Testing of Quality of Cooking Oil

Abstract

This relates to a processor-implemented method of providing an oil-quality indication. The method includes receiving image data associated with a captured image, wherein the image includes (i) oil sample pixels associated with an oil sample and (ii) calibration color pixels associated with a calibration color. The oil sample pixels are adjusted based on the calibration color pixels. A saturation value and a hue value are determined based on the adjusted oil sample pixels. An oil quality value is determined based on the saturation value and the hue value. The oil quality value is stored in a processor-readable medium.

1 . A processor-implemented method of providing an oil-quality indication, comprising:
 receiving data indicative of cooking oil quality from a remote location;   storing the oil quality value in a processor-readable medium;   providing an oil quality report based on the oil quality value, wherein the oil quality report indicates quality of cooking oil over time and timeliness of changing of cooking oil.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the data indicative of cooking oil quality is image data from a captured image, wherein the image includes (i) oil sample pixels which are associated with an oil sample and (ii) calibration color pixels which are associated with a calibration color;
 wherein the method further comprises:
 adjusting the oil sample pixels based on the calibration color pixels; 
 determining a saturation value and a hue value based on the adjusted oil sample pixels; 
 determining the oil quality value based on the saturation value and the hue value. 
   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 approximating a polarity of the oil sample based on the saturation value and the hue value.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein determining of the oil quality value comprises:
 determining whether the saturation value falls within a predetermined saturation low quality range;   determining whether the hue value falls within a predetermined low quality hue range; and   assigning a low quality value for the oil quality value when the saturation value falls within the predetermined low quality saturation range and the hue value falls within the predetermined low quality hue range.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the oil sample is associated with a particular oil formulation, and wherein the predetermined low quality saturation range and the predetermined low quality hue range are associated with the particular oil formulation. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein different predetermined low quality ranges are respectively associated with different oil formulations. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the particular oil formulation is an oil blend associated with a particular food service company. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 determining the predetermined low quality saturation range and the predetermined low quality hue range based on captured images of hue values and saturation values of oil of a same type as the oil sample having known polarity values.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising storing the oil quality value with previous oil quality metric values in the processor-readable data store. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising displaying an indication of the oil quality value on a graphical user interface. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising displaying indications of the oil quality value and the previous oil quality metric values simultaneously on the graphical user interface. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the indication identifies a quality of the oil sample as one of two or one of three available quality states. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the indication identifies whether oil associated with the oil sample should be discarded. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the oil quality value is stored with an indication of a particular machine from which the oil sample was taken. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein adjusting the pixels comprises:
 determining an amount of change to the calibration color pixels necessary to equalize the calibration color pixels to a present value;   adjusting the pixels associated with the oil sample based on the amount of change.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein pixels associated with a second calibration color are received, wherein the pixels associated with the oil sample are further adjusted based on the pixels associated with the second calibration color. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the calibration color is one of white, black, and gray. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein image data associated with multiple captured images of the oil sample is received, wherein the saturation value and the hue value are based on the image data associated with the multiple captured images. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising ignoring a pixel associated with the oil sample significantly differs from others of the pixels associated with the oil sample. 
     
     
         20 . A processor-implemented system for providing an oil-quality indication, comprising:
 a processing system;   a computer-readable medium encoded with instructions configured to command the processing system to execute steps of a method that include:
 receiving data indicative of cooking oil quality from a remote location; 
 storing the oil quality value in a processor-readable medium; 
 providing an oil quality report based on the oil quality value, wherein the oil quality report indicates quality of cooking oil over time and timeliness of changing of cooking oil.