Method for obtaining information on food stuff in or for a cooking process
AssigneeElectrolux Home Products, Inc.
InventorsChristoph Luckhardt, Florian Ruther
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a method for obtaining information on food stuff in or for a cooking process comprising the steps of: a) detecting an electrical impedance (Z) or at least one component thereof in a, preferably inner, region of the food stuff, b) deriving from said detected impedance or component thereof information about the age or freshness of the food stuff, c) providing said information about the age or freshness to a user interface and/or to an information output unit and/or to a control unit for controlling the cooking process, in particular for adapting the cooking time and/or cooking temperature dependent on this information about the age or freshness.
Claims12
A method for obtaining information on food stuff in or for a cooking process comprising the steps of:
- a) detecting an electrical impedance (Z) or at least one component thereof in a, preferably inner, region of the food stuff;
- b) deriving from said detected impedance or component thereof information about at least one characteristic property of the food stuff, the characteristic property of the food stuff being at least one of the type of food, the age or freshness, the content of fat, and whether the food was frozen before or not, of the food stuff;
- c) providing said information about the characteristic property of the food stuff to a user interface and/or to an information output unit and/or to a control unit for controlling the cooking process.
A food probe for inserting into a food stuff, being provided for use in deriving information about the food stuff in order to adjust one or more parameters of cooking the food stuff, comprising:
- an elongated rod made of a non-conductive material;
- a front portion of the elongated rod, which front portion is provided for invading into the food stuff;
- a first electrode made of a conductive material and arranged at the front portion of the rod;
- a second electrode made of a conductive material and arranged at the front portion of the rod in a predetermined distance from the first electrode;
- and
- a spike arranged at a front end of the rod;
- wherein:
- the first electrode and the second electrode are arranged serially along the longitudinal axis of the rod;
- the food probe is connected or connectable to a voltage supply and a control circuit of a cooking oven or cooking appliance;
- and
- a voltage can be applied between the first electrode and the second electrode, so that an electrical voltage is generated between and in the environment of the first electrode and the second electrode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.