Abstract:
The present invention provides an apparatus for cooking and a method of helping a user to cook by prompting the user, step by step, to carry out the corresponding preparation at the right time. The apparatus comprises a presenter, configured to present information with respect to a first preparation for a first operation; a detector, configured to detect whether said first preparation has been carried out; and a performer, configured to perform said first operation. By applying the apparatus and method of the present invention, the process of cooking is greatly simplified to users. Users no longer need to monitor the cooking process. All they need to do is carry out the corresponding preparations as prompted or guided.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention relates to an apparatus for cooking; the invention also relates to a method of helping a user to cook. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    People with a fast life style are increasingly eager to use smart cookers to simplify their cooking work. However, the currently available cookers only provide several simple cooking functions (steam, stew, double boiled etc.). When using such cookers, people still need to pay much attention to the process of cooking, such as when to add ingredients, when to turn down/off the heat source, etc. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    To eliminate the above disadvantages, the present invention provides a technical cooking solution by prompting the user, step by step, to carry out the corresponding preparation steps at the right time. 
         [0004]    According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for cooking, comprising: 
         [0005]    a presenter, configured to present information with respect to a first preparation for a first operation; 
         [0006]    a detector, configured to detect whether said first preparation has been carried out; 
         [0007]    a performer, configured to perform said first operation if said first preparation has been carried out. 
         [0008]    In an embodiment, said presenter is further configured to present information with respect to a second preparation for a second operation; 
         [0009]    said detector is further configured to detect whether said second preparation has been carried out; 
         [0010]    said performer is further configured to perform said second operation if said second preparation has been carried out. 
         [0011]    Alternatively, the presenter comprises a screen and/or a speaker. The screen is configured to display text and/or videos and/or pictures for presenting information with respect to said first or second preparation. The speaker is configured to produce sound for presenting information with respect to said first or second preparation. 
         [0012]    According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a cooker comprising the apparatus described above. Advantageously, the cooker is a rice cooker. 
         [0013]    According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of helping a user to cook, comprising:
       presenting information with respect to a first preparation for a first operation;   detecting whether said first preparation has been carried out;   performing said first operation if said first preparation has been carried out.       
 
         [0017]    Advantageously, the method of helping the user to cook further comprises the following steps:
       presenting information with respect to a second preparation for a second operation;   detecting whether said second preparation has been carried out;   performing said second operation if said second preparation has been carried out.       
 
         [0021]    By applying the apparatus and method of the present invention, the process of cooking is greatly simplified to users. Users no longer have to monitor the cooking process. All they have to do is carry out the corresponding preparations as prompted or guided. This means that various raw ingredients can be added into the apparatus selecting the right cooking time and delicious dishes can be made requiring much less attention from users. 
         [0022]    Furthermore, as the prompt or guidance can be presented in text, audio or video format, people who don&#39;t know the recipe in advance can also prepare high quality dishes. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0023]    The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0024]      FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus  100  according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0025]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart showing the function of the apparatus  100  in  FIG. 1 ; 
       
    
    
       [0026]    The same reference numerals are used to denote similar parts throughout the Figures. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0027]      FIG. 1  shows a schematic block diagram of apparatus  100  for cooking according to an embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG. 1 , the apparatus  100  comprises a provider  101 , a receiver  102 , a presenter  103 , a detector  104 , a performer  105 . 
         [0028]      FIG. 2  shows a schematic flowchart of a cooking process of the apparatus  100  in  FIG. 1 , which will be described in detail in the following part of the text in conjunction with FIG. l. 
         [0029]    Firstly, in step S 201 , the provider  101  provides a menu from which a user can make a selection. The menu can be provided by displaying text and/or pictures and/or videos on a screen, and/or producing sound via a speaker. The provider  101  can also be a set of buttons on the apparatus  100 , similar to those used on conventional rice cookers. The menu can include a lot of dishes, such as Tom Yum soup, vegetable soup, meat ball soup, fish ball soup, rice, and congee etc. 
         [0030]    Secondly, in step S 202 , the receiver  102  receives a menu selection from the user. Similarly, the user can make the selection by means of a text input, or button input, or voice input etc. Obviously, for the latter one, the receiver  102  should have a microphone and a corresponding speech processing module to receive the user&#39;s voice and recognize the meaning of the user&#39;s voice. 
         [0031]    Alternatively, after the receiver  102  has received the selection from the user, the presenter  103  can first present a list of ingredients for preparation or a prescribed recipe associated with the dish the user has selected before step S 203 . For example, if the user chooses Tom Yum soup, a list of ingredients for the preparation of Tom Yum soup can be presented like: broth—4 cups, mushroom—5, tomato—1, kaffir lime leaves—3 pieces, glangal &amp; lemon grass—1, shrimp/meat—1 cup, chili paste—1 spoon, other seasoning. 
         [0032]    Then, in step S 203 , the presenter  103  presents information with respect to a first preparation for a first operation associated with a prescribed recipe for the dish the user has selected. It is to be understood that information with respect to the first preparation and the first operation vary due to the different dishes the user has selected. For example, for Tom Yum soup, information with respect to the first preparation is “add broth, mushrooms, tomato, kaffir lime leaves, galangal &amp; lemon grass” and the first operation is “heating for half an hour”. For vegetable soup, information with respect to the first preparation is “add water to make broth” and the first operation is “heating the water to the boil”. 
         [0033]    Then, in step S 204 , the detector  104  detects whether the first preparation has been carried out. There are various ways of detecting this. For example, the user can give feedback to indicate that the first preparation has been carried out. The detector  104  confirms that the first preparation has been carried out if it receives such feedback. Such feedback can be given in several ways. For example, the user can press a button (such as “Start” button or “Continue” or “OK” button) to give feedback or say some words like “Preparation is done” etc. For the former case, the detector  104  confirms the first preparation has been carried out when the pressure applied to the button is detected by the detector  104 . For the latte case, similar to the receiver  102 , the detector  104  should have a microphone and a corresponding speech processing module to receive the user&#39;s voice and recognize the meaning of the user&#39;s voice. 
         [0034]    Alternatively, in some situations, the user need not give feedback. The detector  104  can detect the pressure produced by an accessory of the apparatus  100  (for example, the inner boiler of a rice cooker) to check if the first preparation such as introducing cooking ingredients has been carried out. Alternatively, the detector  104  can detect whether the cover has been opened and closed to determine if the first preparation has been carried out. Also, there are a lot of ways to detect the opening and closing of the cover, such as detecting the pressure produced by the cover, or using an ambient-light-sensor to detect whether the cover has been opened, etc. 
         [0035]    If the detection result indicates that the first preparation has been carried out, the performer  105  performs the first operation in step S 205 . For Tom Yum soup, the first operation is heating the broth for half an hour. The performer  105  can use a timer to determine whether the cooking time is up. Advantageously, the cooking time of every operation can be manually adjusted by the user according to his/her personal taste. For vegetable soup, the first operation is heating the water to the boil. The performer  105  can use a thermometer or a hygrometer to determine if the water is boiling. 
         [0036]    After the first operation has been carried out, the presenter  103  presents information with respect to a second preparation for a second operation in step S 206 . For Tom Yum soup, the presenter  103  presents “Add shrimp/meat”. For vegetable soup, the presenter  103  presents “Add vegetables”. For information with respect to every preparation, in addition to the ingredients, the quantity of the ingredients can be presented together, for example “Add shrimp/meat, 1 cup or 100 g”. 
         [0037]    In addition to presenting information with respect to the second preparation, the presenter  103  can further present reminding information to remind the user that the first operation has been performed. For example, the presenter  103  can use a beeper or a buzzer to produce a beep, or play a short music message to remind the user that the first operation has been performed. 
         [0038]    In step S 207 , the detector  104  detects whether the second preparation has been carried out. The way of detecting is similar to that in step S 204 . 
         [0039]    If the second preparation has been carried out, the performer  105  performs the second operation in step S 208 . For example, for Tom Yum soup, the second operation is to continue heating for 6 minutes. For vegetable soup, the second operation is to continue heating to the boil again. 
         [0040]    If other operations need to be performed, the presenter  103 , the detector  104 , the performer  105  performs the above procedures for said other operations. 
         [0041]    For example, for Tom Yum soup, alternatively, there is a third operation of “keeping warm for one hour”. After the second operation of heating for 6 minutes, the presenter  103  presents information with respect to the third preparation of “Add chili paste &amp; other seasoning”. The detector  104  then detects whether the third preparation has been carried out by means of a step similar to step S 204 . If the third preparation has been carried out, the performer  105  performs the third operation. 
         [0042]    Alternatively, the presenter  103  can further present information referring to the status of the operation as “Done” after the performer  105  has performed the last operation associated with the prescribed recipe for the dish the user has selected. For example, the vegetable soup just comprises two operations; after the performer  105  has performed the second operation of heating the broth to the boil, the presenter  103  presents the status information “Done” to notify the user that the vegetable soup is ready. Alternatively, the presenter  103  can play music together with the status presentation “Done” via a speaker. 
         [0043]    In view of the function of the apparatus as elucidated hereinabove in conjunction with  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the working process of the apparatus  100  is a well-elaborated example of a cooking process including two or more operations. It is to be understood that the units in  FIG. 1  and the flow in  FIG. 2  are only for illustrative purposes. The hardware implementation of the apparatus  100  can be various. For example, the provider  101  and the presenter  103  can share the same hardware, such as a plurality of buttons, a screen, a speaker etc. As described above, the receiver  102  and the detector  104  can share the same hardware too. 
         [0044]    It should be noted that the provider  101  and the receiver  102  are optional units. For example, an apparatus only for cooking one dish may not need the provider  101  and the receiver  102 . For the same reason, steps S 201  and S 202  are optional steps too. In addition, steps S 206  to S 208  are also optional steps. For some dishes, the cooking process can comprise only a single operation. For example, in the case of steamed crab, information with respect to the first preparation, i.e. information with respect to the only preparation, can be “Add water and yellow wine, put the crab in the steamer”, and the first operation, i.e., the only operation can be “continue heating for fifteen minutes. 
         [0045]    It is also to be understood that the above information with respect to preparation and operations is only illustrative. There can be several recipes for one dish in the menu. And operations performed by the performer  105  comprise various ways of cooking, such as heating, cooling, condensing or combinations thereof etc. The heating process can be implemented in many ways, such as stewing, steaming, barbecuing, frying and double boiling etc. The performer  105  can be a single utensil with multi-cooking function or a set of several utensils. 
         [0046]    Another thing to be understood is that possibly many operations may have to be performed by the performer  105  for one dish. Such operations can be different from each other, or can be totally the same, or can be partially the same. Specifically, actions performed for one operation and for another operation can be different or the same, the materials targeted by the action of one operation and another operation can be different or the same, the time intervals of one operation and another operation can be different or the same. It can be seen from the above description that for Tom Yum soup, the action performed for the first operation is the same as that for the second operation, but the time interval associated with the first operation is different from that of the second operation. 
         [0047]    Similarly to the operations, there also can be many preparations to be carried out by the user for one dish. Such preparations can be different from each other, or can be totally the same, or can be partially the same. For example, one cooking process of Chinese noodles is: 1. Pour water into the pot and heat it to the boil; 2. Add the noodles into the pot and then heat the water to the boil; 3. Add a bowl of cold water and heat the water to the boil; 4.Add another bowl of cold water and heat the water to the boil; 5. Keep it boiling for 3 minutes. From this recipe, it can be seen that the preparations of operation 3 and 4 are the same. 
         [0048]    Traditional cookers may comprise the apparatus  100  to provide smart cooking solutions for the user. It is to be understood that various traditional cookers comprise electric cookers or gas cookers etc. The electric cooker can be a rice cooker or a microwave oven etc. 
         [0049]    It should be noted that the above-described embodiments are for the purpose of illustration only and are not to be construed as a limitation of the invention. All modifications which do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The verb “to comprise” and its conjugations does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in a claim or in the description. The word “a” or “an” preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. In the apparatus claims enumerating several units, several of these units can be embodied by one and the same item of hardware or software. The use of the words first, second, third, etc, does not indicate any ordering. These words are to be interpreted as names.