Rapid cooking oven with broadband communication capability to increase ease of use

• US 20060259547A1
• Filed: 07/13/2006
• Published: 11/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TurboChef Technologies Incorporated (Middleby Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TurboChef Technologies Incorporated (Middleby Corporation)
• Inventors: Connell, Bryan, Bogatin, Jeffrey, Caron, Richard, Pryor, Carl, McFadden, David, Pool, James K. III
• Granted Patent: US 7,493,362 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 15/325 electrically-heated
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2834 Switching of information between an external network and a home network access arrangements H04L12/2856
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/666 Safety circuits emergency protective circuits in general H02H
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/687 for cooking

Abstract

An improved oven for use in a residence is described. The oven includes a cooking chamber, a programmable controller for executing program instructions, memory media for recording executable program instructions, and at least one controllable cooking system under control of the programmable controller, which provides a data-processing-controlled high speed cooking process which may be applied to food placed in the oven chamber. A plurality of cooking programs are recorded in the memory media of the oven. These define a plurality of high speed cooking routines available for use with the oven. A gateway server is communicatively coupled to the programmable controller. It manages the communication of digital content which is at least in-part related to operation and utilization of the improved oven. A broadband communication channel extends from a source of digital content, which is external to the residence, to the residence. The broadband communication channel delivers particular digital content related to the oven through the gateway server for distribution within the residence, including distribution to the programmable controller of the oven in order to facilitate cooking operations utilizing the oven.

Claims

1-14. -14. (canceled)

15. A communications network comprising:

one or more high speed ovens capable of combining hot air impingement cooking and microwave cooking; and

at least one service provider capable of communicating with said one or more high speed ovens via said communications network,

wherein said at least one service provider comprises a plurality of aggregated content databases for providing content from said at least one service provider to said one or more high speed ovens.

16. The communications network of claim 15, further comprising a gateway appliance for providing wireless communication with said one or more high speed ovens and said at least one service provider.

17. The communications network of claim 16, wherein said gateway appliance further comprises a wireless transceiver for communication with a wireless communications appliance.

18. The communications network of claim 17, wherein said wireless communications appliance comprises a graphical user interface capable of communicating information to a user.

19. The communications network of claim 16, wherein said gateway appliance comprises a graphical user interface capable of communicating information to a user.

20. The communications network of claim 15, wherein said high speed oven is within a residence.

21. The communications network of claim 20, further comprising a plurality of household subsystems, wherein said plurality of household subsystems is selected form a group consisting of a cupboard, a panty, a library, and a kitchen.

22. The communications network of claim 15, wherein said plurality of aggregated content databases comprises databases selected from the group consisting of:

a recipe database;

a cook setting database;

a tutor system database;

a nutrition database;

a multimedia library database;

a kitchen inventory database;

a service database; and

an online store database.

23. The communications network of claim 15, wherein said service provider provides said content from said plurality of aggregated content databases to said one or more high speed ovens on a fee basis.

24. The communications network of claim 17, wherein said one or more high speed ovens further comprises a wireless transceiver for communication with said wireless communications appliance.

25. The communications network of claim 15, wherein said at least one service provider further comprises a plurality of communication services, said plurality of communication services are capable of being provided to a user associated with said one or more high speed ovens.

26. The communications network of claim 25, wherein said communication services comprises services selected from the group consisting of an e-mail service, a calendaring service, an address book service, and a messaging service.

27. The communications network of claim 15, wherein said at least one service provider further comprises at least one affiliated goods provider, said at least one affiliated goods provider is capable of being provided to a user associated with said one or more high speed ovens.

28. The communications network of claim 27, wherein said at least one affiliated goods provider further comprises at least one specialty service affiliates.

29. The communications network of claim 28, wherein said at least one specialty service affiliates comprises affiliates selected from the group consisting of a medical doctor and a nutrition consultant.

30. For use in a communications network, a wireless communications appliance capable of user interface, said wireless communications appliance operable to:

communicate with one or more high speed ovens, said one or more high speed ovens capable of combining hot air impingement cooking and microwave cooking.

31. The wireless communications appliance of claim 30, further comprising a graphical user interface, said graphical user interface allows a user of said wireless communications appliance to communicate with at least one service provider via said communications network.

32. The wireless communications appliance of claim 30, wherein said one or more high speed ovens further comprises a wireless interface for communicating with said wireless communications appliance.

33. The wireless communications appliance of claim 30, wherein said wireless communications appliance is attachably connected into a docking system of said one or more high speed ovens.

34. A communications network comprising:

means for providing one or more high speed ovens capable of combining hot air impingement cooking and microwave cooking; and

means for providing at least one service provider capable of communicating with said one or more high speed ovens via said communications network,

wherein said at least one service provider comprises a plurality of aggregated content databases for providing content from said at least one service provider to said one or more high speed ovens.