Automatic Control Patents (Class 99/325)
  • Patent number: 11951941
    Abstract: According to one aspect, a method includes determining when a vehicle has arrived at a destination and performing a first authentication process when it is determined that the vehicle has arrived at the destination. The first authentication process being arranged to authenticate a first party to enable the first party to interact with the vehicle. The method also includes determining when the first party has successfully completed the first authentication process, performing a second process when it is determined that the first party has successfully completed the first authentication process, determining whether the second process is successfully completed, and enabling the first party to interact with the vehicle when it is determined that the second process is successfully completed. Performing the second process includes determining when the first party is present within the sensing zone. The first authentication process and the second process are contactless with respect to the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: Nuro, Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin Bhanu Rathi, John David West, Joonsik Maing, Robert Irving Luan, David K Kim, Siyu Zhan
  • Patent number: 11922366
    Abstract: Provided are systems and processes for optimizing assignments of deliveries for perishable goods. In one aspect, a method is provided for pairing a set of created orders with a set of available couriers. The set of created orders may include orders confirmed by the merchant and the set of available couriers include couriers that are online with an active status. Feasible pairings are generated between each courier and each created order. Infeasible pairings are eliminated based on factors such as transportation mode. Possible routes for each pairing are generated and scored based on weighted factors. The scores are optimized to achieve a set of routes with a maximum score. The routes are then offered to the corresponding courier if the courier will arrive at or after the created order is completed by the merchant. A neural network may be implemented to recognize the optimal score for a given duration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: DoorDash, Inc.
    Inventors: Rohan Balraj Chopra, Richard Hwang, Jeff Ning Han
  • Patent number: 11805940
    Abstract: A food processor for preparing a food includes a food preparation space with one or more devices for preparing the food in the food preparation space. The food processor also includes at least one interface for connecting the food processor to another household appliance and a user interface unit for providing user interfaces. The food processor includes a control unit for providing control programs and a communication unit for providing communication channels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Inventors: Matthias Stein, Marcelo Caballero, Matthias Ludwig, Felix Bruns
  • Patent number: 11793356
    Abstract: An infrared source is arranged relative to support for bread product and operates to direct IR energy to the bread product. A light source is arranged relative to the support and operates to illuminate the bread product and a camera operates to capture images of the bread product. A processor receives the images from the camera. The processor compares successive images received from the camera. Based upon the comparison, the processor operates the IR source to achieve a predetermined toasting level of the bread product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: Marmon Foodservice Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Steven Shei, Loren Veltrop, Henry Africano, David E. Paton, Nicholas Paul Mandarino
  • Patent number: 11751712
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and articles to provide customized control of a cooking appliance, such as a sous vide cooker. A user provides a selection of one or more ending characteristics for a food product. A processor-based device determines one or more output food preparation parameters based on the user's selection of the one or more ending characteristics. Measurements of temperature, power delivery, or other characteristics may be obtained during cooking process. A cooking program controlling the cooking process may be revised or updated based at least in part on the obtained measurements or analysis of the measurements. Estimations or projections about the cooking process may be presented to a user via a user interface of the cooking appliance or a user interface of a computing device (e.g., smartphone) associated with the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: BREVILLE USA, INC.
    Inventors: Douglas Baldwin, Marc Ian Feifel, Christopher Charles Young
  • Patent number: 11745348
    Abstract: The foodstuff assembly system can include: a robot arm, a frame, a set of foodstuff bins, a sensor suite, a set of food utensils, and a computing system. The system can optionally include: a container management system, a human machine interface (HMI). However, the foodstuff assembly system 100 can additionally or alternatively include any other suitable set of components. The system functions to enable picking of foodstuff from a set of foodstuff bins and placement into a container (such as a bowl, tray, or other foodstuff receptacle). Additionally or alternatively, the system can function to facilitate transferal of bulk material (e.g., bulk foodstuff) into containers, such as containers moving along a conveyor line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: Chef Robotics, Inc.
    Inventors: Rajat Bhageria, Clement Creusot, Luis Rayas, Dean Wilhelmi, Harjot Bal, Xinyi Daniel Tang, Erik Gokbora, Connor Buckland, Kody Brown, Weston Wahl
  • Patent number: 11700965
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method (100) for operating a food processor (10), in which, in a preparation mode, at least one processor device (50) of said food processor (10) is actuated so as to prepare food at least partly automatically, wherein a monitoring device (200) determines detection values (106) by detecting (105), at said processor (10), at least two detection variables (102) specific to a state of preparation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding GmbH
    Inventors: Wenjie Yan, Maximilian Könnings, Maria Resende
  • Patent number: 11668472
    Abstract: A cook top includes an inputter configured to receive input of a user manipulation, and a cooker configured to heat a cooking device placed on the cook top. A communicator is configured to perform communication with a user terminal device and a range hood. A processor is configured to: control an operating state of the cooker according to the user manipulation, transmit a signal for controlling an operating state of the range hood to correspond to the operating state of the cooker to the range hood, and control the communicator to transmit state information of the cook top that includes information of the operating state of the cooker to the user terminal device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Sook-young Ji, Jin-seok Kwon, Seung-hun Choi, Dong-wook Kim
  • Patent number: 11650105
    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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Assignee: Brava Home, Inc.
    Inventor: Shih-yu Cheng
  • Patent number: 11578873
    Abstract: An oven appliance may include a cabinet, a plurality of chamber walls, a cooking surface, a top heating element, a temperature sensor, and a controller. The cooking surface may be defined in a cooking chamber. The top heating element may be mounted above the cooking surface to heat the cooking chamber. The temperature sensor may be disposed within the cabinet. The controller may be configured to initiate a cooking operation that includes initiating preheat activation of the top heating element, receiving temperature signals from the temperature sensor during the preheat activation, determining a preheat threshold is met based on the received temperature signals, and initiating cooking activation of the top heating element based on a cooking cycle having a predetermined time interval subsequent to determining the preheat threshold is met. Initiating cooking activation may include directing the top heating element based on the cooking cycle for the predetermined time interval.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
    Inventor: Eric Scott Johnson
  • Patent number: 11311142
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a food processor for preparing a food in a pot. The food processor comprises the pot, a heating element for heating the pot or a food in the pot, and a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature TSUR, TMED of the pot or a food in the pot. The food processor comprises a monitoring device which is configured such that the monitoring device can detect an exceeding of a boiling point SP of a food in the pot on the basis of a temperature measurement value TNTC(k) of the temperature sensor and an electrical measurement value u(k), which depends on an energy supply to the heating element. Furthermore, the present disclosure relates to a process and a computer program product. A food processor with boiling point detection can thus be made available with particularly low production effort.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Inventors: Andrej Mosebach, Wenjie Yan, Sebastian Tietz, Stefan Kraut-Reinkober, Michael Sickert
  • Patent number: 11266273
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an appliance. In one embodiment, the appliance has an enclosed structure which includes a first portion configured to receive one or more meal cartridges, and store and preserve the meal cartridges at a selected temperature range; a second portion; and transfer mechanism configured to transfer at least one meal cartridge in the first portion to the second portion within the enclosed structure in response to a command input for cooking the at least one meal cartridge. The second portion is configured to accept the at least one meal cartridge, receive a cooking instruction command including a cooking duration and temperature determined for the at least one meal cartridge, and cook the at least one meal cartridge based upon the cooking duration and temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: Counter Intuitive Cooking, Inc.
    Inventors: Maxwell Henry Wieder, Edward David Holzinger, Clayton James
  • Patent number: 11150126
    Abstract: A system and method for assisting a user in assembling a culinary combination according to a recipe. The system comprises a scale and a computing device configured to communicate with the scale. The system displays information regarding ingredients of the recipe and displays a progress of assembling the culinary combination based on the information from the scale. In some embodiments, a bar graph is displayed with a bar proportional to the measured amount of an ingredient of the recipe compared to a target amount for the ingredient. In some embodiments, the system displays a build column of one or more recipe blocks, representing actions or ingredients of the recipe. An active recipe block is displayed with a portion of the recipe block displayed in a different manner in proportion to the measured amount of an ingredient of the recipe compared to a target amount for the ingredient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: PERFECT COMPANY, INC.
    Inventors: Michael Wallace, Philip T. Odom, Brian Richardson, Darin Barri
  • Patent number: 11132918
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and articles to provide customized cooking instructions to users via a communications device. The user is provided with audio/visual prompts depicting one or more ending characteristics of a food product, such as texture or doneness. The user provides a selection of the one or more ending characteristics according to the user's preferences. A processor-based device determines one or more output food preparation parameters based on the user's selection of the one or more ending characteristics for the food product. The one or more determined output food preparation parameters are provided to a communication device of the user so that the user may cook the food product according to the output food preparation parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: BREVILLE USA, INC.
    Inventors: Christopher Charles Young, Douglas Baldwin, Michael Natkin, Nelson Timothy Salazar
  • Patent number: 11113933
    Abstract: A device for communicating a system status visually is disclosed. The device comprises a primary indicator and a secondary indicator, and in an embodiment comprises a surround indicator and a tail indicator. Both indicators allow light to pass through a translucent portion to be visible by a user, and the device utilizes illumination elements such as multicolor LEDs to present the indicators in colors to communicate system status or a data category to inform a user about the system with simplified color signals easily perceived at a distance. The device can be configured to accept multiple sensor or signal inputs and control one or more powered devices to effect feedback control of a system variable, e.g. temperature. The tail indicator can change colors to communicate a data category provided by a signal input. The surround indicator can change colors to communicate a system status.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Therm-Omega-Tech, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Trudnak, Eric Fulmer
  • Patent number: 11100112
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus, system, method, and program are provided. The information processing apparatus includes storage circuitry, communication circuitry and control circuitry. The storage circuitry stores ingredients classification information that is information obtained by classifying ingredients into upper and lower classes. The communication circuitry receives menu information from a user terminal. The control circuitry specifies each low-order ingredient that is an ingredient included in a lower class of each high-order ingredient, which is an ingredient of an upper class, from the ingredients classification information in a case where the high-order ingredient is included in the menu information, controls the communication circuitry to transmit ingredient information including information of the low-order ingredient to the user terminal, and receives registration of the menu information when the communication circuitry receives the menu information including the low-order ingredient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: GURUNAVI, INC.
    Inventor: Atsushi Yamada
  • Patent number: 11064361
    Abstract: The present disclosure discloses an electronic device binding method, an electronic device, and an electronic device binding system. The electronic device binding method includes: receiving, at an electronic device and from the server, a binding request originating from a mobile terminal, and displaying the binding request, wherein the binding request contains device information of the electronic device and user information of the mobile terminal; generating at the electronic device a binding result in response to a first operation of an operator of the electronic device on the binding request, and transmitting the binding result from the electronic device to the server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jianli Yao, Yao Wang, Chengjie Zeng, Tieli Chen
  • Patent number: 10640354
    Abstract: A system and method for simultaneously filling containers of different shapes and/or sizes are disclosed. A plurality of vehicles are routable along a track system to facilitate simultaneous delivery of first containers and second containers to different unit operation stations. The first and second containers may differ from one another in outer shape and/or interior volume.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Ryan Andrew Burkhard, Nathan E Moore, Elizabeth Marie Fikes, Daniel Richard Royce
  • Patent number: 10643875
    Abstract: A system and method for simultaneously filling containers with different fluent products are disclosed. The system includes a plurality of vehicles that are independently routable along a track system to deliver containers to at least one unit operation station for dispensing fluent materials into the containers. The containers receive one or more fluent materials that differ from another in ingredients and/or weight percentage of at least one ingredient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Ryan Andrew Burkhard, Nathan E Moore, Elizabeth Marie Fikes, Daniel Richard Royce
  • Patent number: 10640249
    Abstract: A track system includes a primary transport portion and a secondary transport portion along which a plurality of vehicles can be propelled. Each secondary transport portion includes a unit operation station for performing a transformation on a container or the contents therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2020
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Ryan Andrew Burkhard, Nathan E Moore, Elizabeth Marie Fikes, Daniel Richard Royce, Jason Matthew Orndorff, Christopher Robert Lyman
  • Patent number: 10552025
    Abstract: A user interface includes a touch-sensitive display and a display control unit for controlling the touch-sensitive display. A method for controlling a household appliance using the graphical user interface includes the steps of: displaying a first graphical representation on the touch-sensitive display, the first graphical representation including one or more symbols (V1, V2), each symbol (V1, V2) being associated with an appliance subunit of the household appliance; touching a symbol (V1, V2) by a touching means in order to change of a setting value of the appliance subunit associated with the touched symbol (V1) by moving the touching means; determining the moving speed of the touching means by the display control unit; and displaying information at the touch-sensitive display depending on the determined moving speed of the touching means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2020
    Assignee: Electrolux Appliances Aktiebolag
    Inventors: Jérôme Brasseur, Petter Karlsson
  • Patent number: 10154549
    Abstract: A microwave oven includes: a cooker body in the shape of a box having a heating chamber with an opening at the front side thereof; a storage having a door which opens and closes the opening, and an inner box including two side plates, a bottom plate and a back plate connected to the door, the storage being movable to the front side and storing an object to be cooked; and a hot-air generating unit generating hot air. The hot-air generating unit is located at the outer side of a rear wall of a heating chamber, and an air outlet from which hot air is blown out is located on the rear wall at a position higher than the back plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tadashi Nasu, Akihiro Yoshidome, Masayuki Iwamoto, Junichi Takeuchi, Hiroshi Hirano
  • Patent number: 9841191
    Abstract: An appliance includes a first gas-burning heating element, a first gas path extending from an inlet to the first heating element, and a first solenoid valve positioned within the first gas path. The appliance further includes a second gas path extending from upstream of the first solenoid valve to the first heating element and supplying a base gas flow to the first heating element. A controller is electronically coupled with the first solenoid valve for controlling a supplemental flow of gas through the first gas path to the first heating element such that the supplemental gas flow combines with the base gas flow to achieve a total gas flow. The controller controls the supplemental flow to adjust the total gas flow by pulsing the first solenoid valve at a first rate corresponding to a desired rate of the total gas flow to the first heating element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventors: James Charles Johncock, Cristiano Vito Pastore
  • Patent number: 9538880
    Abstract: Disclosed are cooking devices having inspection systems including: a distance sensor and a digital optical recognition device. The distance sensor detects the position of the food product placed in the cooking device and the digital optical recognition device captures a series of images for the purpose of food product recognition. Once the food product is recognized, the operator is provided with the correct cooking cycle/program for the position and type of food product placed in the cooking device. The inspection systems also ensure that the food product has been properly cooked at the end of the cooking cycle/program. The inspection systems ensure: (1) the food product is correctly recognized; (2) the cooking cycle/program is correctly selected; (3) the correct cooking cycle/program is followed to completion and (4) the quality of the cooked food product meets expected standards.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2017
    Assignee: CONVOTHERM ELEKTROGERAETE GMBH
    Inventor: Lutz Riefenstein
  • Patent number: 9226093
    Abstract: A mobile terminal and a method for generating recipe information of the mobile terminal are disclosed, in which information useful for a user is generated by taking a picture and using externally collected data. The method for generating recipe information of a mobile terminal, which performs communication with at least one home appliance to generate recipe information comprises the steps of carrying out a function of generating recipe information on the basis of a user request; collecting operation data of the at least one home appliance driven in association with cooking; receiving a request for taking images received through a camera in a state that the function of generating recipe information is being carried out; and taking the images received through the camera in response to the request for taking images and processing the operation data collected from the at least one home appliance in association with the taken images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Hyorim Park, Sangmin Lee, Boram Kim, Sungil Cho
  • Patent number: 9040881
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a cooking control method performed by a cooking apparatus for a food item. The method comprises obtaining a unique identifier and cooking data for the food item, and checking for a record of the unique identifier in a memory of the cooking apparatus. If a record of the unique identifier is located in the memory, then the cooking apparatus will not cook the food item. Otherwise a cooking process based on the cooking data to cook the food item is performed. Accordingly, cooking data for a given instance of a food item can only be used once in order to activate a cooking process performed by the cooking apparatus. The present invention also features product recall as well as the ability to track food item sales via a cooking data communications system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2015
    Assignee: OVENFEAST LIMITED
    Inventors: Michael James McIntyre, Richard Anthony Devlin
  • Patent number: 9012814
    Abstract: Provided are a cooking appliance, and a system and method for controlling a cooking appliance. The system includes a RF tag and a cooking appliance. The RF tag stores food information about foods as integrants of a dish and the cooking appliance having a RF reader reads the food information stored in the RF tag. The cooking appliance includes a memory, a cooking appliance controller, and a display unit. The memory stores dish information about dishes that can be cooked using the food information. The cooking appliance controller reads dish information from the memory, and the display unit displays at least one of the dish information to a user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Jun Hyun Park, Soo Cheol Yi
  • Publication number: 20150104549
    Abstract: The present invention refers to a new, different cooking process of products to be nixtamalized, for instance, corn, as well as a specially designed reactor to be used in the deep thermal treatment. Essentially, the process comprises the loading of a mixture of product to be nixtamalized and water into the container; shaking of the mixture by air injection from an air compressor; separation of floating residues and discharge of wastewater; introduction of hot and clean water into the container and the addition of lime, thus creating a product-water-lime mixture; stirring of the product-water-lime mixture by injecting air from the air compressor; igniting the burner until a target temperature is obtained in the reactor container; and turn off the burner and conditioning of moisture inside the reactor container for a determined period of time where prior to the end of the determined period of time it is proceeded to shake the cooked product-water-lime mixture by air injection from the air compressor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2014
    Publication date: April 16, 2015
    Inventors: Roberto Leopoldo CASTRO GENERA, Olga Alicia LOBO IRUEGAS
  • Patent number: 8991303
    Abstract: A beverage preparation machine is electrically operated and has a control unit, at least one functional unit, and an electric circuit for supplying the functional unit and the control unit with current. The electric circuit has a switch for switching the current on or off, through respective first and second operations of an operating element. The switch has a first switch contact and a second switch contact, which are connected in parallel in the electric circuit. The first switch contact is brought into a closed state by the first operation of the operating element, and assumes an open state after the second operation. The control unit provides a control signal so that the second switch contact is closed after the first operation of the switch and opened after the second operation of the switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Jura Elektroapparate AG
    Inventor: Shahryar Reyhanloo
  • Publication number: 20150057773
    Abstract: Nutritional substance systems and methods are disclosed enabling the tracking and communication of changes in nutritional, organoleptic, and aesthetic values of nutritional substances, and further enabling the adaptive storage and adaptive conditioning of nutritional substances.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 16, 2014
    Publication date: February 26, 2015
    Inventor: Eugenio Minvielle
  • Publication number: 20150044336
    Abstract: Methods and systems for processing food products, such as a cranberry food product, are provided. A cranberry food solution may be provided and heated to a first temperature. The cranberry food solution may then be cooled to a second temperature and the processed cranberry food solution may be filled aseptically into an aseptic package. The package filled with the cranberry food solution may be then cooled to a third predetermined time so that the cranberry food solution congeals in the package.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 5, 2014
    Publication date: February 12, 2015
    Inventors: Michael Conley DRUGA, Pablo Marcelo CORONEL, Thomas Henry KENNER, Steven Lawrence CHAPMAN, James Michael DROZD
  • Patent number: 8939066
    Abstract: A reliable conveyor oven minimizes escape of heat by minimizing the time that inlet and outlet openings appear in the baking oven. This may reduce energy consumption by 25%. The baking oven may have a conventional oven and an extension chamber, an outlet opening of the conventional oven acting as an inlet to the extension chamber, the extension chamber having an exit door, the baking oven also having an entrance door defining an entrance inlet. A conveyor holding food items runs through a length of the baking oven. An exit optical sensor may be attached to the extension chamber on opposite sides of the extension chamber such shat an item on the conveyor moving through the extension chamber interrupts a signal between the transmitted and the receiver. The exit sensor may be operatively engaged to a controller for actuating the exit door open and closed rotationally using a pneumatic piston.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Inventors: Lior Hessel, Eran Hessel
  • Publication number: 20150019354
    Abstract: An automated cooking system that accepts remote orders includes an automated cooking device, a communications device, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a remote order for a customer via the communications device, wherein the order includes a requested delivery time, schedule a preparation completion time of the order based on the delivery time, and instruct the automated cooking device to prepare the order based on the scheduled completion time of the order.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2013
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Inventors: Alistair K. Chan, William D. Duncan, Roderick A. Hyde
  • Patent number: 8921743
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a system for monitoring a heating apparatus that includes a motion detector configured to determine whether a person is proximate the heating apparatus. The motion detector is default deactivated. Further disclosed is a heat sensor configured to determine whether the heating apparatus has a temperature that is above a threshold. The heat sensor is default deactivated. A processor is in operable communication with each of the motion detector and the heat sensor configured to cyclically repeat a first countdown. The heat sensor is temporarily activated once during each of the repeated first countdowns. The processor is configured to perform a second countdown when the activated heat sensor determines that the heating apparatus has the temperature that is above the threshold. The second countdown is reset each time the motion detector determines that a person is proximate the heating apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: Stovminder, LLC
    Inventors: Robert C. Ewell, Jr., Douglas L. Garmany, Charles T. Kelly, Charles Philip Wasilewski
  • Publication number: 20140373727
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a cooking control method performed by a cooking apparatus for a food item. The method comprises obtaining a unique identifier and cooking data for the food item, and checking for a record of the unique identifier in a memory of the cooking apparatus. If a record of the unique identifier is located in the memory, then the cooking apparatus will not cook the food item. Otherwise a cooking process based on the cooking data to cook the food item is performed. Accordingly, cooking data for a given instance of a food item can only be used once in order to activate a cooking process performed by the cooking apparatus. The present invention also features product recall as well as the ability to track food item sales via a cooking data communications system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 9, 2014
    Publication date: December 25, 2014
    Inventors: Michael James McIntyre, Richard Anthony Devlin
  • Publication number: 20140370167
    Abstract: A food preparation and delivery system can include a plurality of cooking units such as ovens, each containing one or more prepared, but partially or completely uncooked, food items. The food items in the cooking units are for delivery to each of a corresponding plurality of consumer delivery destinations. The cooking units are loaded into a cargo compartment of a delivery vehicle for delivery to the plurality of consumer delivery destinations. The cooking conditions within the cooking unit are controlled such the each food item is cooked prior to arrival at the consumer destination location. In at least some embodiments, the estimated delivery time for each consumer destination location can be dynamically updated and the cooking conditions within the cooking unit adjusted.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2013
    Publication date: December 18, 2014
    Inventor: Alexander John Garden
  • Publication number: 20140345474
    Abstract: A cooking appliance for processing and preparing foods that includes a base structure (48) on which a support suitable for holding a container (2) containing foods to be processed is assembled, a motorized driving device suitable for rotating a detachable stirring or cutting device inside the container (2), an electronic circuit for powering and controlling the driving device and a heat energy transferring device which is controlled by an appliance microcontroller, and a dedicated computing device (85) integrating a user interface and a telecommunication interface, which, depending on the instructions provided by a user, is suitable for at least sending instructions containing cooking parameters and/or programs to the appliance microcontroller through a data bus and for displaying any anomaly detected by the appliance microcontroller through a multifunction touch screen.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2014
    Publication date: November 27, 2014
    Applicant: COMPANIA ESPANOLA DE ELECTROMENAJE S.A.
    Inventors: Lluis Trench Rocha, Josep Alet Vidal, Fidel Montraveta Montraveta
  • Publication number: 20140345475
    Abstract: A cooking appliance for processing and preparing foods with an external user interface that includes a base structure (48) on which a support suitable for holding a container (2) containing foods to be processed is assembled, motorized driving device suitable for rotating detachable stirring or cutting means inside the container (2), an electronic circuit for powering and controlling thent driving device and heat energy transferring means controlled by an appliance microcontroller, a user interface integrated in a user computing device (D) detached with respect to the appliance for inputting operating parameters of the appliance, and the user computing device (D) is communicated with the appliance microprocessor through a wireless communication interface for inputting operating instructions of the appliance or cooking programs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 24, 2014
    Publication date: November 27, 2014
    Applicant: COMPAÑIA ESPAÑOLA DE ELECTROMENAJE S.L.
    Inventors: Lluís Trench Roca, Josep Alet Vidal, Fidel Montraveta Montraveta
  • Patent number: 8849430
    Abstract: An appliance network has a networked appliance configured to perform a food preparation operation on an article and a cooking sensor accessory in communication with the networked appliance and configured to sense a state of at least one of the article, the cooking sensor accessory, and the networked appliance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventors: Wallace J. Elston, III, Layne E. Heilman, Anthony E. Jenkins, Richard A. McCoy
  • Publication number: 20140278936
    Abstract: A system and method for preparing food products in a programmable appliance such as a microwave includes an appliance configured with a communication element for communicating with a device such as a smartphone, tablet, or computer. The device is configured to scan a product identifier such as a barcode and match the scanned identifier with a list of known identifiers stored in a database. The database associates each of the product identifiers with a product and instructions for cooking the product in the appliance. In another aspect of the invention, a remote server may be provided and configured to receive information from the device such as demographic information relating to the user of the system and the products used thereby.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2013
    Publication date: September 18, 2014
    Inventors: Eric Donald Fescenmeyer, Ryan Michael Johnson Shroat
  • Patent number: 8835816
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a cooking control method performed by a cooking apparatus for a food item. The method comprises obtaining a unique identifier and cooking data for the food item, and checking for a record of the unique identifier in a memory of the cooking apparatus. If a record of the unique identifier is located in the memory, then the cooking apparatus will not cook the food item. Otherwise a cooking process based on the cooking data to cook the food item is performed. Accordingly, cooking data for a given instance of a food item can only be used once in order to activate a cooking process performed by the cooking apparatus. The present invention also features product recall as well as the ability to track food item sales via a cooking data communications system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: Ovenfeast Limited
    Inventors: Micahel James McIntyre, Richard Anthony Devlin
  • Patent number: 8820219
    Abstract: An automated food preparation system is described. It allows precise, automated control of the food preparation process, and has the ability to perform an automated cleanup. It comprises at least one manipulator to process and move ingredients, a control system, an autonomously accessible ingredient storage system, and at least one cooking receptacle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Inventor: David Benjamin Buehler
  • Publication number: 20140242227
    Abstract: A cooking device is provided. The cooking device may include a cavity forming a space in which food may be received for cooking, a grill heater provided at one side of the cavity and having a plurality of heaters to heat the food, a food sensing device provided in the cavity to acquire information related to a size of the food received in the cavity, and a main controller to estimate the size of the food using information sensed by the food sensing device. The main controller may then operate a part or all of the plurality of heaters according to the estimated size of the food to perform a grill cooking operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2014
    Publication date: August 28, 2014
    Inventors: Jaekyung YANG, Youngmin LEE, Eunkyoung YOON, Jinyul HU, Heungsik CHOI
  • Publication number: 20140234496
    Abstract: System and method for improving the performance, safety, and energy efficiency of a cooking appliance with one or more heating elements operably connected with a burner controller controlling an amount of energy flowing to the one or more heating elements. First, a user or a system controller establishes one or more reference levels. The system controller is operably associated with one or more sensors, which measures levels of one or more emissions generated in the operation of the cooking appliance. Afterwards, the system controller compares the measured levels of the one or more emissions with the reference levels and in response to the measured levels of the emissions exceeding reference levels, sends an activation control signal to the cooking appliance. Then, an energy control mechanism associated with the burner controller adjusts the amount of energy flowing to the heating elements in response to the activation control signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 4, 2013
    Publication date: August 21, 2014
    Applicant: Rain Mountain, LLC
    Inventors: ROBERT SIEGEL, ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI
  • Publication number: 20140230660
    Abstract: An automatic cooking system includes a computer system that stores recipes, cooking stations each comprising a cooking container that can cook food ingredients therein to produce a first cooked food, wherein the computer system can assign and schedule a plurality of dishes to be cooked at the cooking stations, storage containers configured to hold food ingredients, mini vehicles each carrying transport containers configured to hold the food ingredients, wherein the computer system can control at least some of movements of the mini vehicles in accordance to the recipes, a loading apparatus configured to load food ingredients from the storage stations to the transport containers on the mini vehicles, and an unloading apparatus that can transfer food ingredients from the transport containers on the mini vehicles to the cooking container at one of the cooking stations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 19, 2013
    Publication date: August 21, 2014
    Inventor: Zhengxu He
  • Patent number: 8783167
    Abstract: A control system and method that controls the processing, logging, visual display, and product tracking functions for thermal processing equipment includes one or more wireless temperature probes. The wireless temperature probes allow the system to obtain and process real time data information and provide real time control, logging, display and validation for thermal processing. The wireless temperature probes transmit a signal to a receiver through an antenna configured in the thermal processing equipment, and the receiver sends that information to a control panel. The control panel utilizes a graphical user interface with touch screen capabilities, an input/output device, a process and storage media to log and control the process implemented for the food product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Alkar-Rapidpak-MP Equipment, Inc.
    Inventors: Luke A. Titel, Dennis F. Conohan, Seth T. Pulsfus
  • Publication number: 20140170275
    Abstract: A cooking system for automating cooking steps of a recipe on a stove comprising a stove including a plurality of cooking elements; power controller for controlling the operation of each one of the cooking elements; and computer system in communication with the power controller, said computer system including a processor, computer readable data storage, and a visual display unit. The processor causes the computer system to perform the steps of: for each automated step of said recipe, generates a control signal for actuating at least one of the cooking elements and sends said control signal to the power controller; and for each manual or user step of said recipe, generates data representing user readable instructions for performing the user step and displays said data on the visual display unit. The power controller is adapted to actuate the cooking elements in accordance with each control signal received from the computer system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 21, 2012
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Applicant: Icookit Pty Ltd.
    Inventor: Domenic Bordin
  • Publication number: 20140161946
    Abstract: A process for preparing and baking bakery products is described, comprising the steps of: a) providing an apparatus (1) for the completely automated processing and subsequent baking of a preparation (100) of base ingredients for bakery products, comprising a chamber (60) for preparing and baking the preparation, mixing means (15) operating within the above-mentioned chamber, heating means (30) of the chamber and control means (40), this apparatus also comprising means for delivering a liquid (80) into the preparation and baking chamber, and reading means (102) directly associated to the apparatus; b) acquiring a plurality of preparation parameters stored on a support (101) associated with the preparation by means of reading means (102); c) transmitting these preparation parameters to control means (40); d) putting the ingredients of the preparation (100) into the preparation and baking chamber (60); e) operating, through control means (40), liquid delivery means (80) in order to introduce a quantity of liquid
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 4, 2012
    Publication date: June 12, 2014
    Applicant: Barilla G.e.R. Fratelli S.p.A.
    Inventors: Roberto Torricelli, Marco Giovanetti, Giancarlo Riboldi
  • Publication number: 20140150672
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an oven (1) comprising an exterior body (2), a cooking cavity (3) wherein the cooking process is realized, a heater (4) provides the foodstuff placed into the cooking cavity (3) to be cooked, a cooling fan (5) arranged between the exterior body (2) and the cooking cavity (3), that provides air circulation around the cooking cavity (3) and a control unit (6) that provides a cooking process composed of at least three phases, that is the first phase, second phase and third phase to be performed from the start to the end of the cooking.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2012
    Publication date: June 5, 2014
    Inventors: Mehmet Zihni Gurlek, Hasan Yoruk, Servet Turgut
  • Publication number: 20140137044
    Abstract: A programmable food cooking appliance having a display includes a control panel. One or more control buttons for controlling operation of the food cooking appliance are disposed on the control panel. One or more displays, each one of the two or more displays are disposed on the control panel adjacent a respective control button. A database stores two or more recipes. A processor communicates with the database and assigns a recipe to a respective one of each control button, and transmits a display signal to the display adjacent the respective one control button to display a description of the recipe associated with the respective one control button.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2013
    Publication date: May 15, 2014
    Applicant: Technology Licensing Corporation
    Inventors: George F. Koether, Stan Vreeland, Edward J. Musial