Food product timing system

• US 7,628,107 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2007
• Issued: 12/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Marmon Foodservice Technologies Incorporated (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Prince Castle LLC (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Inventors: Veltrop, Loren Jay, Thorne, Richard Lowell, Vaseloff, Dennis John
• Primary Examiner(s): Alexander; Reginald L
• Application Number:
  US11/743,238
• Publication Number:
  US 20070199931A1
• Time in Patent Office: 951 Days
• Field of Search: 994/48, 994/68, 994/83, 993/73, 993/74, 994/67, 993/31, 219/521, 219/494, 219/486, 219/506, 219/214, 219/395
• US Class Current: 99/468
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 10/06 for restaurant service systems table equipment A47G ; dirty crockery transport in association with crockery washing machines A47L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 39/006 for either storing and preparing or for preparing food on serving trays, e.g. heating, thawing, preserving
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 7/082 on ranges, e.g. control panels, illumination

Abstract

A food timing system is disclosed that includes a number of timer modules associated with food holding devices in a restaurant. The timer modules are connected in a network for communicating information about the food being held in food holding compartments of the food holding devices. Each timer module includes a plurality of timers, with each timer being associated with a food holding compartment of a food holding device. The timers measure the holding time of food in each food holding compartment and are capable of transferring the holding time to another timer when the food is transferred to a holding compartment associated with the other timer.

Claims

1. A food holding device comprising:

a plurality of holding compartments adapted to receive food products, each holding compartment capable of maintaining a temperature of an associated food product;

a timer associated with each holding compartment and adapted to measure the holding period of the food product in the associated holding compartment;

a display device associated with each holding compartment and adapted to display information about the associated holding compartment including information about the food product therein;

a timer status indicator associated with each timer and adapted to indicate a status of the associated timer; and

a timer button associated with each timer and operatively coupled to the associated timer; and

a transfer button adapted to initiate the transfer of the holding period from the timer associated with an origin holding compartment to the timer associated with a destination holding compartment, the timers being operatively coupled to each other.

2. The food holding device of claim 1, each timer status indicator is configured to provide a first indication indicating that an associated holding compartment is ready to receive a food product and the associated timer is not active, a plurality of timing indications indicating that the associated holding compartment is holding a food product and the associated timer is measuring the holding period of the food product therein, and a second indication indicating that the holding period for the food product in the associated holding compartment has expired.

3. The food holding device of claim 2, the plurality of timing indications comprising a third indication indicating that a food product in an associated holding compartment has been held for the longest time relative to the holding times for the same type of food product in other holding compartments of the food holding device, a fourth indication indicating that another holding compartment is holding the same type of food product that has been held for a longer time, a fifth indication indicating that a food product in an associated holding compartment will soon expire, and a sixth indication indicating that the associated holding compartment in not active.

4. The food holding device of claim 1, further comprising a programming system adapted to receive input including information about food products and operational parameters for each of the timers, the programming system further including a programming display device and an input device, wherein the programming system is operatively coupled to the display devices, the timers, the timer status indicators and the timer buttons.

5. The food holding device of claim 1, further comprising:

a food menu containing information about food products including at least the identity of each food product;

a plurality of activity menus, wherein each activity menu includes a selectable group of food products from the food menu; and

a group selection button adapted to provide user selection of an activity menu, wherein selection of an activity menu makes available information about the food products in the selected activity menu to the display devices, timers and timer status indicators.

6. The food holding device of claim 1, wherein the timer status indicator associated with each timer is comprised of light emitting diodes (LEDs).

7. The food holding device of claim 1, wherein the display associated with each holding compartment is adapted to display alphanumeric information.

8. The food holding device of claim 1, wherein the display associated with each holding compartment is adapted to display graphic information.

9. The food holding device of claim 1, wherein the display devices are arranged in a display block, the arrangement of the display devices in the display block corresponding to the arrangement of the holding compartments in the food holding device, further wherein the position of a first display device relative to a second display device in the display block corresponds to the position of a first holding compartment associated with the first display device relative to a second holding compartment associated with the second display device.

10. The food holding device of claim 9, further comprising visual indicators indicating the association of each of the display devices with an associated holding compartment.

11. The food holding device of claim 1, wherein each display device is arranged near an associated holding compartment wherein the position of the display device relative to the associated holding compartment indicates the display device is associated with the holding compartment.

12. The food holding device of claim 11, further comprising visual indicators indicating the association of each of the plurality of the display devices with an associated holding compartment.

13. A timer system for use with a food preparation device, the timer system comprised of:

a plurality of timers, each timer associated with a respective one of a plurality of holding compartments of the food preparation device and adapted to measure the holding period of a food product therein;

a plurality of display devices, each display device associated with a holding compartment of the food preparation device and adapted to display information about the holding compartment including at least the identity of the food product therein;

a plurality of timer status indicators, each timer status indicator associated with a timer and adapted to indicate a status of the associated timer; and

a plurality of timer buttons, each button associated with a timer and operatively coupled to the associated timer; and

at least one transfer button adapted to initiate the transfer of the holding period from a timer associated with an origin holding compartment to a timer associated with a destination holding compartment, the timers of the timer system being operatively coupled and adapted to transfer the holding period of a food product from a timer associated with the origin holding compartment to a timer associated with the destination holding compartment, when the food product in the origin holding compartment is transferred to the destination holding compartment.

14. The timer system of claim 13, each timer status indicator being configured to provide:

a first indication indicating that an associated holding compartment is ready to receive a food product and the associated timer is not active, a plurality of timing indications indicating that the associated holding compartment is holding a food product and the associated timer is measuring the holding period of the food product, and a second indication indicating that a holding period for a food product in an associated holding compartment has expired.

15. The timer system of claim 14, the plurality of timing indications comprising a third indication indicating that a food product in an associated holding compartment has been held for the longest time relative to the holding times for the same type of food product in other holding compartments of the food preparation device, a fourth indication indicating that another holding compartment is holding the same type of food product that has been held for a longer time, a fifth indication indicating that a food product in an associated holding compartment will soon expire, and a sixth indication indicating that the associated holding compartment in not active.

16. The timer system of claim 13, further comprising a programming system adapted to receive input including information about food products and operational parameters for each of the holding compartments of the food preparation device, the programming system further including a programming display device and an input device, wherein the programming system is operatively coupled to the display devices, the timers, the timer status indicators and the timer buttons.

17. The timer system of claim 13, further comprising:

a food menu containing information about food products including at least the identity of each food product, a holding time for each food product and a cook time for each food product;

a plurality of activity menus, wherein each activity menu includes a selectable group of food products from the food menu; and

a group selection button adapted to provide user selection of an activity menu, wherein selection of an activity menu makes available information about the food products in the selected activity menu to the display devices, timers and timer status indicators.

18. The food holding device of claim 13, wherein the timer status indicators are comprised of light emitting diodes (LEDs).

19. The timer system of claim 13, wherein the display devices are adapted to display alphanumeric information.

20. The timer system of claim 13, wherein the display devices are adapted to display graphic information.

21. The timer system of claim 13, wherein the display devices are arranged in a display block, the arrangement of the display devices in the display block corresponding to corresponds to the position of a first holding compartment associated with the first display device relative to a second holding compartment associated with the second display device.

22. The timer system of claim 21, further comprising visual indicators indicating the association of each of the display devices with an associated holding compartment.

23. The timer system of claim 13, wherein each display device is arranged near an associated holding compartment of the food preparation device, further wherein the position of the display device relative to the associated holding compartment indicates the display device is associated with the holding compartment.

24. The timer system of claim 23, further comprising visual indicators indicating the association of each of the display devices with an associated holding compartment.