Title:
DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM FOR MONITORING COOKING PROFILES
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO1999011978
Kind Code:
A3
Abstract:
The diagnostic system of the present invention monitors and accumulates thermal signatures or characteristics during at least one operational mode of a cooking appliance (105). These thermal signatures or characteristics are collected through the same temperature sensor (115) used to regulate the temperature of the cooking appliance and then stored in, for example, a look-up table (130). Advantageously, this may be accomplished without the need for 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 (520) 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.
Inventors:
KOETHER BERNARD
Application Number:
PCT/US1998/018317
Publication Date:
May 27, 1999
Filing Date:
September 03, 1998
Export Citation:
Assignee:
TECHNOLOGY LICENSING CORP (US)
International Classes:
A47J27/62; G05D23/19; H05B1/02; (IPC1-7): G01K1/08
Foreign References:
| US5043860A | 1991-08-27 | |||
| US4920948A | 1990-05-01 | |||
| US4858119A | 1989-08-15 | |||
| US5350237A | 1994-09-27 | |||
| US4636949A | 1987-01-13 |
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