Interactive kitchen control system and method
First Claim
1. A system for controlling preparation of a plurality of food items on a cooking apparatus having a cooking area, said system comprising:
- a visual display screen positioned for viewing by a cook, said display screen having a surface that is laid out in a grid pattern representing the cooking area of the cooking apparatus;
a database that stores cooking times for each of the plurality of food items; and
a controller comprising;
means for displaying a plurality of icons on the display screen, each of said icons corresponding to a particular one of the plurality of food items, and each of said icons being displayed on the display screen in a location corresponding to a position on the cooking area;
means for retrieving the cooking times from the database; and
means for indicating to the cook when the preparation of each particular food item is complete.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for controlling preparation of a plurality of food items on a cooking apparatus such as a grill. A food order consisting of the plurality of food items is input to a controller which retrieves cooking times for the items from a database. A primary fire item (PFI) is determined as the item with the longest cooking time. A display screen near the cook has a surface that is laid out in a grid pattern representing the cooking surface of the grill. An icon associated with the PFI is then displayed in a position corresponding to the item'"'"'s intended position on the grill. Time delays are calculated for displaying subsequent icons so that, by placing the food items on the grill when each icon is displayed, the preparation of the food items is completed simultaneously.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A system for controlling preparation of a plurality of food items on a cooking apparatus having a cooking area, said system comprising:
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a visual display screen positioned for viewing by a cook, said display screen having a surface that is laid out in a grid pattern representing the cooking area of the cooking apparatus;
a database that stores cooking times for each of the plurality of food items; and
a controller comprising;
means for displaying a plurality of icons on the display screen, each of said icons corresponding to a particular one of the plurality of food items, and each of said icons being displayed on the display screen in a location corresponding to a position on the cooking area;
means for retrieving the cooking times from the database; and
means for indicating to the cook when the preparation of each particular food item is complete. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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13. A method of controlling preparation of a plurality of food items on a cooking apparatus having a cooking area, said method comprising the steps of:
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storing in a database, cooking times for each of the plurality of food items;
inputting through an order-entry terminal, an order consisting of the plurality of food items;
retrieving the cooking times from the database for the plurality of food items included in the order;
determining a primary fire item (PFI), said PFI being the food item in a particular order with the longest cooking time;
displaying a first icon on a visual display screen positioned for viewing by a cook, said first icon being associated with the PFI;
calculating a time delay equaling a difference between the cooking time of the PFI, and the cooking time of a food item corresponding to a subsequent icon; and
displaying the subsequent icon on the display screen when the calculated time delay expires;
wherein by placing the food items on the cooking area when each icon is displayed, the preparation of the food items is completed simultaneously.
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21. A method of controlling preparation of a plurality of food items on a plurality of cooking apparatus, each apparatus having an associated cooking area, said method comprising the steps of:
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storing in a database, a cooking time and cooking apparatus for each of the plurality of food items;
inputting through an order-entry terminal, an order consisting of the plurality of food items;
retrieving from the database, a cooking time and cooking apparatus for each food item in the order;
determining a primary fire item (PFI), said PFI being the food item in the order with the longest cooking time;
displaying a first icon associated with the PFI on a first visual display screen associated with the PFI'"'"'s cooking apparatus;
calculating a time delay equaling a difference between the cooking time of the PFI, and the cooking time of a subsequent food item associated with a subsequent icon; and
displaying the subsequent icon on a second visual display screen associated with the subsequent item'"'"'s cooking apparatus when the calculated time delay expires;
wherein by placing the food items on the cooking areas of their associated cooking apparatus when each icon is displayed, the preparation of the food items is completed simultaneously.
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Specification