Intelligent microwave oven

• US 20040058706A1
• Filed: 05/02/2003
• Published: 03/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Spectrum Brands, Inc. (Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Salton Incorporated (Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Williamson, Charles G., Schrader, M. Lee
• Granted Patent: US 7,133,739 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/557
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/09 Arrangements for device control with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time; Arrangements for control of broadcast-related services
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8106 involving special audio data, e.g. different tracks for different languages
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/688 for thawing

Abstract

The invention may be broadly conceptualized as an approach in which a microwave oven receives a plurality of program recipes from a network that are executed by scanning with a scanner a symbol and associating the scanned symbol with one of the plurality of program recipes while keeping a real-time clock synchronized and correctly set by receiving period time synchronization messages.

Claims

1. A microwave oven apparatus, comprising:

a housing;

a microwave generator disposed in association with the housing;

a code input device;

a controller that stores a plurality of recipe programs upon receipt of the plurality of programs at the network interface or the user interface and operates the microwave generator in accordance with a recipe program selected from the plurality of recipe programs in view of a code input by the code input device;

a network interface that request a recipe program from an operably connected, but external device and receives the requested recipe program; and

a user interface that inputs user programmed recipe programs.

2. The microwave oven apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a clock in communication with the controller, the clock being set upon receipt of a time synchronization message at the network interface.

3. The microwave oven apparatus of claim 1, wherein a recipe program request message is formatted upon the controller failing to associate the input code from the code input device with one recipe program from the plurality of recipe programs.

4. The microwave oven apparatus of claim 3, wherein the network interface is in receipt of a new recipe program associated with the input code in response to the recipe program request message being sent to the operably connected, but external device.

5. The microwave oven apparatus of claim 1, wherein the network interface is in receipt of a user programmed recipe program request message being sent from an operably connected, but external device.

6. The microwave oven apparatus of claim 5, wherein a response to the user programmed recipe program request message is formatted.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

means for receiving a time synchronization message at the network interface; and

means for setting a clock in the microwave oven by the controller upon receipt of the time synchronization message.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

means for receiving a request for a user programmed recipe program at the network interface

7. A method, comprising:

receiving in a microwave oven a plurality of recipe programs at a network interface from an operably connected, but external device, and a user interface; and

storing the plurality of recipe programs in a memory by a controller that are each selectable with a digital signal from a code input device; and

configuring the microwave oven in response to the digital signal being associated with one recipe program in the plurality of recipe programs.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

formatting a recipe program request message in response to the controller failing to select a recipe program from the plurality of recipe programs that is associated with the digital signal; and

receiving a requested recipe program at the network interface from an operably connected, but external device in response to the recipe program request message.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving a time synchronization message at the network interface; and

setting a clock in the microwave oven by the controller upon receipt of the time synchronization message.

10. A apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving in a microwave oven a plurality of recipe programs at a network interface from an operably connected, but external device, and a user interface; and

means for storing the plurality of recipe programs in a memory by a controller that are each selectable with a digital signal from a code input device; and

means for configuring the microwave oven in response to the digital signal being associated with one recipe program in the plurality of recipe programs.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

means for formatting a recipe program request message in response to the controller failing to select a recipe program from the plurality of recipe programs that is associated with the digital signal; and

means for receiving a requested recipe program at the network interface from an operably connected, but external device in response to the recipe program request message.

11-1. A machine-readable signal-bearing medium containing instructions that cause a system to perform a method for operating a microwave oven, the method comprising:

receiving in a microwave oven a plurality of recipe programs at a network interface from an operably connected, but external device; and

storing the plurality of recipe programs in a memory by a controller that are each selectable with a digital signal from a code input device; and

configuring the microwave oven in response to the digital signal being associated with one recipe program in the plurality of recipe programs.

12-2. The machine-readable signal-bearing medium of claim 5, further comprising:

formatting a recipe program request message in response to the controller failing to select a recipe program from the plurality of recipe programs that is associated with the digital signal; and

receiving a requested recipe program at the network interface from an operably connected, but external device in response to the recipe program request message.

13-3. The machine-readable signal-bearing medium of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving a time synchronization message at the network interface; and

setting a clock in the microwave oven by the controller upon receipt of the time synchronization message.