Kitchen internet appliance

• US 20020171674A1
• Filed: 05/15/2001
• Published: 11/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Harry G. Paris
• Original Assignee: Harry G. Paris
• Inventors: Paris, Harry G.
• Application Number:
  US09/855,857
• Publication Number:
  US 20020171674A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/700
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Abstract

A system and method for providing food-related information, including recipes, methods, hints and cooking instructions to a user via an interactive computer at a food-related location, such as a kitchen. The interactive computer includes a graphic-user interface (GUI) and one or more speakers, and the GUI is preferably a touch-screen capable of displaying interactive multimedia applications to the user, such as video cooking-step illustrations. The interactive computer alternately further includes a secondary storage device that provides food-related information to the user from a secondary storage media such as a CD-ROM or floppy disk.

Claims

1. A system for providing food-related information to an interactive computer at a food-preparation location, comprising:

an interactive computer at the food-preparation location, the interactive computer including a graphic-user interface (GUI) and one or more speakers, the GUI capable of displaying interactive multimedia applications, and the interactive computer attached to a network; and

a database of food-related information in selective communication with the network,

wherein the interactive computer selectively communicates with the database to provide food-related information to the user at the GUI of the interactive computer.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the database of food-related information comprises at least:

a comparison engine to compare an inputted list of one or more ingredients to one or more recipes stored on the database; and

a store of multimedia cooking instructions selectively fetched and displayed at the GUI of the interactive computer.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the interactive computer includes a touch-screen interface on the GUI.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the interactive computer further includes a secondary storage device for receiving food-related information from a secondary storage media.

5. The system of claim 1, further including one or more food-preparation tools displayable at the GUI of the interactive computer.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the interactive computer displays multimedia cooking instructions at the food preparation location.

7. A method for providing food-related information across a network to a user of an interactive computer at a food-preparation location, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a graphic user interface (GUI) on the interactive computer to a user at the food-preparation location;

selectively requesting, at the GUI of the interactive computer, food-related information from a database of food-related information in communication with the network;

transmitting food-related information from the database to the interactive computer across the network; and

displaying the food-related information on the GUI of the interactive computer to the user.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein:

the step of selectively requesting, at the GUI of the interactive computer, the food-related information from a database of food-related information in communication with the network is inputting a list of ingredients which the user has available; and

further including the step of using a comparison engine at the database to compare the inputted list of one or more ingredients to one or more recipes stored on the database; and

wherein the step of transmitting food-related information from the database to the interactive computer across the network is transmitting from the database to the user a list of recipes that are possible for the inputted list of ingredients.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein:

the step of selectively requesting, at the GUI of the interactive computer, the food-related information from a database of food-related information in communication with the network is selectively requesting one or more food-preparation instructions; and

the step of transmitting food-related information from the database to the interactive computer across the network is transmitting multimedia food-preparation instructions to the user from a store of multimedia food-preparation instructions on the database.

10. The method of claim 7, further including the step of selectively displaying a food-preparation tool at the GUI of the interactive computer.

11. The method of claim 7, further including the step of retrieving food-preparation information from a secondary storage media with a secondary storage device of the interactive computer.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the step of selectively requesting, at the GUI of the interactive computer, the food-related information from a database of food-related information in communication with the network is selectively requesting at the GUI of the interactive computer food-related information from a database across the Internet; and

the step of transmitting food-related information from the database to the interactive computer across the network is transmitting food-related information across the Internet from the database to the interactive computer.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of displaying the food-related information on the GUI of the interactive computer to the user is displaying multimedia cooking instructions on the GUI of the interactive computer.

15. The interactive computer of claim 14, wherein the GUI includes a touch screen interface.

16. The interactive computer of claim 14, further including a secondary storage device for interfacing with a secondary storage media containing food-related information.

17. The interactive computer of claim 14, wherein the food-related information is food-prep instructions selectively fetched and displayed at the GUI of the interactive computer.

18. The interactive computer of claim 14, wherein the CPU further selectively displays food-preparation tools on the GUI of the console.

14. An interactive computer for the selective retrieval and display of food related information as a food-preparation location, comprising:

a console having a graphic-user interface (GUI), the GUI allowing a user to request food-related information and view such food-related information in multimedia format; and

a central processing unit (CPU) including a CPU platform, the CPU interacting with the GUI and in selective communication with a network, and the CPU selectively retrieving food-related information from one or more databases of food-related information on the network.

19. A method of providing recipe information to a user at a food-preparation location, comprising the steps of:

receiving, from a network, a list of ingredients from the user at a food preparation location, the list of ingredients inputted from an interactive computer at the food preparation location;

comparing the inputted list of ingredients with a plurality of recipes from a recipe database;

generating a list of recipes wherein each recipe contains ingredients which are only present in the list of ingredients inputted by the user; and

transmitting the generated list of recipes to the interactive computer of the user across the network.

20. A method of providing a hyper-linked recipe to a user of an interactive computer in a food-preparation location, comprising the steps of:

presenting on the interactive computer a recipe that includes at least one ingredient and at least one food-preparation instruction, wherein the at least one food preparation instruction includes a hyperlink;

activating the hyperlink of the at least one food preparation instruction; and

presenting on the interactive computer a multimedia file providing information about the at least one food preparation instruction.