Microwave cooking appliance with adaptive thermal sensing cycle

A microwave cooking appliance, comprising:

• an enclosure including a singular cooking cavity configured to receive food;
• a microwave power generator configured to generate microwave energy for heating the food received in the singular cooking cavity;
• a temperature sensor configured to sense temperature within the singular cooking cavity;
• and
• a controller coupled to the microwave power generator and the temperature sensor and configured to perform a defrost cycle to defrost the food received in the singular cooking cavity, wherein the controller is configured to:
• determine a first temperature profile of the food using the temperature sensor;
• perform a first stage of the defrost cycle after determining the first temperature profile by controlling the microwave power generator to heat the food;
• after the first stage of the cycle, maintaining the microwave power generator deenergized for a first duration;
• determine a second temperature profile of the food using the temperature sensor after the first stage of the defrost cycle is complete, wherein the controller is configured to determine the second temperature profile of the food using the temperature sensor by sensing a temperature at a plurality of sensing intervals during the first duration while the microwave power generator is deenergized and the food is not being heated within the singular cooking cavity, and wherein the controller is further configured to sense the temperature at the plurality of sensing intervals until determining that a sensing criterion is met;
• after the first stage of the cycle is complete, waiting until the sensing criterion is determined to be met to estimate a remaining duration of the defrost cycle based at least in part on the first and second temperature profiles;
• and
• report the remaining duration to a user.

A method of performing a cycle to heat food disposed in a singular cooking cavity of a microwave cooking appliance, the method comprising:

• performing a first stage of the cycle by controlling a microwave power generator to generate microwave energy to heat the food disposed in the singular cooking cavity of the microwave cooking appliance;
• after the first stage of the cycle, maintaining the microwave power generator deenergized for a first duration;
• determining a temperature profile of the food using a temperature sensor configured to sense temperature within the singular cooking cavity after the first stage of the cycle is complete and while the microwave power generator is deenergized, wherein determining the temperature profile of the food using the temperature sensor includes sensing a temperature at a plurality of sensing intervals during the first duration while the microwave power generator is deenergized and the food is not being heated within the singular cooking cavity, and wherein sensing the temperature at the plurality of sensing intervals is performed until determining that a sensing criterion is met;
• after the first stage of the cycle is complete, waiting until the sensing criterion is determined to be met to determine whether the temperature profile meets a completion criterion for the cycle;
• in response to determining that the temperature profile meets the completion criterion for the cycle, terminating the cycle;
• and
• in response to determining that the temperature profile fails to meet the completion criterion for the cycle, performing a second stage of the cycle by determining a duration for the second stage and an output level for the microwave power generator during the second stage and controlling the microwave power generator to heat the food at the determined output level and for the determined duration.