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EP-4741715-A1 - COOKING APPARATUS

EP4741715A1EP 4741715 A1EP4741715 A1EP 4741715A1EP-4741715-A1

Abstract

An invention related to a cooking apparatus is disclosed. The disclosed invention comprises a camera disposed inside a door, and a light-blocking part for blocking an external light travel path, which is the travel path of light travelling to the camera after passing through at least a portion of a transparent window at the front side of the door.

Inventors

  • LEE, YONG HYUN
  • PARK, KYOUNG JOON
  • LEE, SANGCHEOL
  • YANG, HAK SOON

Assignees

  • LG Electronics Inc.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240626

Claims (10)

  1. A cooking appliance comprising: a main body having a cooking chamber formed therein; a door disposed at a front side of the main body to open and close the cooking chamber and configured to form a transparent window; a camera disposed inside the door; and a light-blocking part configured to block an external light travel path, which is a travel path of light traveling to the camera after passing through at least a portion of the transparent window from a front side of the door.
  2. The cooking appliance according to claim 1, wherein the light-blocking part includes a light-blocking member formed of a material having a lower transparency than the transparent window.
  3. The cooking appliance according to claim 2, wherein the door includes an outer glass disposed at the front side of the main body and an inner glass disposed between the main body and the outer glass, wherein the transparent window is formed in an overlapping area in which the outer glass and the inner glass overlap in a front-rear direction, and wherein the camera and the light-blocking member are disposed in a space formed between the outer glass and the inner glass.
  4. The cooking appliance according to claim 1, wherein the camera is disposed at a position biased upward from a vertical center of the transparent window, and wherein the light-blocking part is disposed below the camera.
  5. The cooking appliance according to claim 1, wherein the light-blocking part includes a plurality of polarizing members disposed in the external light travel path and configured to transmit light vibrating in a direction identical to a polarization axis.
  6. The cooking appliance according to claim 5, wherein the polarizing members include: a first polarizing member disposed to block at least a portion of the transparent window; and a second polarizing member having a polarization axis perpendicular to a polarization axis of the first polarizing member.
  7. The cooking appliance according to claim 6, wherein the first polarizing member is installed on the transparent window, and wherein the second polarizing member is installed on the camera.
  8. The cooking appliance according to claim 6, wherein the door includes an outer glass disposed at the front side of the main body and an inner glass disposed between the main body and the outer glass, wherein the transparent window is formed in an overlapping area in which the outer glass and the inner glass overlap in a front-rear direction, and wherein the first polarizing member is installed on the outer glass. wherein the first polarizing member is disposed to block a travel path of light travelling from a front side of the outer glass toward an overlapping area in which the receiving space and a field of view of the camera overlap each other.
  9. The cooking appliance according to claim 1, wherein the light-blocking part includes a light-blocking surface formed by etching a surface of the transparent window.
  10. The cooking appliance according to claim 9, wherein the light-blocking part includes: a light-blocking surface formed by etching a surface of the outer glass, or a portion of the outer glass formed to have a lower transparency than the inner glass.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a cooking appliance, and more particularly, to a cooking appliance including a camera for imaging an inside of a cooking chamber. BACKGROUND A cooking appliance is one of home appliances for cooking food, and is a device installed in a kitchen space and used to cook food according to an intention of a user. Such a cooking appliance may be variously classified according to a heat source, a shape, or a type of fuel used. When the cooking appliance is classified according to a type of cooking food, the cooking appliance may be classified into an open-type cooking appliance and a closed-type cooking appliance depending on a shape of a space on which food is placed. The closed-type cooking appliance includes an oven, a microwave oven, and the like, and the open-type cooking appliance includes a cooktop, a hob, and the like. A closed-type cooking appliance is a cooking appliance configured to shield a space in which food is located and to heat the shielded space to cook food. In the closed-type cooking appliance, a chamber, that is, a cooking chamber, which is a space shielded when food is placed and when the food is intended to be cooked, is provided inside a main body. The cooking chamber becomes a space in which the food is substantially cooked. In the closed-type cooking appliance, a door for selectively opening and closing the cooking chamber is provided to be rotatable. The door is rotatably installed on a main body in which the cooking chamber is formed by a door hinge provided between the main body and the door. The door may selectively open and close the cooking chamber by rotating about a portion coupled to the main body through the door hinge. A heat source is provided in an inner space of the cooking chamber that is opened and closed by the door so as to heat the cooking chamber. As the heat source, a gas burner, an electric heater, or the like may be used. Recently, closed-type cooking appliances including an embedded camera have been developed. Such cooking appliances may obtain an image related to food accommodated inside the cooking chamber through the embedded camera. The image obtained by the embedded camera may be used to be displayed through a display provided in the cooking appliance or through a smart device of a user, and may be used as data for controlling a cooking operation of the cooking appliance. When the image obtained by the embedded camera is used as data for controlling the cooking operation of the cooking appliance, the cooking appliance may analyze an image related to food obtained by the embedded camera to determine a type of the food or to determine a cooking progress degree of the food, and may control the cooking operation of the cooking appliance based on information analyzed in this manner. An embedded camera providing the above-described function should be disposed at a position suitable for imaging an inside of a cooking chamber. To this end, the embedded camera is disposed at a position adjacent to the cooking chamber. For example, the embedded camera is generally disposed above a cavity forming the cooking chamber, or disposed inside a door facing the cooking chamber. When the embedded camera is disposed inside the door, the embedded camera is typically disposed between a pair of glasses forming a transparent window of the door. In general, the door includes a transparent window, and a user may check a state inside the cooking chamber from outside the cooking appliance through the transparent window. The transparent window may be formed by a single glass depending on a function provided by the cooking appliance, or may be formed by a combination of two or more glasses. When the transparent window is formed by two or more glasses to improve thermal insulation performance of the door, the transparent window may be formed by a combination of an outer glass disposed at a foremost front side of the transparent window and at least one inner glass disposed at a rear side of the outer glass. In the door including the transparent window formed as described above, the embedded camera is disposed in a space between the outer glass and the inner glass. The embedded camera disposed inside the door as described above receives light passing through the inner glass from inside the cooking chamber and images the inside of the cooking chamber. When the embedded camera is disposed inside the door as described above, quality of an image captured by the camera may be degraded due to light emitted from an external light source. In addition, quality of an image captured by the camera may be degraded due to light emitted from internal lighting of the oven. For example, light emitted from the external light source may pass through the outer glass and then be reflected by the inner glass. In addition, light emitted from the internal lighting of the oven may be reflected by the inner glass. When such reflected light is captured by the embedded ca