Abstract: A system for automatically controlling the temperature of the cooking surface of a cooking surface of a solid-surface cooktop and, consequently, the temperature of the cooking utensil on the cooking surface, by detecting cooking utensil-related properties through the solid-surface cooktop. The cooking utensil-related properties include presence/absence, removal/placement, and other physical properties such as utensil type, size, warpage, and temperature and load size. Automatic control is based on monitoring the heat transfer characteristics from the energy source to the cooktop and the utensil to infer the utensil properties. This is achieved by sensing or inferring a parameter indicative of the temperature of a monitored area that includes at least a portion of the cooktop or of the cooking utensil placed on the upper surface of a cooktop, as well as a parameter indicative of power applied to a controllable heat source, and detecting signal properties using an evolutionary algorithm.

Abstract: A monitoring and control system for monitoring the boil states of the contents of a cooking utensil located on a cooking surface of a cooktop, indicating the state to a user, and controlling the energy applied to the cooking surface, which may be a glass ceramic. The system includes at least one controllable heat source located below the lower surface of the cooktop so as to heat the cooktop and cooking utensil, at least one sensor located in proximity to the cooktop, which senses the temperature of at least one of the cooktop and the cooking utensil, at least one power indicative signal, and a signal processing device receiving a temperature signal from the sensor, and the power indicative signal. The signal issued by the sensor is representative of the temperature of either the cooktop, or the cooking utensil.