US 12,538,996 B2Granted

Cooktop appliance automated rice cooking

AssigneeHaier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.

InventorsEric Scott Johnson, Omar Santana, Eugenio Gomez

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Abstract

A method of operating a cooktop appliance includes receiving a rice cooking mode initiation signal. The method also includes operating a heating element to provide a first target temperature at a utensil during a preheat stage and measuring the temperature at the utensil during the preheat stage. The method further includes exiting the preheat stage when the measured temperature at the utensil reaches a temperature threshold. The method also includes operating the heating element to provide a second target temperature at the utensil during a simmer stage after the preheat stage. The second target temperature is different from the first target temperature. The method further includes operating the heating element to provide a third target temperature at the utensil during a sensing stage after the simmer stage and providing a user notification that the rice cooking mode is complete.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A cooktop appliance, comprising:

a user interface;
a heating element positioned at a cooking surface of the cooktop appliance, wherein the cooking surface is a top external surface of the cooking appliance;
a temperature sensor integrated into the heating element, the temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature at a utensil heated by the heating element, wherein the utensil is separate from the cooktop appliance;
and
a controller in communication with the temperature sensor, the controller configured for:
receiving a rice cooking mode initiation signal, wherein the rice cooking mode is one of a plurality of precision cooking modes of the cooktop appliance;
receiving a rice attribute selection via the user interface, wherein the rice cooking mode comprises a plurality of specific tailored values for the selected rice attribute;
operating the heating element to provide a first target temperature at the utensil during a preheat stage, wherein the first target temperature is one of the plurality of specific tailored values for the selected rice attribute;
measuring the temperature at the utensil heated by the heating element during the preheat stage;
exiting the preheat stage when the measured temperature at the utensil reaches a temperature threshold, wherein the temperature threshold is one of the plurality of specific tailored values for the selected rice attribute;
operating the heating element to provide a second target temperature at the utensil during a simmer stage after the preheat stage, wherein the second target temperature is different from the first target temperature, wherein the second target temperature is one of the plurality of specific tailored values for the selected rice attribute;
operating the heating element to provide a third target temperature at the utensil during a sensing stage after the simmer stage, wherein the third target temperature is one of the plurality of specific tailored values for the selected rice attribute;
and
providing a user notification that the rice cooking mode is complete.

11 more elements

A method of operating a cooktop appliance, the cooktop appliance comprising a user interface, a heating element positioned at a cooking surface of the cooktop appliance, wherein the cooking surface is a top external surface of the cooking appliance, a temperature sensor integrated into the heating element, the temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature at a utensil heated by the heating element, wherein the utensil is separate from the cooktop appliance, and a controller in communication with the temperature sensor, the method comprising:

receiving a rice cooking mode initiation signal, wherein the rice cooking mode is one of a plurality of precision cooking modes of the cooktop appliance;
receiving a rice attribute selection via the user interface, wherein the rice cooking mode comprises a plurality of specific tailored values for the selected rice attribute;
operating the heating element to provide a first target temperature at the utensil during a preheat stage, wherein the first target temperature is one of the plurality of specific tailored values for the selected rice attribute;
measuring the temperature at the utensil heated by the heating element during the preheat stage;
exiting the preheat stage when the measured temperature at the utensil reaches a temperature threshold, wherein the temperature threshold is one of the plurality of specific tailored values for the selected rice attribute;
operating the heating element to provide a second target temperature at the utensil during a simmer stage after the preheat stage, wherein the second target temperature is different from the first target temperature, wherein the second target temperature is one of the plurality of specific tailored values for the selected rice attribute;
operating the heating element to provide a third target temperature at the utensil during a sensing stage after the simmer stage, wherein the third target temperature is one of the plurality of specific tailored values for the selected rice attribute;
and
providing a user notification that the rice cooking mode is complete.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.