System and method for maintaining recipe ratios when measuring ingredients for culinary combinations

• US 8,829,365 B1
• Filed: 06/16/2013
• Issued: 09/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Perfect Company Limited (Perfect Resources (M) Sdn. Bhd.)
• Original Assignee: Pure Imagination LLC
• Inventors: Wallace, Michael, Odom, Philip T., Richardson, Brian, Barri, Darin
• Primary Examiner(s): Gibson, Randy W
• Application Number:
  US13/918,984
• Publication Number:
  US 20140272026A1
• Time in Patent Office: 450 Days
• Field of Search: 434/127, 177 2511- 2519, 177/177, 426/231, 715/722, 715/709
• US Class Current: 177/25.13
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 35/00 Food or foodstuffs not provided for in groups A23L5/00 – A23L33/00; Preparation or treatment thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A23V 2002/00 Food compositions, function of food ingredients or processes for food or foodstuffs
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 17/00 Apparatus for or methods of weighing material of special form or property determining weight by measuring volume G01F
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/00 Weighing apparatus or methods adapted for special purposes not provided for in the preceding groups electric measuring arrangements involving comparison with a reference value G01R17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/22 for apportioning materials by weighing prior to mixing them ratio regulation G05D11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/40 with provisions for indicating, recording, or computing price or other quantities dependent on the weight indicating means for weighing apparatus G01G23/18; recording means for weighing apparatus G01G23/18; computers in general G06
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/4144 for controlling weight of goods in commercial establishments, e.g. supermarket, P.O.S. systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/56 combined with handles of tools or household implements
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/02 Food
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/382 using universal interface adapter
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/02 with visual presentation of the material to be studied, e.g. using film strip

Abstract

A system and method for assisting a user in assembling a culinary combination according to a recipe. The system comprises a scale and a computing device configured to communicate with the scale. The system displays information regarding ingredients of the recipe and displays a progress of assembling the culinary combination based on the information from the scale. In some embodiments, a bar graph is displayed with a bar proportional to the measured amount of an ingredient of the recipe compared to a target amount for the ingredient. In some embodiments, the system displays a build column of one or more recipe blocks, representing actions or ingredients of the recipe. An active recipe block is displayed with a portion of the recipe block displayed in a different manner in proportion to the measured amount of an ingredient of the recipe compared to a target amount for the ingredient.

Claims

1. A system for assisting a user in assembling a culinary combination according to a recipe, the recipe having one or more ingredients and one or more target amounts for the ingredients, the system comprising:

a scale;

a computing device with an electronic display and an audio jack;

wherein the computing device is configured for communicating with the scale;

wherein the electronic display is configured for displaying information regarding the ingredients of the recipe, and for displaying a progress of the assembly of the culinary combination;

wherein the computing device is configured for communicating with the scale via the audio jack; and

wherein the computing device is configured for receiving weight information to the computing device via the audio jack.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device is further configured for:

displaying a build column comprising two or more recipe blocks, including a first recipe block associated with a first ingredient and a second recipe block associated with a first action step of the recipe.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device is further configured for:

displaying one or more recipe blocks, including a first recipe block associated with a first ingredient;

selecting the first recipe block from the one or more recipe blocks as an activated recipe block; and

displaying the activated recipe block in an enhanced manner.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the computing device is further configured for:

expanding the activated recipe block in size on the display.

5. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform steps of a method for assisting a user in assembling a culinary combination according to a recipe, the recipe having one or more ingredients and one or more target amounts for the ingredients, the steps comprising:

displaying on a display one or more recipe blocks, including a first recipe block associated with a first ingredient, wherein the first ingredient is one of the one or more ingredients;

displaying on the display a name and the target amount for the first ingredient;

receiving real-time information from a scale;

determining an amount added to the scale based on the real-time information received from the scale;

determining a real-time measured amount of the first ingredient based on the amount added to the scale; and

displaying on the display a real-time progress of the first ingredient being added to the scale by displaying a first portion of the first recipe block in a different manner than a second portion of the first recipe block, wherein a ratio of the first portion of the first recipe block displayed to the second portion of the first recipe block displayed is changed in real-time and is proportional to a ratio of the real-time measured amount of the first ingredient compared to the target amount for the first ingredient.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, having stored thereon further instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform the steps of:

displaying on the display the real-time progress of the first ingredient being added to the scale by displaying the first portion of the first recipe block separated from the second portion of the first recipe bloc by a fill-line, the fill-line rising as the real-time measured amount of the first ingredient increases.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, having stored thereon further instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform the steps of:

displaying on the display a build column comprising the one or more recipe blocks, including the first recipe block associated with the first ingredient and a second recipe block associated with a first action step of the recipe.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, having stored thereon further instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform the steps of:

expanding the first recipe block in size on the display when the first recipe block has been selected as an active recipe block.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, having stored thereon further instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform the steps of:

changing a scaling factor of the recipe, if the measured amount of the first ingredient exceeds an upper threshold based on the target amount for the first ingredient; and

adjusting the target amounts for the ingredients of the recipe based on the scaling factor.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, having stored thereon further instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform the steps of:

displaying on the display an indication for the user to stop adding the first ingredient if the measured amount of the first ingredient exceeds a lower threshold based on the target amount for the first ingredient.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, having stored thereon further instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform the steps of:

transferring association, upon user command, of the amount added to the scale from the measured amount of the first ingredient to a measured amount of a second ingredient from the one or more ingredients of the recipe.

12. A device for assisting a user in assembling a culinary combination according to a recipe, the recipe having one or more ingredients and one or more target amounts for the ingredients, the device comprising:

a scale configured for receiving information from a computing device regarding an ingredient of the recipe; and

an electronic display, configured for displaying information identifying the ingredient, the electronic display configured for displaying a bar graph on the electronic display, the bar graph with a bar with a length, the length changing in real-time based on a real-time measured amount of the ingredient proportional to the target amount for the ingredient.

13. The device of claim 12, further comprising:

an indicator configured for signaling the user to stop adding the ingredient, wherein the indicator configured for signaling the user to stop adding the ingredient is a light configured to change color when the amount added to the scale approaches the target amount.

14. A method for a computing device to assist a user in assembling a culinary combination according to a recipe, the recipe having one or more ingredients and one or more target amounts for the ingredients, the method comprising:

the computing device causing an electronic display to display one or more recipe blocks, including a first recipe block associated with a first ingredient, wherein the first ingredient is one of the one or more ingredients;

the computing device causing the electronic display to display a name and the target amount for the first ingredient;

the computing device receiving real-time information from a scale;

the computing device determining an amount added to the scale based on the real-time information received from the scale;

the computing device determining a real-time measured amount of the first ingredient based on the amount added to the scale; and

the computing device causing the electronic display to display real-time progress of the first ingredient being added to the scale by displaying a first portion of the first recipe block in a different manner than a second portion of the first recipe block, wherein a ratio of the first portion of the first recipe block displayed to the second portion of the first recipe block displayed is changed in real-time and is proportional to a ratio of the real-time measured amount of the first ingredient compared to the target amount for the first ingredient.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

the computing device causing the electronic display to display real-time progress of the first ingredient being added to the scale by displaying the first portion of the first recipe block separated from the second portion of the first recipe bloc by a fill-line, the fill-line rising as the real-time measured amount of the first ingredient increases.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

the computing device selecting the first recipe block from the one or more recipe blocks as an activated recipe block; and

the computing device causing the electronic display to display the activated recipe block expanded in size on the display.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

the computing device causing the electronic display to display a build column comprising the one or more recipe blocks, including the first recipe block associated with the first ingredient and a second recipe block associated with a first action step of the recipe.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

the computing device selecting the first recipe block from the one or more recipe blocks as an activated recipe block; and

the computing device causing the electronic display to display the activated recipe block in an enhanced manner.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the computing device selecting the first recipe block from the one or more recipe blocks as the activated recipe block performs the selecting based on input received from the user.

20. The method of claim 18,

wherein the computing device selecting the first recipe block from the one or more recipe blocks as the activated recipe block performs the selecting based on the computing device determining a previous activated recipe block has been completed.

21. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

the computing device, upon user command, transferring association of the amount added to the scale from the measured amount of the first ingredient to a measured amount of a second ingredient from the one or more ingredients of the recipe.

22. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

the computing device changing a scaling factor of the recipe if the measured amount of the first ingredient exceeds an upper threshold based on the target amount for the first ingredient; and

the computing device adjusting the target amounts for the ingredients of the recipe based on the scaling factor.

23. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

the computing device causing the electronic display to display to display real-time progress of the first ingredient being added by displaying a bar graph with a bar with a length based on the real-time measured amount of the first ingredient proportional to the target amount for first ingredient.

24. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

the computing device causing the electronic display to display an indication for the user to stop adding the first ingredient if the measured amount of the first ingredient exceeds a lower threshold based on the target amount for the first ingredient.

25. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

the computing device causing a light to change in color as an indication for the user to stop adding the first ingredient if the measured amount of the first ingredient exceeds a lower threshold based on the target amount for the first ingredient.

26. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

the computing device causing, for each of the one or more recipe blocks that is associated with one or more of the ingredients of the recipe, the electronic display to display that recipe block with a size based on a proportion of the target amount for the ingredient associated with that recipe block in relation to a sum of the target amounts of the ingredients of the recipe.

27. The method of claim 14,

the computing device selecting the first recipe block from the one or more recipe blocks as an activated recipe block;

and

the computing device advancing from the first recipe block as the activated recipe block to a second recipe block as the activated recipe block after the computing device determines the measured amount of the first ingredient exceeds a lower threshold followed by a period of inactivity, wherein the second recipe block is one of the one or more recipe blocks, wherein the lower threshold is based on the target amount for the first ingredient.

28. The method of claim 14,

the computing device selecting a second recipe block from the one or more recipe blocks as an activated recipe block, the second recipe block associated with an operation for removing a container from the scale;

and

the computing device advancing from the second recipe block as the activated recipe block to a third recipe block as the activated recipe block after the computing device determines the amount added to the scale has decreased wherein the third recipe block is one of the one or more recipe blocks.

29. The method of claim 14,

the computing device selecting a previous recipe block from the one or more recipe blocks as an activated recipe block, the previous recipe block associated with an operation for placing a container on the scale;

and

the computing device advancing from the previous recipe block as the activated recipe block to the first recipe block as the activated recipe block after the computing device determines the amount added to the scale has changed followed by a period of inactivity.

30. The method of claim 29,

the computing device causing the electronic display to indicate the container is detected.