Diagnostic system for monitoring cooking profiles
US6142666A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 4, 1997 |
| Grant date | Nov 7, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 4, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH05B1/0269
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The diagnostic system of the present invention monitors and accumulates the thermal signatures or characteristics during at least one operational mode of the cooking appliance. These thermal signatures or characteristics are collected--through the same temperature sensor used to regulate the temperature of the cooking appliance--and then stored in, for example, a look-up table. Advantageously, this may be accomplished without the need of 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 to flag food products that are improperly cooked or not cooked to the proper degree of doneness. Such monitoring and analysis substantia…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.