FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to a cooking system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an energy efficient cooking system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Cooking involves heating the food material that requires inflow of thermal energy. During cooking there is considerable loss of thermal energy due to radiation, convection and water vapor. Once the food is cooked, considerable amount of thermal energy acquired by the cooked food is radiated to the environment, before the food can be consumed. Further as the rate of energy transferred to the food is loosely controlled, considerable monitoring and timely intervention is required.
Hence there is need for an energy efficient cooking system that may conserve the energy content during and after the cooking process.
SUMMARY
The present invention discloses a process and system for cooking a food material. The disclosed process comprises the steps of confining the food material in an insulated chamber and providing a first amount of energy from an energy tank to the insulated chamber based on the set of parameters. The process further includes recovering a second amount of energy from the food material after the food attains a first energy state based on the set of parameters such that, the food material attains a second energy state after a second amount of energy may be recovered from the food and returning the recovered energy to the energy tank.

According to further aspect of the invention, the process further comprises the step of supplying energy to the energy tank through an auxiliary energy inlet when the energy in the energy tank is insufficient for attaining a first energy state of the food material.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the system for cooking a food material comprises an insulated chamber for holding the food material and an external interface for providing a set of parameters that regulate a first amount of energy required to cook the food material in the insulated chamber. An integrator is provided for supplying the first amount of energy to the insulated chamber from the energy tank and recovering a second amount of energy from the food material after the food material attains a first energy state based on the set of parameters such that, the food material attains a second energy state after the second amount of energy is recovered from the food, wherein the second energy state is lower than the first energy state. The integrator may be further configured to transfer the recovered second amount of energy to the energy tank.
According to another embodiment, the energy tank may be connected to an Auxiliary inlet that may be configured to supply additional energy when the energy in the energy tank is insufficient for attaining the first energy state of the food material.
According to another embodiment, the external interface may includes an input means for entering the set of parameters such as type of food, quantity of food, time duration, temperature at which the food is to be cooked.
According to another embodiment, the energy tank may be made of any phase changing materials such as wax, glycol water mixture and other suitable material.

According to another embodiment, the system the energy tankmay have a source energy tank and an energy sink tank.
According to another embodiment, the system may have a balance configured between the source energy tank and the energy sink tank. According to another embodiment, the balancer may be a heat pump.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
A more complete appreciation of this invention will be understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference symbols indicate the same or similar components, wherein:
Figure 1 is a flowchart of process of a cooking system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of a cooking system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and
Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of a cooking system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further

modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof. Throughout the patent specification, a convention employed is that in the appended drawings, like numerals denote like components.
Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment", "an embodiment" or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment", "in an embodiment" and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.
The present invention provides a process and system for conserving the energy content during and after cooking or processing of the food. The process of cooking the food material according to the present invention involves placing the food material to be cooked in an insulated chamber. According to an embodiment, the food material may be confined in a container and the container may be placed in the insulated chamber. Once the food material is placed in the chamber, one or more operating parameters are required to be provided. The operating parameters may be provided by a user. The user may enter one or more operating parameters such as type of food, quantity of food, time for cooking, time at which cooked food is required, temperature at which cooked food is

required etc. According to an embodiment, the operating parameters may be entered through an external interface. Based on the input operating parameters, energy is supplied from an energy tank to the insulated chamber to cook the food material. The energy supplied to the food material raises the energy content of the food material based on the operating inputs enter by the user such that the food material attains a first energy state. When the food reaches a desired or first energy state, a certain amount of energy may be recovered from the food until it attains a second energy state. According to an embodiment, the second energy state is lower then the first energy state. The energy recovered may be fed back to the energy tank for reuse for subsequent cooking cycles.
Figure 1 is a flow chart that illustrates the steps involved in the cooking process 10 according to an embodiment of the invention. The disclosed process 10 involves supplying, recovering and reusing energy in a cooking system.
The process 10 starts at step 12, wherein the food material to be cooked is confined in an insulated chamber. The food material to be cooked may be suitably prepared and placed in a sealed container before confining it in the chamber. According to an embodiment, the food material kept in the container may be half baked, half processed, half cooked or in raw state.
At step 14, the user may manually enter one or more operating parameters that may regulate the amount of energy required for cooking the food material placed in the insulated chamber at step 12. The set of parameters may include the time duration, type of food, quantity of food, me at which cooked food is required, temperature at which cooked food is required etc.

At step 16, a first amount of energy may be supplied from the energy tank to the insulated chamber. According to an embodiment, the first amount of energy is based on the operating parameters entered by the user at step 14. According to an embodiment, the energy from the energy tank to the insulated chamber may be supplied through an energy supply device, such as but not limited to, heat pump. The first amount of energy supplied to the insulated chamber increases the energy content of the food material confined in the chamber such that the food material acquires a first energy level. According to another embodiment, the first amount of energy may depend on type of food material to be cooked, quantity of food material, time required to cook the food material etc.
At step 18, when the food material in the insulated chamber attains the first level, a second amount of energy is extracted or recovered from the insulated chamber. The second amount of energy recovered from the insulated chamber results in the change of energy level in the food material such that after the energy is extracted from the food material the energy level in the food material attains a second energy level. According to an embodiment, the second energy level is less then the first energy level. According to another embodiment, the energy extracted from the insulated chamber is the energy dissipated from the food material after the food material gets fully processed or cooked. According to yet another embodiment, the amount of energy to be extracted or recovered may dependent upon the operating parameters entered by the user. According to yet another embodiment, the second energy level corresponds to a condition, where the cooked food attains a temperature at which the food is desired to be eaten.
At step 20, the energy extracted or recovered from the insulated chamber may be transferred back to the energy tank. According to an embodiment, the recovered or

extracted energy may be transferred using an energy transfer device such as, but not limited to, a circulating pump. The extracted energy may be used again for subsequent cooking or food processing cycles. The process of energy extraction and reuse may continue as long as the energy in the energy tank is sufficient to cook or process the food material.
The present invention further discloses a system for cooking a food material. The system includes an insulated chamber (106) for holding the food material. According to an embodiment, an external interface (128) may be provided for inputting one or more set of parameters that regulate a first amount of energy required to cook the food material in the insulated chamber (106). The set of parameters may be entered by the user manually. The system further includes an integrator (112) that may be configured to supply the first amount of energy to the insulated chamber from an energy tank (114) and recover a second amount of energy from the food material after the food material attains a first energy state based on the set of parameters such that, the food material attains a second energy state after the second amount of energy is recovered from the food. According to an embodiment, the second energy state may be lower than the first energy state. The integrator (112) may be further configured to transfer the recovered second amount of energy to the energy tank (114).
Figure 2 illustrates a cooking system 100 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The cooking system 100 includes a housing 102 comprising of an insulated chamber 106.; a energy tank 114 in communication with the insulated chamber 106 through a source device 108 and a sink device 110 via an inlet for energy and an outlet for energy 122 respectively; an integrator 112 in communication with the source device

108 and the sink device 110. The housing 102 is connected to an auxiliary energy inlet 124 a controller 126 and an external interface 128. The Controller is configured to monitor and control the working of all the components of the cooking system 100. The chamber 106 may have one or more detachable container 104.
The housing 102 may have any suitable shape and size and may be made of any suitable material such as, but not limited to, steel, copper, ceramic or any other durable material. The housing 102 may be configured to house one or more components of the disclosed system 100.
The insulated chamber 106 may be shaped and sized to effectively transfer energy to the food inside the container 104 and minimize loss to the external environment. According to one embodiment, the insulated chamber 106 may be paper walled. According to yet another embodiment, the insulated chamber 106 may be made of any suitable insulated material such as, but not limited to, glass wool. The insulated chamber 106 may comprise of inbuilt transducers, trans receivers and in-built actuators. According to an embodiment, the insulated chamber 106 may have a suitable opening for the keeping and removal of the one or more container 104. According to another embodiment, the insulated chamber 106 also comprises of suitable inlet 120 and outlet 122 for the transfer of energy. The inlet 120 and outlet 122 may be made of suitable material and shape.
The container 104 may be made of any suitable material such as, but not limited to, ceramic, plastic, metal, etc. The shape, size and material of the container 104 may be such that it effectively transfers energy between the contents of the container 104 and the

energy within the insulated chamber 106. According to an embodiment, the container 104 may be reusable or disposable.
The external interface 128 may be configured to accept set of operating parameters from users. The set of parameters may include, but are not limited to, time duration, type of food, quantity of food, temperature at which the food is to be cooked, time at which cooked food is required etc. According to an embodiment, the external device 128 may include a display device and an input device (not shown). The external interface may further include a memory for storing the set of parameters entered by the user. The external interface 128 is connected to the controller 126. Alternatively, the external interface 128 may comprise of a built in controller.
The controller 126 controls and monitors the working of the housing 102 of the cooking system 100. The controller 126 is a set of control system(s), which may be realized by any means (not shown), may be digital or analog in nature, and may include a suitable storage of data (not shown). The controller 126 may be configured to receive data from various sources, including various transducers incorporated in the various components of the housing 102 and pre stored or programmed data. The controller 126 outputs the data to the external interface 128. The controller 126 may be suitably connected to all the subunits of the cooking system 100 as required.
According to an embodiment, the energy tank 114 may be any suitable means for storing and transferring energy, such as but not limited to, a battery, a thermal energy reservoir, a pressure energy reservoir, etc. According to another embodiment, the energy tank 114 may be made of any suitable phase changing material such as, but not limited to, wax, glycol water mixture, etc and may be of any suitable shape or size. The

energy tank 114 may be configured to optimally store energy required to be supplied to the insulated chamber 106 for cooking the food material.
A source device 108, may be any suitable hear transfer material or device such as, but not limited to, a heat pump. The source device 108 may be connected to the energy tank 114 and configured to transfer a first amount energy from the energy tank 114 to the insulated chamber 106 such that the food material confined in the insulated chamber 106 may attains a first energy state. The first amount of energy supplied to the insulated chamber 106 increases the energy content of the food material confined in the chamber such that the food material acquires a first energy level. According to an embodiment, the first amount of energy may depend on type of food material to be cooked, quantity of food material, time required to cook the food material etc. According to one embodiment, the first energy state may be the state at which the food gets completely processed or cooked. According to another embodiment, the first energy state may also be an intermediary state wherein the food is half cooked or half processed as desired by the user.
According to an embodiment, the source device 108 may include suitable valves/devices (not shown) to transfer energy from the source energy tank 114 to the insulated chamber 106. The energy supplied from the energy tank 114 to the insulated chamber 106 raises the energy level of the food material and hence the temperature such that the food materials attains a first energy state. It is well understood to a person skilled in the art that low and high energy levels implies low and high temperature. The first amount of energy to be transferred by the source device 108 may be monitored and regulated by the integrator 112.

The integrator 112 may monitor the first amount of energy required to be supplied to insulated chamber 106 from the energy tank 114 based on the operating parameters entered by the user. The integrator 112 may be any suitable electronic device and may be pre- programmed to supply and recover a fixed amount of energy based on the set of operating parameters entered. According to an embodiment, the integrator 112 may comprise, but is not limited to, a micro controller, plurality of transducers for converting thermal/heat energy into electronic form etc.
According to an embodiment, the integrator 112 may further be configured to recover or extract a second amount of energy from the insulated chamber 106 when the food material in the insulated chamber 106 attains a first energy state or the desired temperature. The second amount of energy recovered from the insulated chamber 106 results in the change of energy level in the food material such that after the energy is extracted from the food material, the energy level in the food material attains a second energy level. The process of energy extraction from the insulated chamber 106 continues till the food material in the insulated chamber 106 attains a second energy level. According to an embodiment, the second energy level is less than the first energy level. According to another embodiment, the second energy level may be entered by the user in terms of temperature or may be pre programmed depending upon various criteria such as, but not limited to, type of food, quantity of food etc. The second amount of energy extracted from the insulated chamber 106 leads to lowering of the temperature of the food material. This lower temperature or the second energy state is preferably, but not limited to, the temperature or the state at which the food is desired to be eaten.

A sink device 110, such as, but not limited to, a circulating pump, may be provided to circulate the heat recovered from the insulated chamber 106 back to the energy tank 114. According to an embodiment, the sink device 110 may include suitable valves/devices (not shown) to transfer energy from the insulated chamber 106 to energy sink tank 114. The sink device 110 may comprise of suitable transducers and/or trans receivers.
The energy recovered from the insulated chamber 106 forms part of the energy in the energy tank and is reused for subsequent cooking purposes.
According to an embodiment, the cooking system 100 may further comprise of an auxiliary energy inlet 124. The auxiliary energy inlet 124 is a back up energy source and supplies energy to the energy tank 114 when the energy in the energy tank 114 becomes insufficient for attaining the first energy level in the insulated chamber 106 based on the set of input parameters.
Referring to Figure 3, another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. As illustrated the cooking system 200 may have substantially same components as illustrated above except the energy tank. According to this embodiment, instead of a single energy tank, the cooking system 200 may include two separate energy tanks namely the source energy tank 202 and the energy sink tank 204.
The source energy tank 202 may be configured to optimally store the energy required to be supplied to the insulated chamber 106 for attaining a first energy level. According to an embodiment, the source energy tank 202 may be any suitable means for storing and transferring energy, such as but not limited to, a battery, a thermal energy reservoir, a pressure energy reservoir, etc. According to another embodiment, the source

energy tank 202 may be made of any suitable phase changing material such as, but not limited to, wax, glycol water mixture and may be of any suitable shape or size.
The sink energy tank 204 may be configured to optimally store energy extracted from the insulated chamber 106. According to an embodiment, the sink energy tank 204 may be any suitable means for storing and transferring energy, such as but not limited to, a battery, a thermal energy reservoir, a pressure energy reservoir, etc. According to another embodiment, the sink energy tank 204 may be made of any suitable phase changing material such as, but not limited to, wax, glycol water mixture and may be of any suitable shape or size.
According to an embodiment, the cooking system 200 further includes a balancer 206. The balancer 206 may be any suitable hear transfer material or device, such as, but not limited to, a heat pump, between the source energy tanks 202 and sink energy tank 204 to transfer energy from the energy sink tank 204 to the source energy tank 202 when the energy in the source energy tank 202 becomes insufficient for attaining the first energy level in the insulated chamber 106 based on the set of input parameters The balancer 206 maintains a balance between the energy in the source energy tanks 202 and sink energy tank 204.
According to an embodiment, an auxiliary inlet valve 124 may be provided for supplying additional energy when the combined energy in the source energy tank 202 and the energy sink tank 204 becomes insufficient for attaining the first energy level in the insulated chamber 106.
The cooking system , as disclosed according to various embodiment of the present invention provides high convenience and low energy consumption for cooking food, with

decreased energy transfer to the ambient reducing global warming. The process, as disclosed above, is more energy efficient and further as energy from the cooked food is recovered that may help reducing global warming as the energy radiated into the environment is reduced.
Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any component(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or component of any or all the claims.
While specific language has been used to describe the disclosure, any limitations arising on account of the same are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the process in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein.

We Claim:
1. A process of cooking a food material comprising the steps of:
confining the food material in an insulated chamber (106);
providing a set of parameters that regulate a first amount of energy, required to cook the food material in the insulated chamber (106);
providing the first amount of energy to the insulated chamber (106) based on the set of parameters from an energy tank (114);
recovering a second amount of energy from the food material after the food attains a first energy state based on the set of parameters such that, the food material attains a second energy state after a second amount of energy is recovered from the food; and
returning the recovered energy to the energy tank (114).
2. The process as claimed in claim 1, further comprises the step of supplying
energy to the energy tank (114) through an auxiliary energy inlet (124) when the energy
in the energy tank (114) is insufficient for heating the material in the container (104) at
the first temperature.
3. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of providing set of parameters includes inputting time, type of food and quantity of food, and/or temperature at which the food is to be cooked.

4. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of providing the first amount of energy includes providing energy such that the food gets fully cooked or processed or attains the temperature entered by the user.
5. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of recovering second amount of energy is such that it leads to a second energy state that is lower than the first energy state.
6. An system (100) for cooking a food material, comprising:
an insulated chamber (106) for holding the food material;
an external interface (128) for providing a set of parameters that regulate a first amount of energy required to cook the food material in the insulated chamber (106);
an integrator (112) for supplying the first amount of energy to the insulated chamber from an energy tank (114) and recovering a second amount of energy from the food material after the food material attains a first energy state based on the set of parameters such that, the food material attains a second energy state after the second amount of energy is recovered from the food, wherein the second energy state is lower than the first energy state; the integrator (112) transfers the recovered second amount of energy to the energy tank (114).
7. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the energy tank (114) is further connected to an auxiliary energy inlet (124) to supply additional energy when the energy

in the energy tank (114) is insufficient for attaining the first energy state of the food material.
8. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the second energy state is lower than the first energy state.
9. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the external interface (128) further includes an input means for entering the set of parameters such as type of food, quantity of food, time duration, temperature at which the food is to be cooked.
10. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the energy tank (114) comprises a phase changing material.
11. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the energy tank (114) is further connected to a source device (108) to transfer energy from the energy tank (114) to the insulated chamber (106).
12. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the insulated chamber is further connected to a sink device (110) to transfer the recovered energy from the insulated chamber (106) to the energy tank (114).
13. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the energy tank includes a source energy tank (202) and an energy sink tank (204).
14. The system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the source energy tank (202) is connected to the energy sink tank (204) through a heat pump.