Adaptive closed loop control method for a cooking appliance

1. A method of operating a cooking appliance, the cooking appliance comprising a probe having a first temperature sensor and a second temperature sensor, the method comprising:

obtaining a set fluid temperature for a fluid within a cooking utensil;

monitoring an actual fluid temperature via the first temperature sensor of the probe;

determining a predicted air temperature above the fluid;

monitoring an actual air temperature above the fluid via the second temperature sensor of the probe;

comparing the actual air temperature to the predicted air temperature;

determining a cover state of the cooking utensil based on the comparison of the actual air temperature and the predicted air temperature; and

implementing a responsive action based on the comparison between the actual air temperature and the predicted air temperature, wherein the responsive action comprises adjusting at least one controller gain of a set of controller gains according to the determined cover state of the cooking utensil.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predicted air temperature is determined via a regression analysis model based on the set fluid temperature and the actual fluid temperature.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein implementing the responsive action further comprises adjusting at least one operating parameter of the cooking appliance.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the cooking appliance further comprises a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller configured to control a heating element within the cooking appliance.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining the cover state of the cooking utensil comprises:

establishing an air temperature threshold; and

determining that the actual air temperature is above the air temperature threshold, and wherein adjusting the set of controller gains comprises applying a first set of controller gains to the PID controller.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the air temperature threshold is a predetermined amount less than the predicted air temperature as a function of time.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein determining the cover state of the cooking utensil comprises:

determining that the actual air temperature is below the air temperature threshold, and wherein adjusting the set of controller gains comprises applying a second set of controller gains to the PID controller.

8. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

determining that the actual air temperature is below the air temperature threshold; and

providing a user notification via an alert.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein implementing the responsive action further comprises incorporating a predetermined time delay between comparing the actual air temperature to the predicted air temperature and implementing the responsive action.