Abstract: A communication system includes an information terminal apparatus having at least a data collecting portion for collecting appliance information of an appliance, a data processing server apparatus and a communication device which can be communicated with the information terminal apparatus, and first and second communication networks for connection between the information terminal apparatus and the data processing server apparatus. The first communication network is a communication configuration with a high speed digital transmission technique, and the second communication network is another communication configuration providing service for telephone subscribers. The information terminal apparatus communicates the appliance information with the data processing server apparatus through the first communication network, and uses the second communication network for communicating a particular appliance information with the communication device.

Abstract: A cooking appliance controls a cooking device on the basis of temperature information of an object to be cooked that is estimated from changes in physical characteristics. A neural network is taught, for a number of categories of food that are classified according to the temperature of the cooked and completed food, the relationship between changes in the physical characteristic, such as the temperature and humidity, generated during heating of the object to be cooked during cooking, and changes of temperature of the object at the center of the object and the surface of the object in order to provide for an automatic cooking operation.

Abstract: A method of food heating control in which the heating time length (.tau..sub.o) from a time point (t.sub.1) when the food temperature changing with the heating thereof reaches a predetermined set value (T.sub.1) to a time point (t.sub.2) when the vapor or gas liberated by heating of the food begins to increase the humidity or gas concentration is used as a basis for automatically determining a subsequent heating time length (.tau..sub.R). Since the time period (.tau..sub.R) for the subsequent heating process is determined by the heating time from the time point when the food temperature reaches a predetermined set value to the time point when the humidity or gas concentration begins to increase (unlike in the prior art method in which the heating time from the start of heating to the time point when humidity begins to increase is used to determine the subsequent heating time), the error in the heating time which otherwise might be caused by the variation in the initial food temperature is obviated.

Abstract: A food heating method and apparatus are disclosed in which a heating time length suitable to the food to be cooked is determined by automatically detecting a change in humidity or concentration of the vapor or gas respectively liberated from the food. The initial temperature of the food is measured, and an additional heating time length is calculated from the measured initial temperature and the heating time length required before the detection of the humidity or gas concentration as the case may be, thus determining a total heating time length for properly cooking up the food.

Abstract: A heat-cooking apparatus such as an electronic oven of the type having an oven cavity, a heat source, an infrared detecting equipment adapted to detect the rate of radiation of the infrared rays from the surface of the material under cooking and a controller for controlling the heat source in accordance with the output from the infrared detecting equipment. The infrared detecting equipment includes a reflective plate and a shield cylinder which in combination ensure highly efficient and accurate detection of infrared rays over a long period of time.