Granted Patent B1

US 12,253,268 · App. 18/142,375 · Granted Mar 18, 2025

Inventors: Nikhil Bhogal (San Francisco, CA); Matthew Van Horn (San Francisco, CA)

Assignee: June Life, LLC

F24C7/086A23L5/15A23L5/17A47J37/0664F24C3/124F24C7/085F24C7/087F24C15/008F24C15/2021H04W4/80H05B1/0263A23L5/10F24C7/062F24C15/003F24C15/2007

Abstract

Claims (91)

1. A method for controlling a cooking appliance comprising a cooking chamber, wherein the method comprises:

cooking, during a colloid cooking period and using a colloid within the cooking chamber, food according to a set of cooking parameters;

minimizing an obstructive effect of the colloid on a camera optically connected to the cooking chamber by heating a lens of the camera to a temperature of the cooking chamber;

sampling, using the camera optically connected to the cooking chamber, one or more images of the food;

extracting a feature of the food from the one or more images; and

dynamically adjusting, based on the feature, a first cooking parameter of the set of cooking parameters.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the minimizing the obstructive effect of the colloid further comprises one or more of dispersing, condensing, or moving the colloid away from the food.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the minimizing the obstructive effect of the colloid further comprises circulating the colloid away from a lens of the camera using a convection element.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

segmenting the food from a background of the one or more images;

extracting the feature from the segmented food;

determining, based on the extracted feature, one or more parameters associated with the segmented food; and

determining, based on the one or more parameters, to adjust the first cooking parameter.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the one or more parameters comprise at least one of:

an internal temperature of the food;

an external temperature of the food; or

a state of doneness of the food.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating, using the one or more images, a synthetic image of the food, wherein the feature is extracted from the synthetic image.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the colloid comprises at least one of:

an aerosol;

a mist;

steam; or

smoke.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first cooking parameter comprises one or more of:

a density of the colloid;

an airflow of the colloid;

a temperature of the colloid;

a temperature of the cooking chamber;

a convection flow rate;

a relative humidity,

an amount of vapor in the cooking chamber;

a pressure of the cooking chamber; or

a heat distribution.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the camera may comprise one or more of:

a CCD camera;

a CMOS camera;

an infrared (IR) camera;

an ultraviolet (UV) camera;

a multispectral camera; or

a hyperspectral camera.

10. A cooking appliance comprising:

one or more processors;

a cooking chamber;

a camera optically connected to the cooking chamber; and

memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the cooking appliance to:

cook, during a colloid cooking period and using a colloid within the cooking chamber, food according to a set of cooking parameters;

minimize an obstructive effect of the colloid on the camera by heating a lens of the camera to a temperature of the cooking chamber;

sample, using the camera, one or more images of the food;

extract a feature of the food from the one or more images; and

dynamically adjust, based on the extracted feature, a first cooking parameter of the set of cooking parameters.

11. The cooking appliance of claim 10 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the cooking appliance to further minimize the obstructive effect of the colloid by dispersing, condensing, or moving the colloid away from the food.

12. The cooking appliance of claim 10 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the cooking appliance to further minimize the obstructive effect of the colloid by circulating the colloid away from a lens of the camera using a convection element.

13. The cooking appliance of claim 10 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the cooking appliance to:

segment the food from a background of the one or more images;

extract the feature from the segmented food;

determine, based on the extracted feature, one or more parameters associated with the segmented food; and

determine, based on the one or more parameters, to adjust the first cooking parameter.

14. The cooking appliance of claim 10 , further comprising:

one or more sensors configured to obtain one or more second features of the food.

15. The cooking appliance of claim 14 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the cooking appliance to:

adjust the first cooking parameter based on the extracted feature and based on one or more second features of the food.

16. The cooking appliance of claim 10 , further comprising:

a convection element configured to circulate the colloid during the colloid cooking period.

17. A system comprising:

a remote computing system; and

a cooking appliance configured to:

cook, during a colloid cooking period and using a colloid within a cooking chamber of the cooking appliance, food according to a set of cooking parameters;

minimize an obstructive effect of the colloid on a camera optically connected to the cooking chamber by heating a lens of the camera to a temperature of the cooking chamber;

sample, using the camera, one or more images of the food;

extract a feature of the food from the one or more images; and

dynamically adjust, based on the extracted feature, a first cooking parameter of the set of cooking parameters.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the remote computing system is configured to control operation of the cooking appliance.

19. The system of claim 17 , wherein the first cooking parameter is further adjusted based on input received from the remote computing system.

20. The system of claim 17 , wherein the first cooking parameter comprises one or more of:

a density of the colloid;

an airflow of the colloid;

a temperature of the colloid;

a temperature of the cooking chamber;

a convection flow rate;

a relative humidity,

an amount of vapor in the cooking chamber;

a pressure of the cooking chamber; or

a heat distribution.

21. The system of claim 17 , wherein the camera may comprise one or more of:

a CCD camera;

a CMOS camera;

an infrared (IR) camera;

an ultraviolet (UV) camera;

a multispectral camera; or

a hyperspectral camera.

Assignments (5)

Continuity (7)

References Cited (273)