The invention relates to a method for generating at least one recipe suggestion, a kitchen appliance for preparing food and a system for preparing food with a kitchen appliance.

From the state of the art are known kitchen machines, which are used for preparing food. Such kitchen appliances can have different degrees of automation, whereby, for example, depending on recipe data, food can be chopped and/or cooked to prepare the food. Due to this close connection between the actual cooking method and the recipe, e.g. available as a data record, it is basically possible to integrate the recipe selection further and further into the kitchen appliance. This can simplify the cooking method for a user, since the user does not need to enter certain data into the kitchen appliance and the cooking method can lead to reproducible results. Normally, a user will only execute recipes that suit their taste. In order to simplify recipe selection for the user, it is therefore desirable to be able to take into account the specific preferences of a user when selecting the recipes provided.

From DE 10 2013 106 865 A1, for example, it is known to identify a user at the kitchen appliance and to display their preferred recipes. To further simplify the selection of recipes for the user, it is also desirable to configure the selection of such preferred recipes intelligently and individually for the user.

It is an object of the present invention to remedy, at least in part, any prior disadvantages known from the prior art. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to simplify the selection of a recipe for a user of a kitchen appliance, in particular with regard to their individual preferences.

The preceding object is solved by a method with the characteristics of the independent method claim, a kitchen appliance with the characteristics of the independent device claim and a system for preparing food with the characteristics of the independent system claim. Further features and details of the invention result from the dependent claims, the description and the drawings. Features and details which have been described in connection with the method according to the invention are of course also valid in connection with the kitchen appliance and/or the system according to the invention and vice versa, so that with regard to the disclosure of the individual aspects of the invention, reference is or can always be made to each other.

According to the invention, the method for generating at least one recipe suggestion, in particular recipe suggestions, when using a kitchen appliance for preparing food comprises the following steps:Detection of food data, especially on kitchen appliances,Assigning the food data to a data history of a user profile,Detect a behavior pattern of the user profile depending on the data history,Determination of at least one recipe suggestion depending on the pattern of behavior,Providing the at least one recipe suggestion on the kitchen appliance.

Preferably, the method steps are performed in the order listed.

In particular, the kitchen appliance is a kitchen appliance, cooker-mixer or intelligent oven for at least partially automated processing of recipes. The food data may preferably include ingredients, such as the presence of tomatoes or a portion of tomatoes, spices, water or the like in a recipe. Furthermore, the food data may include pattern data of ingredients and/or recipes, such as “salt-free”, “vegan”, “organic” and/or the like. In this context, the detection of food data may include detection of the ingredients actually put into the kitchen appliance and/or at least one recipe retrieved by the user. It is also conceivable that a food prepared on the kitchen appliance may be detected during preparation, before preparation and/or after preparation in order to perform the detection of food data. Preferably, a user profile may be retrieved first in order to be able to assign the food data directly to the data history of the user profile. It is also conceivable that the entry of food data is performed for a dish that is or was prepared on another kitchen appliance under the user profile. Thus, the method for generating at least one recipe suggestion, especially recipe suggestions, can be performed across devices, especially if the user frequently prepares their food on different devices. The data history can, in particular, comprise a list or the like in which the food data is stored in order to be able to detect the behavioral pattern of the user profile from it. The detection of the behavior pattern of the user profile as a function of the data history can thus comprise in particular an analysis of the data history, preferably analyzing the preferences of the user with regard to the selection of their meals, foods and/or ingredients. Finally, based on this analysis, the at least one recipe suggestion can be determined as a function of the behavior pattern. It is conceivable, for example, that upon detection of the behavioral pattern, it is determined that the user prefers vegan food, so that a vegan recipe is selected for determining the at least one recipe suggestion. The provision of the at least one recipe suggestion on the kitchen appliance can preferably include that the recipe suggestion on the kitchen appliance is made usable for the user, i.e. that it can be executed at least partially automated on the kitchen appliance. In particular, the recipe suggestion can be displayed for the user, for example, at a user interface of the kitchen appliance. Further confirmation by the user may be required for the actual execution of the recipe suggestion on the kitchen appliance. By making the recipe suggestion available, especially by displaying it on the kitchen appliance, the user can be presented with the recipe suggestion in a particularly convenient way, so that he or she can use the kitchen appliance conveniently to execute the recipe.

In particular, the method according to the invention creates an intelligent and individual selection of a recipe suggestion. Thus, the recipe suggestion can at least partially control the recipe selection or the diet of the user in their sense. In particular, data available at least partially on the basis of the data history by means of the detection of the behavior pattern are used to analyze the user's taste and to generate the at least one recipe suggestion on the basis thereof. This enables, for example, the user to be presented with a recipe suggestion that is completely new and individually tailored to their needs. In particular, by detecting the behavior pattern, conclusions can be drawn about the user's eating habits, illnesses, allergies, cooking expertise and/or the composition of their household. In this way, for example, a user's inhibition threshold to try out new recipes can be lowered. This intelligent selection can be controlled by the user profile. The user profile can, for example, be password-protected so that only a certain user or a certain user group can access it. It is also conceivable that the user profile is assigned to a specific kitchen appliance and can therefore represent the behavior pattern of a household, for example. In this way, the detection of the behavior pattern can be realized in a way that over time, by increasing the number of recipes and/or repetitions, i.e. especially the data history, the method and/or the system can be self-learning.

Furthermore, it is conceivable in a method according to the invention that the detection of the behavior pattern of the user profile includes the detection of repetitions in the data history. The repetitions can refer to individual recipes, so that a user's particularly preferred recipes are detected if, for example, the user repeats the recipes several times within a certain period of time. Furthermore, a quantitative estimation of the behavior pattern can also be made. If, for example, a recipe has more repetitions than another recipe, it can be concluded that the recipe with more repetitions is more popular with the user. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the repetitions refer e.g. to pattern data of ingredients and/or products, so that e.g. a repeated use of vegan recipes can lead to a user being presented with more vegan recipe suggestions. Within the scope of the invention it is further conceivable that the detection of the behavior pattern and/or the determination of the recipe suggestion comprises a comparison of the data history with at least one further data history assigned to at least one further user profile. The comparison may in particular comprise a big data analysis. Thus, the detection of the behavior pattern and/or the determination of the recipe suggestion can comprise an analysis of data records of different users. In this way, it can be determined, for example, which recipes are preferred by other users who have a similar data history to the user profile whose behavior pattern is to be detected or for which a recipe suggestion is to be determined, using the other user profiles or the data histories assigned to the other user profiles. Thus, a lot of data can be used to improve and/or specify the prediction or estimation of the user's taste. Preferably, the comparison or analysis with other user profiles is performed exclusively anonymously, since the aim is not to query the data of a specific user, but of a user with similar eating and cooking habits. This comparison can, for example, be based on the same common food use or the same common recipes.

Furthermore, in a method according to the invention, it is conceivable that several recipe suggestions are determined depending on the behavior pattern, in particular wherein the several recipe suggestions are provided on the kitchen appliance for selection of one of the recipe suggestions by the user or wherein one of the recipe suggestions is automatically selected and provided on the kitchen appliance. When determining the at least one recipe suggestion as a function of the behavioral pattern, it can result that several recipe suggestions are possible for the preferences of the user. If these are provided on the kitchen appliance for selection of the recipe suggestion by the user, the user can decide for himself which recipe suggestion he prefers at that moment. An automatic selection of a recipe suggestion from the several recipe suggestions can, for example, take place depending on existing ingredients, the popularity of the recipe suggestion with other user profiles and/or other criteria.

Preferably, the recipe suggestions can be assigned to the user profile in a suggestion list, especially where the suggestion list comprises a defined recipe sequence. The assignment of the recipe suggestions to the suggestion list of the user profile may, for example, require the user to confirm all recipe suggestions and/or individual recipe suggestions. The suggestion list can thus be a kind of playlist for recipes based on the user's taste or user profile. In particular, the suggestion list can be dynamically adjusted when the user enters additional food data so that it can be added to the data history. It is also conceivable that when processing the suggestion list, the user can evaluate the individual recipe suggestions in order to improve the detection of the behavior pattern of the user profile. It is also conceivable, for example, that several suggestion lists are generated for the user profile, each of which can be assigned to a season, a sport, a user status, such as “vacation”, or similar. In this way, a simple possibility can be created to submit different recipe suggestions to a user and at the same time to enable him to easily purchase ingredients in advance to process several recipe suggestions.

Furthermore, in the case of a method according to the invention, it is conceivable that the user profile comprises an identification of a kitchen appliance and/or a user device and/or that a user group, in particular a household, is assigned to the user profile. The identification of the kitchen appliance can be performed, for example, by transmitting a serial number of the kitchen appliance to a server. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the user logs on to the kitchen appliance and/or the user device, e.g. by entering a user name and/or a password, in order to confirm their identity. In this way, the kitchen appliance and/or the user device can be assigned to the user profile, so that future activities on the kitchen appliance and/or with the user device can be incorporated into the data history. The user device can be a smartphone, a tablet and/or the like. Furthermore, it can be provided that several user groups can be assigned to the user profile, e.g. in the form of further, dependent user profiles. It is conceivable, for example, that the user profile includes a household to which both parents and children are present. The user profile can be managed as a whole, so that, for example, the detection of the behavior pattern and/or the determination of the recipe suggestion is related to the entire user profile, or it can be divided into individual users, for example, by classifying them as “adults” and “children”. This may improve the detection of the behavior pattern and/or the determination of the recipe suggestion by providing the user profile with further data about the users in addition to the food data. This can also be used, for example, to compare the data history with other user profiles in order to perform the comparison for user profiles that are as similar as possible.

Preferably, in a method according to the invention, the detection of the behavior pattern of the user profile can comprise the detection of a time pattern and the recipe suggestion can be determined depending on the time pattern. Preferably, the time pattern can be compared with the calendar data of a user. The time pattern can therefore include or process a time pattern in order to be able to identify a time pattern that is, in particular, part of the behavior pattern. For example, it is conceivable that a user prefers a certain food or a certain type of food on a certain day of the week. For example, it is conceivable that the data history shows that fish is prepared every Friday using the user profile. This can be considered in the time pattern and thus in the behavior pattern in that more fish recipes are suggested on Fridays. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the time pattern includes a time, whereby it can be determined, for example, when the user usually eats their food. When determining the recipe suggestion, for example, it can be considered that less high-calorie ingredients are used when preparing food in the evening to improve the user's health. For example, a user's appointments that result from calendar dates can be considered for the prediction. The calendar data can advantageously be retrieved from a server and/or a user device of the user.

Furthermore, it is conceivable that in a method according to the invention, the user profile comprises vital data of a user, whereby the vital data are considered when detecting the behavior pattern and/or determining the recipe suggestion. Vital data may in particular comprise health data, such as the age of the user, diabetic information, such as blood sugar, a calorie requirement and/or the like. Thus, a current or estimated health condition of the user can be considered to tailor the prescription suggestion to the individual user.

The invention may also provide that the method comprises the following step:Recording of purchased ingredients,
whereby the purchased ingredients are considered when identifying the pattern of behavior and/or determining the at least one recipe suggestion. In particular, the purchased ingredients can be entered via a shopping list, which can be entered manually by the user or created automatically. Preferably the data history can be considered. The data history can show which ingredients the user has previously purchased and/or consumed. Thus, it can be avoided that recipe suggestions have a high demand for additional ingredients to be purchased.

Furthermore, in the case of a method according to the invention, it is conceivable that the method comprises the following step:Recording of external activities,
whereby the external activities are considered when detecting the behavior pattern and/or determining the at least one recipe suggestion. External activities may include, for example, finding a restaurant, eating at a friend's house and/or a sporting activity of the user. In particular, the recording of external activities can be performed via a user device. For this purpose, the location of the user device can be analyzed. Thus, it is not only possible to record the behavior pattern based on activities on the kitchen appliance, but also further preferences of the user can be recorded. If the user e.g. often eats in an Italian restaurant, this can have positive or negative effects on the recipes. A positive consideration can lead to the conclusion that the user prefers Italian dishes and thus these are preferred when determining the recipe suggestion. A negative consideration can lead to the conclusion that the user often eats Italian food and therefore prefers other types of food when preparing their own meals. In particular, the recording of external activities can provide further data that can be used to adapt the detection of the behavior pattern and thus the determination of the recipe suggestion more precisely to the user.

Furthermore, in the case of a method according to the invention, it is conceivable that the method comprises the following step:Recording of an ingredient plan,
whereby ingredient planning is considered when detecting the behavior pattern and/or determining the at least one recipe suggestion. Thus, for example, it may be intended that the user selects recipes on a user device and/or kitchen appliance that he wants to execute in the future. In particular, a shopping list from the user can be analyzed and used to determine which ingredients the user will have in stock in the future to generate the recipe suggestion. In particular, ingredient planning can be entered using planned recipes, for example, using the suggestion list. This therefore provides further data for detecting the behavior pattern. By taking ingredient planning into account, you can also improve the coordination between the recipe suggestions and the user's stocks so that ingredients can be used, especially before the expiration date.

The invention may also provide that the detection of food data includes detection of a recipe and/or identification of ingredients supplied by the kitchen appliance. The recipe can, for example, be selected by a user, preferably on the basis of a recipe suggestion, and be retrieved by a control unit of the kitchen appliance from an external medium such as a USB stick, or from a server. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the recipe is available in a storage unit of the kitchen appliance and can be retrieved internally. The identification of ingredients supplied to the kitchen appliance can preferably be performed automatically, e.g. by a sensor device of the kitchen appliance. Thus, it is conceivable that the identification of the supplied ingredients is done optically, e.g. by a camera. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the sensor device comprises an ultrasonic sensor, a radar sensor, in particular a short-range radar sensor, a molecular sensor and/or the like, in order to identify the ingredients directly. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the identification of the ingredients takes place indirectly by identifying a package of the ingredients, for example by using a barcode scanner to read a barcode on the package of the ingredients. This allows the recording of food data to be performed automatically and in a particularly simple manner on the kitchen appliance. This can improve the convenience for the user when performing the method according to the invention.

According to another aspect of the invention, a kitchen appliance is claimed for the preparation of food. The kitchen appliance has a functional unit for processing ingredients and a user interface for interaction with a user. Furthermore, the user interface is connected to an integrated control unit by which a method according to the invention can be initiated, in particular performed.

The functional unit can preferably have a mixer and/or a heating element. This means that the functional unit of the kitchen appliance allows the food to be prepared at least partially automatically, thus improving user comfort. The user interface may preferably comprise a control element, e.g. in the form of a control knob, and/or a display, preferably in the form of a touch display. This allows the user to interact with the kitchen appliance and thereby transmit commands to control the kitchen appliance to the control unit. In particular, the integrated control device is a control device integrated into the kitchen appliance, i.e. an internal control device of the kitchen appliance. Behind the initiation of the method it can be understood that the method is at least partially executed and/or triggered by the integrated control device. Thus, it can be provided that the method is at least partially executed on a server and is only triggered by the kitchen appliance or the integrated control device of the kitchen appliance. It is also conceivable, however, that the method is performed completely by the integrated control unit. Thus, a kitchen appliance according to the invention brings the same advantages as they have already been described in detail with respect to a method according to the invention. In particular, the kitchen appliance may improve the comfort of a user when preparing food and in particular when selecting the food to be prepared.

According to another aspect of the invention, a system for preparing food is claimed. The system comprises a kitchen appliance, in particular a kitchen appliance according to the invention, for preparing food, the kitchen appliance having a functional unit for processing ingredients and a user interface for interaction with a user. Furthermore, the system comprises a storage unit in which a data history of a user profile with food data can be stored. Furthermore, the system has a computing unit which is configured to detect a behavioral pattern of a user profile as a function of the data history and to determine at least one recipe suggestion as a function of the behavioral pattern, so that the at least one recipe suggestion can be provided on the kitchen appliance.

In particular, the at least one recipe suggestion may be available, preferably displayable, at the user interface of the kitchen appliance. The method according to the invention can be preferably performed at least partially by the computing unit. Thus, a system according to the invention brings the same advantages as those already described in detail with respect to a method according to the invention and/or a kitchen appliance according to the invention. In particular, the computing unit may comprise a processor, preferably a microprocessor, in order to be able to analyze the behavior pattern and determine the recipe suggestion. For this purpose, the computing unit may be connected to a storage unit or be in communication with it and thus enable data exchange.

In the context of the invention it may be provided that the system comprises a sensor device by means of which ingredients used to determine the food data can be determined, in particular wherein the sensor device comprises one of the following sensors:Camera,Bar code scanner,Ultrasonic sensor,Radar sensor, especially short-range radar sensor,Molecular sensor.

The sensor device allows automatic identification of ingredients. In particular, the ingredients used, which can be detected by the sensor device, can be ingredients added to the kitchen appliance.

Furthermore, the invention may provide that the sensor device is integrated into the kitchen appliance and/or a user device. The sensor device can be arranged on the kitchen appliance, in particular be part of the kitchen appliance, or be provided separately from the kitchen appliance. Thus, the kitchen appliance can be operated independently from other appliances and can acquire food data autonomously. It is also conceivable that the sensor device is part of a user device, e.g. in the form of a smartphone. In particular, a camera and/or a barcode scanner of the user device can be used as a sensor device to capture food data and send it via the user device to the kitchen appliance and/or a server so that the computing unit has this data available. This allows access to extended sensor functions without the need for additional components on the kitchen appliance.

Preferably, a system according to the invention may provide that the computing unit and/or the storage unit can be in communication with another kitchen appliance for the detection of food data. Thus, it is conceivable that within the scope of the user profile several kitchen appliances are used by a user or a group of users, but all of them are to be used to collect data to determine the behavior pattern of the user profile. Thus, it is possible that the user profile is not bound to a single kitchen appliance and the user can access their data in a spatially flexible way or generate data in a spatially flexible way, which finally improves the determination of the recipe suggestion with regard to individualization for the user.

Furthermore, in a system according to the invention, it is conceivable that a server comprises the computing unit and/or the storage unit. Thus, the recipe suggestion can be transferred specifically to the kitchen appliance. Alternatively, it is conceivable that the kitchen appliance includes the computing unit and/or the storage unit. If the server includes the computing unit and/or the storage unit, the integrated control unit of the kitchen appliance can be small in size and thus require less installation space and/or lower costs. At the same time, a server offers the possibility to manage the data centrally, so that, for example, a comparison with data from other user profiles can be simplified. If the computing unit and/or the storage unit are provided in a kitchen appliance, this has the advantage that an Internet connection can be omitted and thus the full range of functions of the kitchen appliance can be used independently of such an Internet connection.

Furthermore, in a system according to the invention, it is conceivable that the kitchen appliance has an appliance interface through which the kitchen appliance can be in communication with the computing unit and/or the storage unit. In particular, the device interface can be, for example, a network interface, preferably an Internet interface, in order to connect the kitchen appliance with the network, in particular the Internet. It is therefore conceivable that the appliance interface could include a WLAN interface, Internet interface or similar. It is also conceivable that the computing unit and/or the storage unit can be in communication with the appliance interface via a direct connection. It is thus conceivable that the device interface includes a Bluetooth interface, USB interface and/or the like. In particular, it is conceivable that the computing unit and/or the storage unit are provided on a user device of the user, so that such computing capacities or storage capacities may also be usable.

Furthermore, in a system according to the invention, it may be provided that the computing unit is configured to provide a user device with at least one recipe suggestion via a communication connection. In this way, the recipe suggestion can be made available to the user, in particular in a decentralized manner, whereby this can preferably be performed in addition to the provision of the recipe suggestion on the kitchen appliance. In this way, the user can take the recipe suggestion with him, for example, to go shopping or to a restaurant so that he does not have to rely on the kitchen appliance to use the recipe suggestion. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the user can share the recipe suggestion with friends, relatives, work colleagues or the like via the user device, so that preferably other user groups can benefit and get to know a new recipe suggestion.

