Perishable food timing system
First Claim
1. A perishable food timing system comprising:
- a plurality of timers each associated with a different one a plurality of visible indicia;
one or more sets of predetermined timing thresholds, each set of predetermined timing thresholds corresponding to a set of temporal hazards associated with a perishable food item, wherein each of said one or more sets of predetermined timing thresholds can be associated with one of said plurality of timers; and
a plurality of identifying tags each configured to attach to a food container, and each having one of said plurality of visible indicia to associate a respective food container with a respective timer of said plurality of timers;
wherein each one of said plurality of timers commences an elapsed time count in response to a user initiated event, and each of said plurality of timers generates an alarm when said elapsed time count equals one of said one or more sets of predetermined timing thresholds associated with said alarm generating timer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and associated methods relate to a set of timers each corresponding to one of a set of visual indicia, and each timer configured to be associated with one or more predetermined timing thresholds associated with temporal hazards of a perishable food item. In an illustrative embodiment, each timer may have three timing thresholds, one associated with a room-temperature spoilage hazard, one with a refrigerator spoilage hazard, and one with a freezer spoilage hazard. In some embodiments, an identifying tag having one of the set of visible indicia may attach to a perishable food container. The identifying tag may be a color or a symbol attached to a nipple of a baby bottle, for example. In some embodiments, an alarm signal may be generated when the timer equals one of the predetermined timing threshold to advantageously warn a user that the associated temporal hazard may have occurred.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A perishable food timing system comprising:
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a plurality of timers each associated with a different one a plurality of visible indicia; one or more sets of predetermined timing thresholds, each set of predetermined timing thresholds corresponding to a set of temporal hazards associated with a perishable food item, wherein each of said one or more sets of predetermined timing thresholds can be associated with one of said plurality of timers; and a plurality of identifying tags each configured to attach to a food container, and each having one of said plurality of visible indicia to associate a respective food container with a respective timer of said plurality of timers; wherein each one of said plurality of timers commences an elapsed time count in response to a user initiated event, and each of said plurality of timers generates an alarm when said elapsed time count equals one of said one or more sets of predetermined timing thresholds associated with said alarm generating timer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer program product (CPP) tangibly embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium and containing instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform operations for generating an alarm signal when a temporal hazard associated with a perishable food item has been determined, the operations comprising:
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receiving, from a user input interface, signals indicative of a start timing command associated with a perishable food item; commencing an elapsed timer count in response to the received signal indicative of a start timing command, the elapsed timer count associated with an indicia attachable to the perishable food item; retrieving a predetermined timing threshold corresponding to a temporal hazard associated with said perishable food item; comparing the elapsed timer count with said predetermined retrieved timing threshold to determine if said associated temporal hazard has occurred; and generating an alarm signal when said elapsed timer count has passed said retrieved predetermined timing threshold. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A system for providing a food timer to alert an individual of a programmed event associated with a perishable food item, comprising:
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a plurality of timers; one or more sets of predetermined timing thresholds, each set of predetermined timing thresholds corresponding to a set of temporal hazards associated with a perishable food item, wherein each of said one or more sets of predetermined timing thresholds can be associated with one of said plurality of timers; and means for associating each of said plurality of timers with a food container; wherein each one of said plurality of timers commences an elapsed time count in response to a user initiated event, and each of said plurality of timers generates an alarm when said elapsed time count equals one of said one or more sets of predetermined timing thresholds associated with said alarm generating timer. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification