Cooking appliance and cooking system

• US 6,549,818 B1
• Filed: 02/28/2000
• Issued: 04/15/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc. DBA GE Appliances (Haier Group Company)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Ali, Mohamed Ahmed
• Primary Examiner(s): Picard; Leo
• Assistant Examiner(s): RODRIGUEZ, PAUL L
• Application Number:
  US09/513,864
• Time in Patent Office: 1,142 Days
• Field of Search: 700/90,299,300 705/26 99/325,327,332,468 219/702,714,719,720
• US Class Current: 700/90
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/688 for thawing

Abstract

A cooking appliance, such as a stove or oven, includes a food-heating unit having a computer-controlled temperature controller and an Internet-accessing appliance computer having a computer program. The program downloads a cooking recipe from the Internet. The recipe includes a food list and pre-cooking directions which are displayed to a user and also includes a cooking temperature schedule which is used by the temperature controller of the food-heating unit. A cooking system includes the cooking appliance and an Internet-accessible host computer containing cooking recipes.

Claims

1. A cooking appliance comprising:

a) a food-heating unit having a computer-controlled temperature controller; and

b) an appliance computer containing an executable program which inputs a cooking recipe including a food list, pre-cooking directions, a user profile, and a cooking temperature schedule, wherein said appliance computer displays said food list and said pre-cooking directions to a user, wherein said appliance computer outputs a signal representing said cooking temperature schedule to said temperature controller of said food-heating unit during execution of said program, and wherein said program inputs said user profile and modifies said cooking recipe based on said user profile.

2. The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein said appliance computer is an Internet-accessing appliance computer, and wherein said cooking recipe is an Internet-downloaded cooking recipe.

3. The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein said appliance computer is an Internet-accessing appliance computer, and wherein said appliance computer includes an input/output portion for ordering food from said food list from a grocery computer of a food supplier over an Internet.

4. The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein said appliance computer contains a database including user-loaded cooking recipes, and wherein said cooking recipe is one of said user-loaded cooking recipes.

5. The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein said appliance computer contains a database including built-in cooking recipes, and wherein said cooking recipe is one of said built-in cooking recipes.

6. A cooking appliance comprising:

a) a food-heating unit having a computer-controlled temperature controller; and

b) an Internet-accessing appliance computer containing an executable program which inputs an Internet-downloaded cooking recipe including a food list, pre-cooking directions, a user profile, and a cooking temperature schedule, wherein said Internet- accessing appliance computer displays said food list and said pre-cooking directions to a user, and wherein said Internet-accessing appliance computer outputs a signal representing said cooking temperature schedule to said temperature controller of said food-heating unit during execution of said program, and wherein said program inputs said user profile and modifies said Internet-downloaded cooking recipe based on said user profile.

7. The cooking appliance of claim 6, wherein said Internet-accessing appliance computer includes an input/output portion for ordering food from said food list from a grocery computer of a food supplier over an Internet.

8. The cooking appliance of claim 7, wherein said Internet-accessing appliance computer alerts a user when said cooking temperature schedule is completed.

9. The cooking appliance of claim 6, wherein said Internet-accessing appliance computer alerts a user when said cooking temperature schedule is completed.

10. A cooking system comprising:

a) a host computer containing a plurality of cooking recipes each including a food list, pre-cooking directions, a user profile and a cooking temperature schedule; and

b) a cooking appliance including;

(1) a food-heating unit having a computer-controlled temperature controller, and

(2) an appliance computer linkable to said host computer and containing an executable program which inputs one of said cooking recipes from said host computer, wherein said appliance computer displays said food list and said pre-cooking directions of said one of said cooking recipes to a user, wherein said appliance computer outputs a signal representing said cooking temperature schedule of said one of said cooking recipes to said temperature controller of said food-heating unit during execution of said program; and

wherein said program inputs said user profile and modifies said cooking recipe based on said user profile.

11. The cooking system of claim 10, wherein said appliance computer contains a database including user-loaded cooking recipes.

12. The cooking system of claim 10, wherein said appliance computer contains a database including built-in cooking recipes.

13. A cooking system comprising:

a) an Internet-accessible host computer containing a plurality of cooking recipes each including a food list, pre-cooking directions, a user profile, and a cooking temperature schedule; and

b) a cooking appliance including;

(1) a food-heating unit having a computer-controlled temperature controller; and

(2) an Internet-accessing appliance computer linkable to said Internet-accessible host computer over an Internet and containing an executable program which inputs one of said cooking recipes from said Internet-accessible host computer, wherein said Internet-accessing appliance computer displays said food list and said pre-cooking directions of said one of said cooking recipes to a user, wherein said Internet-accessing appliance computer outputs a signal representing said cooking temperature schedule of said one of said cooking recipe to said temperature controller of said food-heating unit during execution of said program, and wherein said one of said cooking recipes is modified in response to said user profile.

14. The cooking system of claim 13, also including a grocery computer of a food supplier, wherein said Internet-accessing appliance computer includes an input/output portion for ordering food from said food list from said grocery computer of said food supplier when said Internet-accessing appliance computer is linked to said grocery computer over said Internet.

15. The cooking appliance of claim 14, wherein said Internet-accessing appliance computer contains a database including built-in cooking recipes.

16. The cooking system of claim 15, wherein said database includes user-loaded cooking recipes.

17. The cooking appliance of claim 16, wherein said Internet-accessing appliance computer alerts a user when said cooking temperature schedule is completed.

18. The cooking appliance of claim 13, wherein said program of said Internet-accessing appliance computer inputs said user profile and sends said user profile to said Internet-accessible host computer, and wherein said Internet-accessible host computer modifies said one of said cooking recipes based on said sent user profile before downloading said one of said cooking recipes as an input to said program of said Internet-accessing appliance computer.