Abstract: Several embodiments include a cooking instrument having: a housing frame defining a slot to fit a food item; a heater mechanically coupled to the housing frame and adapted to produce electromagnetic waves to heat the food item; one or more optical feedback components configured to measure light intensity at one or more regions in the slot perpendicular to an opening of the slot; and a controller configured to control the heater based on an output of the optical feedback components.

Abstract: Several embodiments include a cooking instrument. The cooking instrument can include a heating system. The heating system can include one or more heating elements capable of emitting wireless energy into the cooking chamber. The cooking instrument can also include a control system. The control system can executing a heating sequence to drive the heating system, detect, based on an output signal of a sensor, a trigger event, and configure the heating system in response to detecting the trigger event.

Abstract: Several embodiments include a cooking instrument. The cooking instrument can include a heating system. The heating system can include one or more heating elements capable of emitting wireless energy into the cooking chamber. The cooking instrument can also include a sensor and a control system. The control system can be configured to execute a heating process and determine a stage of the heating process based on sensor data from the sensor.

Abstract: Several embodiments include a cooking appliance/instrument (e.g., oven). The cooking appliance/instrument can include a cooking chamber, a support tray adapted to hold food in the cooking chamber; and a heating system comprised of at least a heating element. The heating system is adapted to emit waves according to a particular configuration such that the emitted waves is substantially transparent or substantially opaque to the support tray and thus enabling the cooking instrument to select what to heat.

Abstract: Power control systems and methods include power control logic configured to selectively apply electrical power received from an external resource to a plurality of heating elements to implement a heating algorithm. In one embodiment, the power control logic is configured to measure the electrical power supplied to the plurality of heating elements, predict an amount of the electrical power needed to activate one or more of the plurality of heating elements, track power usage for each of the plurality of heating elements, and determine a next heating element to activate based on the tracked power usage and the heating algorithm.

Abstract: Several embodiments include a cooking appliance/instrument (e.g., oven). The cooking appliance/instrument can include a cooking chamber, a support tray adapted to hold food in the cooking chamber; and a heating system comprised of at least a heating element. The heating system is adapted to emit waves according to a particular configuration such that the emitted waves is substantially transparent or substantially opaque to the support tray and thus enabling the cooking instrument to select what to heat.

Abstract: Several embodiments include a cooking appliance. The cooking appliance can include one or more heating elements; a cooking chamber; and a camera attached to the interior of the chamber. In some embodiments, the cooking chamber prevents any visible light from escaping the chamber (e.g., the cooking chamber is windowless). In some embodiments, the heating elements are controlled by a computing device in the cooking appliance. In some embodiments, the output of the camera is used to adjust heating pattern of the heating elements.

Abstract: Several embodiments include a cooking instrument. The cooking instrument can include a heating system. The heating system can include one or more heating elements capable of emitting wireless energy into the cooking chamber. The cooking instrument can also include a control system. The control system can determine a heating sequence (e.g., logical instructions) to drive the heating system. The control system can then execute the heating sequence. The heating sequence can include an instruction to adjust, based on a trigger event detectable by the control system, the spectral power distribution of wireless waves emitted from a heating element in the heating system.

Abstract: Several embodiments include a cooking instrument. The cooking instrument can include a heating system. The heating system can include one or more heating elements capable of emitting wireless energy into the cooking chamber. The sensor can be positioned, configured, or shaped such that air within the cooking chamber flows over the sensor. The sensor can be adapted to detect particles given off by food under heat. The cooking instrument can also include a sensor and a control system. The control system can be configured to execute a heating process and determine a stage of the heating process based on sensor data from the sensor.

Abstract: Temperature probe systems and methods include a probe body having a sharp end adapted to penetrate an edible substance, a plurality of temperature sensing elements distributed along a length of the probe body, electrical components operable to receive data signals from the plurality of temperature sensing elements, the electrical components disposed in the probe body between the sharp end and at least one of the temperature sensing elements, and an insertion aid. The electrical components may include wireless components to facilitate communications with a host cooking appliance, and the temperature sensing elements may be used to measure temperature and communicate the temperature measurements via the wireless components to the host cooking appliance. The insertion aid, the probe body, and the temperature sensing elements may include one or more heat resistant materials.

Abstract: Several embodiments include a cooking instrument. The cooking instrument can include a heating system. The heating system can include one or more heating elements capable of emitting wireless energy into the cooking chamber. The cooking instrument can also include a control system. The control system can select a quantifiable cooking result and drive the heating system to achieve such cooking result. In at least one mode of operation, the control system can increase power density despite a power draw limit of an external power source.

Abstract: Several embodiments include a cooking instrument. The cooking instrument can select a food cooking recipe and identify relative areas in a cooking chamber to place at least two portions of food. The relative areas would match the food cooking recipe. The cooking instrument can display information associated with an instruction to place the at least two portions of food over the relative areas. The cooking instrument can then determine a heating sequence in accordance with the food cooking recipe and control, based on the heating sequence, a heating system to directionally transfer heat under different heating characteristics respectively to the at least two portions of the food at the identified relative areas in the cooking chamber.

Abstract: Several embodiments include a cooking instrument. The cooking instrument can select a food cooking recipe and identify relative areas in a cooking chamber to place at least two portions of food. The relative areas would match the food cooking recipe. The cooking instrument can display information associated with an instruction to place the at least two portions of food over the relative areas. The cooking instrument can then determine a heating sequence in accordance with the food cooking recipe and control, based on the heating sequence, a heating system to directionally transfer heat under different heating characteristics respectively to the at least two portions of the food at the identified relative areas in the cooking chamber.

Abstract: Systems and methods for user configurable cooking appliances include receiving system resources having associated budgets, facilitating user allocation the system resources to a plurality of heating elements without exceeding the associate budgets, applying the system resources to the heating elements to heat one or more food substances within a cooking chamber, and selectively regulating delivery of the system resources to the heating elements such that no more than the associated budget of each of the system resources is delivered to the heating elements. Computing components can execute a heating algorithm to cook at least one food substance in the cooking chamber, detect a state change of the food substance, and modify the heating algorithm to reconfigure the system resources supplied to the heating elements in response to the state change and in accordance with user configured allocation and associated budgets for the system resources.

Abstract: Several embodiments include a cooking instrument. The cooking instrument can select a food cooking recipe and identify relative areas in a cooking chamber to place at least two portions of food. The relative areas would match the food cooking recipe. The cooking instrument can display information associated with an instruction to place the at least two portions of food over the relative areas. The cooking instrument can then determine a heating sequence in accordance with the food cooking recipe and control, based on the heating sequence, a heating system to directionally transfer heat under different heating characteristics respectively to the at least two portions of the food at the identified relative areas in the cooking chamber.

Abstract: Several embodiments include a cooking appliance/instrument (e.g., oven). The cooking instrument can draw an alternating current (AC) power and generate a maximum available power for a heating system of the cooking instrument via a power component that converts the drawn AC power. The cooking instrument can then directionally heat each of different zones in a cooking chamber of the cooking instrument in sequence using one or more heating elements of the heating system on at least one side of the cooking chamber such that each step in the sequence utilizes the maximum available power for the heating system.

Abstract: Systems and methods include a cooking appliance comprising a heating element disposed within a cooking chamber and operable to selectively emit waves at any of a plurality of powers and/or peak wavelengths, a camera operable to capture an image of the cooking chamber, and a computing device operable to supply power to the heating element to vary the power and/or peak wavelength of the emitted waves and generate heat within the cooking chamber, and instruct the camera to capture the image when the heating element is emitting at a stabilized power and/or peak wavelength. The computing device is operable to generate an adjusted captured image by adjusting the captured image with respect to the stabilized power and/or peak wavelength. The computing device comprises feedback components operable to receive the adjusted captured image, extract features, and analyze the one or more features to determine an event, property, measurement and/or status.

Abstract: Several embodiments include a cooking appliance/instrument (e.g., oven). The cooking appliance/instrument can include a cooking chamber, a support tray adapted to hold food in the cooking chamber; and a heating system comprised of at least a heating element. The heating system is adapted to emit waves according to a particular configuration such that the emitted waves is substantially transparent or substantially opaque to the support tray and thus enabling the cooking instrument to select what to heat.

Abstract: Several embodiments include a cooking appliance/instrument (e.g., oven). The cooking instrument can draw an alternating current (AC) power and generate a maximum available power for a heating system of the cooking instrument via a power component that converts the drawn AC power. The cooking instrument can then directionally heat each of different zones in a cooking chamber of the cooking instrument in sequence using one or more heating elements of the heating system on at least one side of the cooking chamber such that each step in the sequence utilizes the maximum available power for the heating system.

Abstract: Several embodiments include a cooking appliance/instrument (e.g., oven). The cooking appliance/instrument can include a cooking chamber, a support tray adapted to hold food in the cooking chamber; and a heating system comprised of at least a heating element. The heating system is adapted to emit waves according to a particular configuration such that the emitted waves is substantially transparent or substantially opaque to the support tray and thus enabling the cooking instrument to select what to heat.