Method for load detection in a cooking chamber of a cooking device and cooking device

A cooking device for cooking food to be cooked, wherein the cooking device comprises a cooking chamber, a microwave source associated with the cooking chamber, and at least one temperature sensor associated with a microwave trap or a microwave absorber, wherein the cooking device comprises a heating device and a steam device which are configured to generate a cooking chamber climate in the cooking chamber, wherein the cooking chamber climate has at least one of a defined temperature or a defined humidity to which the food to be cooked is exposed during cooking, wherein the cooking device also comprises at least one climate sensor which is configured for acquiring a cooking chamber climate value associated with the cooking chamber climate in the cooking chamber, which is set by at least one of the heating device or the steam device, wherein the cooking device further comprises an evaluation unit which is connected to the at least one climate sensor and the at least one temperature sensor associated with the microwave trap or the microwave absorber in a signal-transmitting manner, and wherein the evaluation unit is configured to jointly evaluate a cooking chamber climate value acquired by the climate sensor and a temperature value acquired by the temperature sensor associated with the microwave trap or the microwave absorber by determining the gradient of a temperature change, which is evaluated jointly with the cooking chamber climate value, to estimate a load in the cooking chamber of the cooking device.

A method for load detection in a cooking chamber of a cooking device, the method comprising the following steps:

• acquiring at least one cooking chamber climate value in the cooking chamber using a climate sensor,
• acquiring a gradient of a temperature change using a temperature sensor associated with a microwave trap or a microwave absorber,
• fusing the at least one cooking chamber climate value and the gradient of the temperature change, which are two different pieces of information obtained via different and independent sensors of the cooking device, thereby providing a sensor data fusion, and
• jointly evaluating the at least one cooking chamber climate value and the gradient of the temperature change to estimate the load in the cooking chamber of the cooking device since microwaves introduced into the cooking chamber by a microwave source of the cooking device to cause an electro-magnetic field to form in the cooking chamber as a function of the load present in the cooking chamber.