(306)食谱比例因子；从获取的食谱中的一个或多个食物配料中确定(308)主要食物配料；确定(310)烹饪设备的容器中的主要食物配料的叠覆量是否超过预定阈值。如果确定主要食物配料的叠覆量超过预定阈值,则方法包括：基于确定的食谱比例因子和食谱烹饪时间,确定(312)对应于目标份量的定比烹饪时间。(A computer-implemented method for determining a scaled cooking time for operating a cooking device. The method comprises the following steps: obtaining (302) a recipe comprising information associated with: one or more food ingredients, recipe portions, and recipe cooking times; obtaining (304) a target portion; determining (306) a recipe scale factor based on the target serving size and the recipe serving size; determining (308) a main food ingredient from one or more food ingredients in the obtained recipe; it is determined (310) whether an overlap of a main food ingredient in a container of the cooking apparatus exceeds a predetermined threshold. If it is determined that the overlap of the main food ingredient exceeds a predetermined threshold, the method comprises: based on the determined recipe scaling factor and the recipe cooking time, a scaled cooking time corresponding to the target serving size is determined (312).)

1. A computer-implemented method at a control unit for determining a scaled cooking time for operating a cooking device (120), wherein the cooking device comprises a container configured to receive one or more food ingredients, the method comprising:

obtaining (302) a recipe comprising information associated with: one or more food ingredients, recipe portions, and recipe cooking times;

obtaining (304) a target serving, wherein the target serving is different from the recipe serving;

determining (306) a recipe scale factor based on the target serving size and the recipe serving size;

determining (308) a main food ingredient from the one or more food ingredients in the obtained recipe;

determining (310) whether an overlap of the primary food ingredient in the container of the cooking apparatus exceeds a predetermined threshold,

wherein if it is determined that the overlap of the primary food ingredient in the container exceeds the predetermined threshold, the method comprises: determining (312) the scaled cooking time corresponding to the target serving based on the determined recipe scaling factor and the recipe cooking time.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the primary food ingredient is potato, wherein if the primary food is determined to be potato, determining (312) the scaled cooking time comprises:

obtaining an amount of the potatoes received in the container of the cooking apparatus;

obtaining a ratio value by multiplying the amount of the potatoes received in the container by a predetermined ingredient scaling factor; and

determining whether the target serving size is greater than or less than the recipe serving size,

wherein the scaled cooking time is a sum of the recipe cooking time and the scale value if the target serving size is determined to be greater than the recipe serving size, and the scaled cooking time is a difference between the recipe cooking time and the scale value if the target serving size is determined to be less than the recipe serving size.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein if it is determined that the primary food ingredient is not potato, determining (312) the scaled cooking time comprises: obtaining a scale value by multiplying the recipe cooking time by an index of the recipe scale factor, wherein the index has a predetermined value.

4. The computer-implemented method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the acquired recipe further comprises information associated with a recipe amount for each of the one or more food ingredients, and the method further comprises: determining a scaled amount for each of the one or more food ingredients in the obtained recipe based on the determined recipe scaling factor.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein determining a scaled quantity for each of the one or more food ingredients in the acquired recipe comprises: performing, for each of the one or more food ingredients, the steps of:

determining an initial ration by multiplying the respective recipe amount by the determined recipe scaling factor;

determining whether the recipe amount is represented by one of: a weight value, a non-weight value, or a unit of measure value;

based on whether the respective said recipe amount is represented by one of: a weight value, a non-weight value or a measured unit value, determining a resulting proportional amount of the respective food ingredient.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein:

if the said dietary amounts are expressed in terms of weight values, the said resulting ration has the same value as the initial ration,

if the recipe amount is represented by a non-weight value, determining the result scaling amount by rounding up the initial scaling amount to the nearest integer, wherein the minimum value of the result scaling amount is 1, and

if the recipe amount is represented in units of measure, the resulting scaled amount is determined by rounding down the initial scaled amount to the nearest quarter of the units of measure.

7. The computer-implemented method of any of claims 4-6, wherein determining the primary food ingredient comprises: selecting a food ingredient associated with a maximum recipe amount of the acquired recipes as the primary food ingredient.

8. The computer-implemented method of any of the preceding claims, wherein if it is determined that the amount of overlap of the primary food ingredient received in the container does not exceed the predetermined threshold, the method further comprises determining the recipe cooking time as the scaled cooking time.

9. The computer-implemented method of any of the preceding claims, wherein acquiring (302) the recipe comprises: receiving a user selection of the recipe from a plurality of recipes associated with the cooking device.

10. The computer-implemented method of any of the preceding claims, further comprising: receiving a user input indicating whether an overlap of the primary food ingredient received in the container exceeds the predetermined threshold, wherein determining (310) whether the overlap of the primary food ingredient exceeds the predetermined threshold is based on the received user input.

11. The computer-implemented method of any of the preceding claims, wherein obtaining (304) a target serving size comprises: receiving user input indicative of the target portion.

12. The computer-implemented method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the predetermined threshold is associated with the determined primary food ingredient.

13. A system (100) for determining a scaled cooking time for operating a cooking device (120), wherein the cooking device comprises a container configured to receive one or more food ingredients, the system comprising a processor (110) configured to:

obtaining a recipe comprising information associated with: one or more food ingredients, recipe portions, and recipe cooking times;

obtaining a target serving, wherein the target serving is different from the recipe serving;

determining a recipe scale factor based on the target serving size and the recipe serving size;

determining a primary food ingredient from the one or more food ingredients in the obtained recipe; and

determining whether an overlap of the primary food ingredient in the container of the cooking apparatus exceeds a predetermined threshold,

wherein if it is determined that the overlap of the primary food ingredient in the container exceeds the predetermined threshold, the processor is further configured to determine the scaled cooking time corresponding to the target serving based on the determined recipe scaling factor and the recipe cooking time.

14. The system (100) of claim 13, further comprising the cooking appliance (120), and wherein the processor (110) is wirelessly connectable to the cooking appliance.

15. The system (100) according to claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the cooking apparatus (120) comprises:

the container (122) configured to receive the one or more food ingredients;

a sensor unit (124) arranged adjacent to the receptacle, wherein the sensor unit is configured to detect a status of the one or more food ingredients received in the receptacle,

wherein the processor is configured to determine whether an overlap of the primary food ingredient received in the container exceeds the predetermined threshold based on the detected state of the one or more food ingredients received in the container.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a method for determining a proportional cooking time for operating a cooking apparatus and a system for determining a proportional cooking time for operating a cooking apparatus.

Background

Many cooking devices aimed at saving time and labor have been designed to assist in home cooking. For example, some devices, such as food processors, are used to prepare food prior to cooking, and others, such as microwave ovens, slow stews, air fryers, and the like, are used exclusively to assist in cooking the prepared food. Many devices that assist in cooking prepared food ingredients can be programmed to perform specific functions. Typically, consumers have multiple models available for selection for the same type of cooking device, varying in size, capacity, temperature range, power, etc. For example, different models of air fryer may have different sizes, capacities, temperature ranges, powers and container capacities to meet the cooking needs of different households. For this reason, sometimes the manufacturer of the cooking device may provide a preset recipe adapted for each different model, and in these recipes, the cooking temperature, the cooking time, the amount of food ingredients and other specifications are explicitly outlined. When the user follows the instructions in the recipe provided for a specific model of cooking device, a high quality of the final product can be guaranteed.

Disclosure of Invention

As above, manufacturers of cooking appliances sometimes provide recipes for a particular model of cooking appliance to assist users in home cooking. However, these recipes are usually provided for predetermined servings. For example, a serving size of a recipe designed for an air fryer may have a 4 person serving size. This can be problematic when the user wishes to prepare different servings of food according to a recipe. In addition to scaling up or down the amount of food ingredients required in the recipe, the user must also consider adjusting the cooking time of the recipe. Users with limited cooking skills or unfamiliar with cooking equipment (or a particular model of cooking equipment) may find it difficult to make the necessary adjustments to the cooking time of the recipe to ensure a high quality end product. It is therefore important to provide a method that can automatically determine the proportional cooking time of a recipe corresponding to a target serving to ensure that the resulting dish is of high quality.

To better address one or more of the problems noted above, in a first aspect, a computer-implemented method at a control unit for determining a scaled cooking time for operating a cooking device is provided. The method comprises the following steps: obtaining a recipe comprising information relating to: one or more food ingredients, recipe portions, and recipe cooking times; obtaining a target amount, wherein the target amount is different from the recipe amount; determining a recipe scale factor based on the target serving size and the recipe serving size; determining a main food ingredient from one or more food ingredients in the obtained recipe; determining whether an overlap of a primary food ingredient in a container of the cooking apparatus exceeds a predetermined threshold, wherein if it is determined that the overlap of the primary food ingredient in the container exceeds the predetermined threshold, the method comprises: based on the determined recipe scaling factor and the recipe cooking time, a scaled cooking time corresponding to the target serving size is determined.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise: it is determined whether the primary food ingredient is potato. In these embodiments, if the primary food is determined to be potatoes, the step of determining the scaled cooking time may include: obtaining an amount of potatoes received in a container of a cooking apparatus; obtaining a ratio value by multiplying the amount of potatoes received in the container by a predetermined ingredient scaling factor; it is determined whether the target serving size is greater than or less than the recipe serving size. Further, in these embodiments, the scaled cooking time may be a sum of the recipe cooking time and the scale value if the target serving size is determined to be greater than the recipe serving size, and the scaled cooking time may be a difference between the recipe cooking time and the scale value if the target serving size is determined to be less than the recipe serving size.

In some embodiments, if it is determined that the primary food ingredient is not potatoes, the step of determining the scaled cooking time may include obtaining the scale value by multiplying the recipe cooking time by an index of a recipe scaling factor. In these embodiments, the index may have a predetermined value.

In some embodiments, the obtained recipe may also include information associated with the recipe amount for each of the one or more food ingredients. In these embodiments, the method may further comprise: based on the determined recipe scaling factor, a scaled amount of the obtained recipe for each of the one or more food ingredients is determined.

In some embodiments, the step of determining a scaled amount for each of the one or more food ingredients in the obtained recipe may comprise performing the following steps for each of the one or more food ingredients: determining an initial ration by multiplying the corresponding recipe amount by the determined recipe scaling factor; determining whether the recipe amount is represented by one of: a weight value, a non-weight value, or a unit of measure value; based on whether the respective recipe amount is represented in one of the following: the weight value, the non-weight value or the unit of measurement value determines the resulting proportional amount of the respective food ingredient. In these embodiments, if the dietary amounts are represented by weight values, the resulting ratioed amount may have the same value as the initial ratioed amount; if the recipe amount is represented by a non-weight value, the resulting scaling amount may be determined by rounding up the initial scaling amount to the nearest integer, wherein the minimum value of the resulting scaling amount is 1; if the recipe quantity is expressed in units of measure, the resulting scaled quantity may be determined by rounding the initial scaled quantity down to the nearest quarter of the units of measure.

In some embodiments, the step of determining the primary food ingredient may comprise: selecting as the main food ingredient the food ingredient associated with the largest recipe amount in the obtained recipe.

In some embodiments, if it is determined that the overlap of the primary food ingredients received in the container does not exceed the predetermined threshold, the method may further comprise determining the recipe cooking time as the scaled cooking time.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise: user input is received indicating whether the sizes of the primary food ingredients (e.g., potatoes) received in the container are similar to each other. In these embodiments, the processor may be configured to determine that the amount of overlap of the primary food ingredient does not exceed the predetermined threshold only when the user indicates that the primary food ingredient and the size of the primary food ingredient received in the receptacle are similar to each other.

In some embodiments, the step of obtaining a recipe may comprise: a user selection of a recipe is received from a plurality of recipes associated with a cooking device.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise: a user input is received indicating whether an overlap of the primary food ingredient received in the container exceeds a predetermined threshold. In these embodiments, the step of determining whether the overlap of the primary food ingredient exceeds a predetermined threshold may be based on received user input.

In some embodiments, the step of obtaining a target portion may comprise receiving user input indicative of the target portion.

In some embodiments, the predetermined threshold may be associated with the determined primary food ingredient.

In a second aspect, a system for determining a scaled cooking time for operating a cooking device is provided, wherein the cooking device comprises a container configured to receive one or more food ingredients. The system includes a processor configured to: obtaining a recipe comprising information associated with: one or more food ingredients, recipe portions, and recipe cooking times; obtaining a target amount, wherein the target amount is different from the recipe amount; determining a recipe scale factor based on the target serving size and the recipe serving size; determining a main food ingredient from one or more food ingredients in the obtained recipe; determining whether an overlap of the primary food ingredient in the container of the cooking device exceeds a predetermined threshold, wherein if it is determined that the overlap of the primary food ingredient in the container exceeds the predetermined threshold, the processor is further configured to determine a scaled cooking time corresponding to the target serving based on the determined recipe scaling factor and the recipe cooking time.

In some embodiments, the system may further comprise a cooking device. In these embodiments, the processor may be capable of wirelessly connecting to the cooking appliance.

In some embodiments, a cooking apparatus may include: a container configured to receive one or more food ingredients; a sensor unit disposed adjacent to the receptacle, wherein the sensor unit is configured to detect a status of one or more food ingredients received in the receptacle. In these embodiments, the processor may be configured to determine whether an overlap of the primary food ingredient received in the receptacle exceeds a predetermined threshold based on the detected status of the one or more food ingredients received in the receptacle.

According to the above aspects and embodiments, the limitations of the prior art are addressed. In particular, the above-described aspects and embodiments enable the cooking time of the recipe to be automatically proportioned according to the required serving size, so that a high quality of the resulting dish may be ensured. Accordingly, an improved method and apparatus for determining a proportional cooking time for operating a cooking apparatus is provided to guide a user to prepare a dish correctly and easily.

These and other aspects of the disclosure will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

Drawings

For a better understanding of the embodiments and to show more clearly how they may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings in which:

fig. 1 is a block diagram of a system for determining a scaled cooking time for operating a cooking device according to an embodiment;

fig. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a cooking apparatus according to an embodiment;

fig. 3 illustrates a method for determining a proportional cooking time for operating a cooking apparatus according to an embodiment.

Detailed Description

As described above, a method for determining a proportional cooking time for operating a cooking apparatus and a system for determining a proportional cooking time for operating a cooking apparatus are provided to solve the existing problems.

Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of a system 100 for determining a scaled cooking time for operating a cooking apparatus according to an embodiment. The system includes a processor 110 and a cooking device 120. Cooking device 120 includes a receptacle 122 configured to receive one or more food ingredients and a sensor unit 124 configured to detect a status of the one or more food ingredients received in receptacle 122.

The processor 110 may control the operation of the system 100 and may implement the methods described herein. Processor 110 may include one or more processors, processing units, multi-core processors, or modules configured or programmed to control system 100 in the manner described herein. In particular embodiments, processor 110 may include a plurality of software and/or hardware modules configured to perform, or be used to perform, single or multiple steps of the methods described herein.

Briefly, the processor 110 is configured to obtain a recipe comprising information associated with one or more food ingredients, a recipe portion, and a recipe cooking time, and obtain a target portion, the target portion different from the recipe portion. For example, the recipe serving size may be for 4 people and the target serving size may be for 2 people. In some embodiments, the recipe can include instructions for preparing one or more food ingredients, e.g., "oven bake 400g potatoes for 15 minutes. The processor 110 is then configured to determine a recipe scaling factor based on the target serving and the recipe serving. The determination may be based on a predetermined formula.

Based on the one or more foods in the acquired recipe, the processor 110 is further configured to determine a primary food and subsequently determine whether an overlap of the primary food received in the receptacle 125 of the cooking apparatus 120 exceeds a predetermined threshold. If it is determined that the overlap of the primary food ingredient exceeds the predetermined threshold, the processor 110 is further configured to determine a scaled cooking time corresponding to the target serving based on the determined recipe scaling factor and the recipe cooking time.

As described above, in this embodiment, the cooking apparatus 120 further comprises a sensor unit 124 configured to detect the status of one or more food ingredients received in the receptacle 122. The sensor unit 124 may be arranged adjacent to the container, and it may be implemented as a camera. In some embodiments, the processor 110 may be configured to determine whether an overlap of the primary food ingredient received in the receptacle 122 exceeds a predetermined threshold based on a detection status of one or more food ingredients received in the receptacle.

In some embodiments, the processor 110 may be implemented as part of the cooking apparatus 120. For example, the processor 110 may be implemented as a control unit of the cooking apparatus 120. In alternative embodiments, the processor 110 may be wirelessly contactable with the cooking appliance 120. For example, in some embodiments, the processor 110 may be implemented as part of an external device (e.g., a smartphone or tablet) that can be wirelessly connected to the cooking apparatus 120. The functions and processes described herein may be executed on the external device, for example, via an application on a smartphone or tablet.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may also include at least one user interface 130, which may be implemented as part of the cooking appliance 120 or as a separate device external to the cooking appliance 120 (i.e., separate or remote from the cooking appliance 120). For example, the at least one user interface 130 may be part of a smartphone or tablet computer. The user interface 130 may be used to provide information generated by the methods described herein to a user of the system 100. For example, the processor 110 may be configured to control the one or more user interfaces 130 to present (or output or display) the determined scaled cooking time corresponding to the target serving size. Alternatively or additionally, the user interface 130 may be configured to receive user input. For example, the user interface 130 may allow a user of the system 100 to manually enter instructions, data, or information. In these embodiments, the processor 110 may be configured to obtain user input from one or more user interfaces 130.

The user interface 130 may be any user interface capable of presenting (or outputting or displaying) information to a user of the system 100. Alternatively or additionally, user interface 130 may be any user interface that enables a user of system 100 to provide user input, interact with system 100, and/or control system 100. For example, the user interface 130 may include one or more switches, one or more buttons, a keypad, a keyboard, a touch screen or application (e.g., on a tablet or smartphone), a display screen, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) or other visual presentation component, one or more speakers, one or more microphones or any other audio component, one or more lights, a component for providing haptic feedback (e.g., vibration functionality), or any other user interface, or combination of user interfaces.

In some embodiments, system 100 may include memory 140. Alternatively or additionally, one or more memories 140 may be external to system 100 (i.e., separate or remote from system 100). For example, the one or more memories 140 may be part of another device (e.g., a smartphone or tablet). The memory 140 may be configured to store program code that may be executed by the processor 110 to perform the methods described herein. The memory may be used to store information, data, signals, and measurements acquired or generated by the processor 110 of the system 100. For example, the memory 140 may be used to store a plurality of recipes (e.g., in a local file) for retrieval or selection by the processor 110. The processor 110 may be configured to control the memory 140 to store a plurality of recipes.

In some embodiments, system 100 may include a communication interface (or circuitry) 150 for enabling system 100 to communicate with any interface, memory, and/or device internal or external to system 100. The communication interface 150 may communicate with any interface, memory, and/or device wirelessly or via a wired connection. For example, the communication interface 150 may communicate with one or more user interfaces 150 wirelessly or via a wired connection. Similarly, the communication interface 150 may communicate with the one or more memories 140 wirelessly or via a wired connection.

It should be understood that fig. 1 shows only the components necessary to illustrate one aspect of the system 100 and cooking apparatus 120, and in a practical implementation, the system 100 and/or cooking apparatus 120 may include alternative or additional components equivalent to those shown. For example, in some embodiments, the cooking apparatus 120 may not include a sensor unit. Further, for example, system 100 may not include a user interface, memory, or a communication interface. As another example, the cooking apparatus 120 may also include a battery or other power source for powering the cooking apparatus 120 or means for connecting the cooking apparatus 120 to a mains power source.

Fig. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a cooking apparatus 220 according to an embodiment. The cooking appliance 220 is a component of a system for determining a scaled cooking time for operating a cooking appliance, such as the system 100 described with reference to fig. 1, according to an embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the cooking device 220 comprises a receptacle 222 configured to receive one or more food ingredients 230 and a sensor unit 224 configured to detect a status of the one or more food ingredients 230 received in the receptacle 222. As shown in the figure, the sensor unit 224 is disposed adjacent to the container 222. Specifically, the sensor unit 224 in this embodiment is a camera attached to the sidewall 222a of the container 222 such that the camera is directed toward the interior of the container 222. The side wall 222a to which the sensor unit 224 is attached is transparent to allow the sensor unit 224 to detect the state of the food ingredient 230 received in the receptacle 222. Furthermore, the cooking apparatus 220 further comprises a cover 226 for the sensor unit 224 to protect the sensor unit 224 from external influences and/or damage.

The cooking appliance 220 may be wirelessly connected to a processor, such as the processor 110 described with reference to fig. 1. In this embodiment, the status of the one or more food ingredients 230 received in the receptacle 222 detected by the sensor unit 224 may also be wirelessly transmitted to a processor (e.g., a control unit of an external device) such that the processor may determine whether the overlap of the primary food ingredient received in the receptacle 122 exceeds a predetermined threshold based on the detected status of the one or more food ingredients received in the receptacle. Thus, by implementing the sensor unit 224 in the cooking apparatus 220, a reliable determination of whether the overlap of the primary food ingredients received in the receptacle 222 exceeds a predetermined threshold may be achieved without manual operation by a user.

Fig. 3 illustrates a computer-implemented method for determining a scaled cooking time for operating a cooking device. The illustrated method may be generally performed by or under control of a processor 110 of a system 100 as shown in fig. 1. In other words, the method of fig. 3 may generally be performed for determining a scaled cooking time for operating the cooking appliance 120 of fig. 1. The method of fig. 1 may also be performed for determining a scaled cooking time for operating the cooking apparatus 220 of fig. 2.

Referring to fig. 3, at block 302, a recipe is obtained that includes information associated with: one or more food ingredients, recipe portion amounts, and recipe cooking times. More specifically, the recipes may be acquired by the processor 110 of the system 100. In some embodiments, acquiring the recipe may include receiving a user selection of the recipe from a plurality of recipes associated with the cooking device 120 at block 302. A plurality of recipes associated with the cooking appliance may be stored at the memory 140 of the system 100. For example, in some embodiments, the user interface may be provided by an application of a smartphone. Accordingly, the processor 110 may be implemented as part of a smartphone for controlling a display of the smartphone to present applications to provide a plurality of recipes associated with the cooking device 120. In this way, the user can indicate selection and view information of the recipe (e.g., one or more foods, recipe portions, and recipe cooking times) via the touchscreen of the smartphone.

Further, in some embodiments, obtaining the recipe in block 302 may include receiving a user selection of the recipe from a plurality of recipes associated with the cooking device. For example, a plurality of recipes available for selection by a user may be associated with at least one of: a particular type of cooking device (e.g., air fryer, cooking oven, steamer, etc.), a particular model of cooking device, and a maximum capacity of cooking device.

Returning to fig. 3, at block 304, a target serving different from the recipe serving is obtained. More specifically, the target portion may be obtained by the processor 110 of the system 100. The target portion may be received via user input at the user interface 130 of the system 100. For example, the user may have selected a particular recipe with a serving of "4 people" at block 302, and then the user may enter a target serving of "2 people" via a virtual keyboard of a smartphone or tablet.

Returning to fig. 3, at block 306, a recipe scale factor is determined based on the target serving obtained at block 304 and the recipe serving of the recipe obtained at block 302. More specifically, the recipe scaling factor may be determined by the processor 110 of the system 100. In some embodiments, the determination of the recipe scaling factor may be based on the following equation:

returning to fig. 3, at block 308, a primary food ingredient is determined from the one or more food ingredients in the recipe obtained at block 302. More specifically, the primary food ingredient may be determined by the processor 110 of the system 100. In some embodiments, the recipe obtained at block 302 may also include information associated with a recipe amount for each of the one or more food ingredients. In these embodiments, determining the primary food ingredient at block 308 may include selecting the food ingredient associated with the largest recipe amount in the acquired recipe as the primary food ingredient.

Returning to fig. 3, at block 310, it is determined whether the overlap of the primary food ingredients received in the receptacle 122 of the cooking apparatus 120 exceeds a predetermined threshold. More specifically, the determination may be performed by the processor 110 of the system 100. In some embodiments, the predetermined threshold may be associated with the primary food ingredient determined at block 308.

In some embodiments, the method may further include receiving a user input indicating whether an overlap of the primary food ingredient received in the container exceeds a predetermined threshold. In these embodiments, determining whether the overlap of the primary food ingredient exceeds the predetermined threshold at block 310 may be based on the received user input. For example, a user interface in the form of a touch screen may be provided at the cooking apparatus 120, where a text "is the main food ingredient overlaid in the food basket? "with a" yes "or" no "selectable option. If the user selects "yes," the processor 110 may be configured to determine that the overlap of the primary food ingredient exceeds a predetermined threshold. On the other hand, if the user selects "no," the processor 110 may be configured to determine that the amount of overlap of the primary food ingredient does not exceed the predetermined threshold. In this case, the predetermined threshold may correspond to a user's perception of the degree of overlap of the primary food ingredients in the container ("food basket") of the cooking apparatus 120.

If it is determined at block 310 that the overlap of the primary food ingredient exceeds the predetermined threshold, the method may proceed to block 312, at block 312, determining a scaled cooking time corresponding to the target serving based on the recipe scaling factor determined at block 306 and the recipe cooking time in the recipe acquired at block 302. Conversely, although not shown in fig. 3, in some embodiments, if it is determined at block 310 that the overlap of the primary food ingredient received in the receptacle 122 does not exceed the predetermined threshold, the method may further include determining the recipe cooking time as the scaled cooking time.

Although not shown in fig. 3, in some embodiments, the method can further include determining whether the primary food ingredient is a potato. In this context, potato means a food ingredient including ordinary potatoes, sweet potatoes, purple potatoes and cassava. The method steps may be performed between block 308 of determining the primary food ingredient and block 310 of determining whether an overlap of the primary food ingredient received in the receptacle 122 exceeds a predetermined threshold. Further, the method steps may be performed by the processor 110 of the system 100. Typical examples of major food ingredients include: chicken legs, chicken wings, beef, pork chop, potato, sweet potato, fish fillet, muffin and cake. The processor 110 may be configured to determine that the primary food ingredient is a potato if the primary food ingredient is a (regular) potato, a sweet potato, or a yam.

In these embodiments, if it is determined that the primary food ingredient is potatoes, the determination of the scaled cooking time at block 312 may include: the method includes obtaining an amount of potatoes received in the container 122 of the cooking appliance 120, obtaining a ratio value by multiplying the amount of potatoes received in the container 122 of the cooking appliance 120 by a predetermined ingredient scaling factor, and determining whether the target serving size obtained at block 304 is greater than or less than the recipe serving size of the recipe obtained at block 302. If the target serving size is determined to be greater than the recipe serving size, the scaled cooking time is determined as the sum of the recipe cooking time and the scaled value. Conversely, if the target serving size is determined to be less than the recipe serving size, the scaled cooking time is determined as the difference between the recipe cooking time and the scaled value. Accordingly, in the case where the primary food ingredient is potato, the determination of the scaled cooking time can be represented by the following equation:

proportional cooking time ═ recipe cooking time ± proportional value (2)

As described above, a ratio value may be obtained by multiplying the amount of potatoes (in grams) received in the container 122 by a predetermined ingredient scaling factor. In some embodiments, the predetermined ingredient scaling factor may be 0.0170314. 0.0170314 are obtained based on actual in-house experimental tests that take into account the amount of food, cooking temperature, potato size, etc. However, it will be appreciated that other predetermined ingredient scaling factors may also be used. Taking the value of 0.0170314, the proportional value can be obtained using the following equation:

0.0170314 x the amount of potatoes received in the container (3)

Further, in these embodiments, by combining equation (2) and equation (3), we can obtain equation (4) as summarized below:

proportional cooking time ═ recipe cooking time ± 0.0170314 × amount of potatoes (4)

If it is determined that the primary food ingredient is not potatoes, the determination of the scaled cooking time may include obtaining a (different) scale value by multiplying the recipe cooking time by an index of the recipe scaling factor at block 312.

Thus, in some embodiments, where the primary food ingredient is not potato, the determination of the scaled cooking time can be represented by the following equation:

cooking time in proportion (recipe cooking time x recipe proportionality factor)^k (5)

The index k in this scenario has a predetermined value. In some embodiments, the index may be 1/3. Thus, in these embodiments, the determination of the scaled cooking time may be represented by the following equation:

cooking time in proportion (recipe cooking time x recipe proportionality factor)^1/3 (6)

As described above, in some embodiments, the recipe obtained at block 302 may also include information associated with the recipe amount for each of the one or more food ingredients. In these embodiments, the method may further include determining a scaled amount of each of the one or more food ingredients in the acquired recipe based on the recipe scaling factor determined at block 306.

Determining a scaled amount of each of the one or more food ingredients in the obtained recipe based on the recipe scaling factor may comprise performing the following steps for each respective one of the one or more food ingredients: determining an initial proportional amount by multiplying the respective amount by the determined recipe scaling factor; determining whether the recipe amount is represented by one of: a weight value, a non-weight value, or a unit of measure value; and a recipe amount corresponding to the scaled amount based on whether to scale the corresponding food ingredient determination is represented by one of: a weight value, a non-weight value, or a unit of measure value.

If the recipe quantity is expressed as a weight value, the resulting ration may be determined so as to have the same value as the initial ration. If the recipe amount is represented by a non-weight value, the resulting scaling amount may be determined by rounding the initial scaling amount to the nearest integer, where the minimum value of the resulting scaling amount is 1. If the recipe quantity is represented in a metric unit value, the resulting scaling quantity may be determined by rounding the initial scaling quantity to the nearest quarter measurement unit.

As an example, the recipe obtained at block 302 may require the following amounts of food ingredients: "2 eggs", "1 clove garlic", "1 cup of water", "6 pieces of pork chop", "0.5 teaspoon pepper", "1 tablespoon mustard" and "500 grams mushroom". Further, in this example, the recipe scaling factor determined is 0.5 (e.g., the recipe serving is "4 people" and the target serving is "2 people"). In this case, the processor 110 is configured to determine: the amounts "2 eggs", "1 clove garlic" and "6 pieces of pork chop" are expressed as non-weight values, the amounts "1 cup of water", "0.5 teaspoon of pepper" and "1 tablespoon of mustard" are expressed in measured units, and the amount "500 grams of mushrooms" is expressed as a weight value. Based on this and the established recipe scale factor of 0.5, the corresponding ratio results for the food ingredients will be "1 egg", "1 clove garlic", "0.5 cup of water", "3 pork chop", "0.25 teaspoon pepper", "0.5 tablespoon mustard" and "250 grams mushroom".

In some embodiments, the determination of the resulting scaled amount of each of the one or more food ingredients may also be based on at least one of: a capacity of the receptacle 122 of the cooking apparatus 120 and an ingredient threshold for the corresponding food ingredient. To illustrate this, the following table provides the maximum capacity of each of a number of different exemplary types of air fryer:

TABLE 1 Container capacity, maximum Container capacity for Potato and maximum Container capacity for other food ingredients for each exemplary air fryer model

As shown in the above table, for each different exemplary size of air fryer, a maximum capacity of containers, a maximum capacity of potatoes, and a maximum capacity of other food ingredients (i.e., non-potato food ingredients) are provided. The maximum capacity of potatoes and the maximum capacity of other food ingredients can be considered as ingredient thresholds. Taking a medium size air fryer as an example, the maximum capacity of potatoes is 1.2kg, and the maximum capacity of other food ingredients is 1.8 kg. In this case, the resulting ratioed amount of each of the one or more food ingredients may also be determined based on these values. In more detail, the resulting ration of potatoes in the recipe can be compared to the maximum capacity of air fryer model potatoes.

For example, if the initial specific amount of potatoes (calculated by multiplying the corresponding recipe amount by a determined recipe scaling factor) exceeds 1.2kg when using a size model air fryer, the resulting specific amount of potatoes for that recipe may be determined to be 1.2kg instead of the initial specific amount of potatoes (or a rounding off of the initial specific amount of potatoes). Similarly, if a preliminary ration of another food ingredient (which may also be calculated by multiplying the corresponding recipe amount by a determined recipe scaling factor) exceeds 1.8kg when using a size model air fryer, the resulting ration of the food ingredient may be determined to be 1.8kg instead of the preliminary ration (or a rounding off of the preliminary ration).

Additionally or alternatively, the determination of the resulting scaled amount of each of the one or more food ingredients may also be based on a maximum capacity of a container of the cooking appliance. Further, taking the medium size air fryer as an example, the maximum capacity of the air fryer vessel is 5.392 liters. In this case, the determination of the resulting ratiometric amount of each of the one or more food ingredients may also be based on this value. In more detail, a sum of the initial proportional amounts (or rounded-up/down values thereof) of the plurality of food ingredients in the recipe can be calculated and then compared to the maximum capacity of the air fryer model container. If the sum of the initial scaled amounts is greater than the maximum capacity of the container, the final scaled amount of at least one of the food ingredients may be reduced such that the sum of the final scaled amounts of the food ingredients is no greater than the maximum capacity of the container.

To further illustrate the maximum capacity of the other food ingredients, the maximum capacity of the other food ingredients (e.g., chicken legs) for different exemplary types of air fryer are provided in the following table:

TABLE 2-ingredient thresholds for various food ingredients for each exemplary air fryer model.

Accordingly, a method for determining a proportional cooking time for operating a cooking apparatus and a system for determining a proportional cooking time for operating a cooking apparatus are provided to overcome the existing problems.

There is also provided a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer readable code embodied therein, the computer readable code being configured such that, on execution by a suitable computer or processor, the computer or processor is caused to perform one or more of the methods described herein. Thus, it will be appreciated that the present disclosure also applies to computer programs, particularly computer programs on or in a carrier, adapted for putting the embodiments into practice. The program may be in the form of source code, object code, a code intermediate source and object code such as partially compiled form, or in any other form suitable for use in the implementation of the method according to the embodiments described herein.

It will also be appreciated that such programs may have many different architectural designs. For example, program code that implements the functionality of a method or system may be subdivided into one or more subroutines. Many different ways of distributing the functionality between these sub-histories will be apparent to the skilled person. The subroutines may be stored together in one executable file to form a self-contained program. Such an executable file may include computer-executable instructions, such as processor instructions and/or interpreter instructions (e.g., Java interpreter instructions). Alternatively, one or more or all of the subroutines may be stored in at least one external library file and linked with the main program either statically or dynamically, e.g., at runtime. The main program contains at least one call to at least one subroutine. The subroutines may also include function calls to each other.

Embodiments related to a computer program product include computer-executable instructions corresponding to each processing stage of at least one of the methods set forth herein. These instructions may be subdivided into subroutines and/or stored in one or more files that may be linked statically or dynamically. Another embodiment relating to a computer program product comprises computer-executable instructions for each apparatus corresponding to at least one of the systems and/or products set forth herein. These instructions may be subdivided into subroutines and/or stored in one or more files that may be linked statically or dynamically.

The carrier of the computer program may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. For example, the carrier may comprise a data storage such as a ROM, e.g. a CD ROM or a semiconductor ROM, or a magnetic recording medium, e.g. a hard disk. Further, the carrier may be a transmissible carrier such as an electrical or optical signal, which may be conveyed via electrical or optical cable or by radio or other means. When the program is embodied in such a signal, the carrier may be constituted by such cable or other means or means. Alternatively, the carrier may be an integrated circuit in which the program is embedded, the integrated circuit being adapted for performing, or for use in the performance of, the relevant method.

Variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the singular forms do not exclude the plural. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. A computer program may be stored/distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the internet or other wired or wireless telecommunication systems. Any reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the scope.