Smart commercial kitchen network
First Claim
1. A communication system for integrating accounting, billing and repair services for restaurant appliances located over a geographical area, comprising:
- a plurality of base stations through wireless communication transmitting and receiving messages to and from associated restaurant appliances; and
control center means coupled through data links to said plurality of base stations for processing in real-time accounting, billing and repairs for said restaurant appliances in response to messages transmitted to and received from said restaurant appliances via said plurality of base stations.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a bi-directional communication network which provides real-time computer-aided diagnostics, asset history, accounting records, maintenance records and energy management. Advantageously, such a network integrates the various work aspects of today'"'"'s food service industry to insure the proper work allocation of administrative and repair tasks. The system includes a control center, a communication link to a point of sale system, a plurality of kitchen base stations, and a plurality of kitchen or cooking appliances located within a site or cell. Maintenance and repair, once initialized, are monitored through the control center having a database with the necessary software diagnostics, accounting records, inventory records, and maintenance records for the particular appliance under service so as to integrate the various aspects of accounting, billing, repair and energy management.
409 Citations
86 Claims
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1. A communication system for integrating accounting, billing and repair services for restaurant appliances located over a geographical area, comprising:
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a plurality of base stations through wireless communication transmitting and receiving messages to and from associated restaurant appliances; and control center means coupled through data links to said plurality of base stations for processing in real-time accounting, billing and repairs for said restaurant appliances in response to messages transmitted to and received from said restaurant appliances via said plurality of base stations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A communication system for monitoring and tracking the maintenance and repair of kitchen or cooking appliances, comprising:
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a control center having a database containing repair and maintenance data for said kitchen or cooking appliances; a plurality of kitchen base stations; a communication link interconnecting said plurality of kitchen base stations to said control center, each of said plurality of kitchen base stations including means for transmitting and receiving repair and maintenance data to and from said control center; and a communication link interconnecting said kitchen or cooking appliances to said kitchen base stations, said communication links forming a path for said repair and maintenance data to be transmitted to and from said kitchen or cooking appliances, said control center monitoring and tracking the maintenance and repair of said kitchen or cooking appliances from the repair and maintenance data transmitted over said communication links. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. A communication system for processing billing, accounting and diagnostic information for cooking appliances, comprising:
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a plurality of base stations, each including means for transmitting and receiving data associated with the operating conditions of said cooking appliances; a control center having a database for storing said billing, accounting and diagnostic information; a communication link interconnecting said plurality of base stations to said control center, said control center responsive to said data associated with the operating conditions of said cooking appliances so as to initiate repair service upon the occurrence of a predetermined condition; and a point of sale system interconnected to said control center for receiving said accounting and billing data from said control center, said point of sale system directing the transfer of funds, associated with the repair service of a specific cooking appliance, from a user'"'"'s financial institution to an agency'"'"'s financial account performing the repair service. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70)
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71. A method of processing billing, accounting and diagnostic information for cooking appliances wherein a plurality of kitchen base stations each transmits and receives data associated with the operating conditions of said cooking appliances over cellular data links, wherein said kitchen base stations interconnect to a control center and a point of sale system, comprising the steps of:
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initiating repair service of a specific cooking appliance upon the occurrence of a predetermined condition; retrieving from said control center accounting and billing information associated with said specific cooking appliance so as to thereby generate a repair invoice; retrieving billing information from said control center for said specific cooking appliance; and transmitting said billing information to said point of sale of system, said point of sale system electronically transferring funds for the repair of said specific cooking appliance from a user'"'"'s financial account to an agency'"'"'s financial account performing the repair. - View Dependent Claims (72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86)
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Specification