IP Library › Granted Patent US 12663158
Granted Patent B2
US 12663158 · App. 18/270,788 · Granted Jun 23, 2026

Cooking appliance and control method therefor

Inventor: Yunsik Park (Seoul, KR)
Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
F24C7/085F24C15/006G06T7/73H04N7/183H04N23/67H04N23/69F24C15/16H04N23/57
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12663158
App. No.
18/270,788
Granted
Jun 23, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a cooking appliance and a control method therefor, and, particularly, to a cooking appliance using heat, such as an oven, and a control method therefor. The present disclosure may comprise: a main body; a cooking chamber provided inside the main body to have one open surface, and including a plurality of steps supporting the position of a rack in which food to be cooked is accommodated; a camera module provided to the upper part of the cooking chamber to estimate the position of the rack in which food to be cooked is accommodated, and including a camera for generating a captured image by capturing the position of the rack in which food to be cooked is accommodated inside the cooking chamber; and a cooling fan which is arranged at one side of the camera module and which cools down the camera module by suctioning external air.

Claims (39)

1 . A cooking appliance, comprising:

a main body;

a cooking chamber provided inside the main body to be opened on one side and including a plurality of supports supporting a position of a rack on which a cooking material is placed;

a camera module provided on the cooking chamber to estimate the position of the rack on which the cooking material is placed and including a camera configured to generate a captured image by capturing the position of the rack on which the cooking material inside the cooking chamber is placed;

a cooling fan disposed on one side of the camera module and configured to cool the camera module by drawing in external air; and

a controller configured to control the camera module,

wherein the controller is configured to estimate the position of the rack on which the cooking material is placed based on image recognition using an image captured for a specific region, and

wherein the specific region is a lighting unit inside the cooking chamber.

2 . The cooking appliance of claim 1 , wherein the camera module is installed in an electrical compartment on the cooking chamber, and the electrical compartment is spatially separated from the cooking chamber.

3 . The cooking appliance of claim 1 , further comprising:

a first glass provided on an upper wall of the cooking chamber to cause the camera module to capture an inside of the cooking chamber and configured to block heat inside the cooking chamber from being transferred to the camera; and

a second glass disposed between the camera and the first glass and configured to block heat transferred to the camera.

4 . The cooking appliance of claim 3 , wherein a space between the first glass and the second glass is sealed by a gasket.

5 . The cooking appliance of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to transmit the captured image to a user equipment.

6 . The cooking appliance of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to estimate the position of the rack on which the cooking material is placed using a lighting reflection signal from among the captured image.

7 . The cooking appliance of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to sets at least one of an angle of view or a focus of the camera according to the estimated position of the rack.

8 . A cooking appliance, comprising:

a main body;

a cooking chamber provided inside the main body to be opened on one side and including a plurality of supports supporting a position of a rack on which cooking material is placed;

a camera module provided on the cooking chamber to estimate the position of the rack on which the cooking material is placed and including a camera configured to generate a captured image by capturing the position of the rack on which the cooking material inside the cooking chamber is placed; and

a controller configured to control the camera module,

wherein the controller is configured to estimate the position of the rack on which the cooking material is placed based on image recognition using an image captured for a specific region and set at least one of an angle of view or a focus of the camera according to the estimated position of the rack, and

wherein the specific region is a lighting unit inside the cooking chamber.

9 . The cooking appliance of claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to transmit the captured image to a user equipment.

10 . The cooking appliance of claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to estimate the position of the rack on which the cooking material is placed based on image recognition using the captured image.

11 . The cooking appliance of claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to estimate the position of the rack on which the cooking material is placed using a lighting reflection signal from among the captured image.

12 . A cooking appliance, comprising:

a main body;

a cooking chamber provided inside the main body to be opened on one side and including a plurality of supports supporting a position of a rack on which a cooking material is placed;

a camera module provided in an electrical compartment, spatially separated from the cooking chamber such that heat inside of the cooking chamber is not transferred, to estimate the position of the rack on which the cooking material is placed and including a camera configured to generate a captured image by capturing the position of the rack on which the cooking material inside the cooking chamber is placed;

a cooling fan disposed on one side of the camera module and configured to cool the camera module by drawing in external air; and

a controller configured to control the camera module,

wherein the controller is configured to estimate the position of the rack on which the cooking material is placed based on image recognition using an image captured for a specific region and set at least one of an angle of view or a focus of the camera according to the estimated position of the rack, and

wherein the specific region is a lighting unit inside the cooking chamber.

13 . The cooking appliance of claim 12 , further comprising:

a first glass provided on an upper wall of the cooking chamber to cause the camera module to capture an inside of the cooking chamber and configured to block heat inside the cooking chamber from being transferred to the camera; and

a second glass disposed between the camera and the first glass and configured to block heat transferred to the camera.

14 . The cooking appliance of claim 13 , wherein a space between the first glass and the second glass is sealed by a gasket.

15 . The cooking appliance of claim 12 , wherein the controller is configured to estimate the position of the rack on which the cooking material is placed using a lighting reflection signal from among the captured image.