Diagnostic system for monitoring cooking profiles
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring the operation of a cooking apparatus comprising the steps of:
- defining a master cooking profile for a particular food product representing the idealized cooking profile thereof for a particular cooking parameter;
storing said master cooking profile;
acquiring data for said particular cooking parameter as a function of time as the food product is being cooked, said data representing a current cooking profile;
graphically superimposing said master and current cooking profiles on a display for monitoring purposes; and
comparing said master and current cooking profiles so as to readily identify faulty cooking conditions based on said comparison.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The diagnostic system of the present invention monitors and accumulates the thermal signatures or characteristics during at least one operational mode of the cooking appliance. These thermal signatures or characteristics are collected--through the same temperature sensor used to regulate the temperature of the cooking appliance--and then stored in, for example, a look-up table. Advantageously, this may be accomplished without the need of special sensors or interface boards. The thermal signatures or characteristics may include first order or higher order temperature gradients, as well as temperature profiles. The stored thermal signatures provide a baseline from which the diagnostic system can detect and identify whether the cooking appliance is working under normal operating conditions. In an alternative embodiment, the diagnostic system monitors and accumulates the cooking profiles for either a single food product or a plurality of food products. The current cooking profile is graphically displayed and compared against the master cooking profile to flag food products that are improperly cooked or not cooked to the proper degree of doneness. Such monitoring and analysis substantially eliminates any possible health risks. Also, such master cooking profiles also provide a baseline for diagnosing between normal and faulty cooking conditions.
39 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring the operation of a cooking apparatus comprising the steps of:
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defining a master cooking profile for a particular food product representing the idealized cooking profile thereof for a particular cooking parameter; storing said master cooking profile; acquiring data for said particular cooking parameter as a function of time as the food product is being cooked, said data representing a current cooking profile; graphically superimposing said master and current cooking profiles on a display for monitoring purposes; and comparing said master and current cooking profiles so as to readily identify faulty cooking conditions based on said comparison. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for monitoring the operation of a cooking apparatus comprising the steps of:
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acquiring a master cooking profile for a particular food product representing the idealized cooking profile thereof for a particular cooking parameter; acquiring data for said particular cooking parameter as a function of time so as to constitute a current cooking profile; graphically superimposing and displaying the master and current cooking profiles; and comparing said master and current cooking profiles so as to readily determine whether the food product was cooked under acceptable cooking conditions. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. An apparatus for monitoring the operation of a cooking apparatus comprising:
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means for acquiring a master cooking profile for a particular food product representing the idealized cooking profile thereof for a particular cooking parameter; memory for storing said master cooking profile; means for acquiring data for said particular cooking parameter as a function of time as the food product is being cooked, said data representing a current cooking profile; display means for graphically superimposing said master and current cooking profiles for monitoring purposes; and means for comparing said master and current cooking profiles so as to readily identify faulty cooking conditions based on said comparison. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification