Ulllted States Patent
`
`[19]
`
`[11] Patent Number:
`
`5,875,430
`
`Koether
`
`[45] Date of Patent:
`
`Feb. 23, 1999
`
`lJS005875430/X
`
`[54]
`
`SMART COMMERCIAL KITCHEN
`NETWORK
`
`[75]
`
`Inventor: Bernard G. Koether, Tequesta, Fla.
`
`Primary Examiner—Gail O. Hayes
`Assistant Examiner—Raquel Alvarez
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm—J. De La Rosa
`
`57]
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`[73] Assigned Technology Licensing Corporation’
`Tequesta,Ida.
`
`[21] APPL N0-3 6439207
`[22]
`Filed,
`May 2, 1996
`
`Int. Cl.6 ................................................... .. G05B 19/18
`[51]
`[52] U.S. Cl.
`.............................. .. 705/1; 364/131; 364/400
`[58] Field of Search ......................... 364/468.15, 479.06,
`364/479.11, 479.14, 474.16, 474.19, 131,
`400;395/215,230,234;705/1,15
`
`[56]
`
`References Cited
`
`Us’ PATENT DOCUMENTS
`ammzwmsmmmm. ........................ ummi
`4,390,953
`6/1983 Johnstone .
`4,812,963
`3/1989 Albrecht et al.
`
`...................... .. 364/131
`
`The present invention provides a bi-directional communi-
`.
`.
`.
`.
`.
`cation network which provides real-time computer-aided
`diagnostics, asset history, accounting records, maintenance
`records and energy management. Advantageously, such a
`netvvorkintegrates the various Work aspects of today’s food
`service industry to insure the proper Work allocation of
`administrative and repair tasks. The system includes a
`control center, a communication link to a point of sale
`system, a plurality of l<it<;hen base stations, and a plurality of
`kitchen or cooking appliances located yvithin a site or cell.
`hdannenance and repan; once nnnahzed, me inonnored
`through the control center having a database with the
`necessary software diagnostics, accounting records, inven-
`tory records, and maintenance records for the particular
`appliance under service so as to integrate the various aspects
`dwmw%MM&@mmMm®mm@mm
`
`86 Claims, 9 Drawing Sheets
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`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 1
`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 1
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 23, 1999
`
`Sheet 1 of 9
`
`5,875,430
`
`F’ICi1
`
`DATA NETWEIRK
`
`SERVICE
`
`VEHICLE
`
`1200
`
`TERMINAL
`
`Petitioner C0xC0m, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 2
`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 2
`
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 23, 1999
`
`Sheet 2 of 9
`
`5,875,430
`
`KITCHEN
`
`APPLIANCE
`
`150
`
`\\\/V175
`
`\\ \
`
`167
`
`
`DATA NETV»/DR
`
`Petitioner C0xC0m, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 3
`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 3
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 23, 1999
`
`Sheet 3 of 9
`
`5,875,430
`
`FIGS
`
`\
`
`\
`
`I
`
`/
`
`/
`
`\
`
`/
`
`/
`
`180
`
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`CDNTRULLER
`DISPLAY
`
`DISPLAY
`
`
`
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`
`DATABASE
`
`Petitioner C0xC0m, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 4
`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 4
`
`

`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 5
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 23, 1999
`
`Sheet 5 of 9
`
`5,875,430
`
`me
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`Petitioner C0xC0m, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 6
`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 6
`
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 23, 1999
`
`Sheet 6 of 9
`
`5,875,430
`
`600
`
`
`
`
`
`PUWER UN
`
`CELLULAR
`
`DATA
`
`TRANSMIT
`DATA TD
`
`
`
`FRDM
`
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`
`CDNTRDL
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`
`7
`
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`
`DATA
`
`|-16.6
`
`Petitioner C0xC0m, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 7
`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 7
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 23, 1999
`
`Sheet 7 of 9
`
`5,875,430
`
`730
`
`YES
`
`735
`
`YES
`
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`
`DIAGNOSTIC
`
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`APPLIANCE
`
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`
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`
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`SERVICE
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`
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`(PBS/ATM)
`
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`
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`
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`
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`
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`
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`CDUKING
`PARAMETERS
`
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`
`7A
`
`Petitioner C0xC0m, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 8
`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 8
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 23, 1999
`
`Sheet 8 of 9
`
`5,875,430
`
` DIAGNEISTIC
`
`
`
`
`START
`
`790
`
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`AND
`DDVNLDAD
`
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`
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`
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`
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`
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`
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`
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`
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`
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`
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`
`7B
`
`Petitioner C0xC0m, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 9
`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 9
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 23, 1999
`
`Sheet 9 of 9
`
`5,875,430
`
`KITCHEN
`BASE
`STATION
`
`150
`
`175
`
`180
`
`DATA NETWDR
`
`
`CENTER
`
`
`170
`
`CDNTRDL
`
`820
`
`140
`
`110
`
`
`
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`
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`
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`
`
`APPLIANCE
`
`F168
`
`Pefifi0nerC0xC0nLIl13-Exhflnt1008Phge10
`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 10
`
`

`
`1
`SMART COMMERCIAL KITCHEN
`NETWORK
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATION
`
`The present application is related to commonly assigned
`U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,963 entitled “Plural Cooking Computer
`Communication System,” which is incorporated herein by
`reference.
`
`TECHNICAL FIELD
`
`The present invention relates to a communication network
`and, more particularly, to a communication network, such as
`a cooking computer communication system, for monitoring
`and controlling the activities of commercial kitchen or
`restaurant appliances, and for providing bi-directional com-
`munication between such appliances and a control center.
`Such kitchen or restaurant appliances, for example, includes
`deep vat fryers and various types of ovens, and cooling
`systems, such as refrigerators and HVAC systems, as well as
`other related food processing systems found in today’s
`restaurants and fast food chains.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`In recent years, as cooking and restaurant appliances in
`large hotels or institutional kitchens have become more
`complex, there has been an increased need for the utilization
`of computers for diagnosing malfunctions. Today, cooking
`appliances are maintained and serviced, however, by a food
`service industry that—with exceptions—is too poorly
`equipped and untrained to do so. The domestic food service
`industry is composed of some three hundred independent
`service agencies, ranging in size from one up to hundreds of
`employees. Most, however, consist of just a few employees
`which are unfortunately burden with the responsibilities of
`invoices, repairs, inventories, warranties, credits, returns,
`and the like. For example, these service agencies not only
`have to generate invoices, but also have to collect payment,
`which for obvious reasons is time consuming. With such
`other duties, service agencies have the least amount of time
`to keep up with the technology of today’s complex kitchen
`or cooking appliances. With the existing food service indus-
`try so fragmented and ill-suited to handle the latter admin-
`istrative tasks as well as the repairs, it is estimated that their
`efficiency may be as low as 20%. In other words, although
`the food service industry has become the focal point of the
`work allocation,
`the service sector is the least capable
`segment of the industry to do so.
`to provide a
`Accordingly,
`there is a need in the art
`cost-effective system which enhances the work force utili-
`zation of today’s food service industry, allowing the proper
`work allocation of administrative and repair skills among
`those best suited to perform the tasks.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention provides a bi-directional commu-
`nication network which provides real-time computer-aided
`diagnostics, asset history, accounting records, maintenance
`records and energy management. Advantageously, such a
`network integrates the various work aspects of today’s food
`service industry to insure the proper work allocation of
`administrative and repair tasks.
`The system includes a control center linked to a point of
`sale (POS) or automated teller machine (ATM) system, a
`plurality of kitchen base stations, and a plurality of kitchen
`
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`5,875,430
`
`2
`
`or restaurant appliances located within a site or cell(s).
`Maintenance and repair, once initialized, are monitored, for
`example, through the control center having a database with
`the necessary software diagnostics, accounting records,
`inventory records, and maintenance records for the particu-
`lar appliance under service so as to integrate the various
`aspects of accounting, billing, repair and energy manage-
`ment.
`
`In a preferred embodiment, each cell is allocated at least
`one communication channel, preferably wireless, to effect
`bidirectional communication with the base stations, which in
`turns are interconnected to the control center over high
`speed data links. In particular,
`the system monitors and
`tracks the maintenance and repair of kitchen appliances by
`means of information transmitted to and received from those
`
`appliances over the data network. Such information may
`include cooking parameters, billing information, appliance
`identification, diagnostic information, and maintenance
`instructions, among others. Direct billing is facilitated by
`transferring financial information among POS or ATM sys-
`tems operated by various merchants and clearing house
`network centers.
`
`Each kitchen base station may interrogate the appliance or
`the appliance may request to transmit diagnostic information
`relating to the operating conditions thereof, which diagnos-
`tic information may be immediately communicated to the
`control center. The control center may take action as
`appropriate, including, among others, downloading updated,
`operating and/or diagnostic software to the appliance, dis-
`patching a service vehicle, or updating accounting and
`inventory information. Most of the functions are automati-
`cally controlled by the control center, but may be also
`performed manually by a control center operator.
`Alternatively, some of these functions may be distributed to
`the base stations, such, as in a distributed architecture
`network.
`
`In the preferred embodiment, on site repair is enhanced
`through the use of a portable hand held terminal linked to the
`appliance through, for example, a wireless RS-232 interface,
`such as by infrared communication. The hand held terminal
`interrogates the appliance to diagnose abnormal operating
`conditions. Upon effecting repair, the control center prefer-
`ably prepares and transmits an appropriate invoice and
`effects billing through the POS or ATM system. During
`repairs, should the hand held terminal require updated
`diagnostic software for the particular appliance under
`service, such a request is transmitted to the control center.
`The appropriate software is then transmitted to the terminal
`through the communication data network. In this manner, as
`new diagnostic tools become available for specific kitchen
`or restaurant appliances, they are readily accessible for use
`by the food service industry.
`Similarly, the database contains maintenance instructions
`for each type of kitchen or restaurant appliance. If the
`service personnel is unfamiliar with the appliance, a request
`may be initialized for the control center to download the
`necessary repair and maintenance instructions for the appli-
`ance under service.
`
`Importantly, the control center includes a database con-
`taining customer information, accounting history, appliance
`data, such as previous repairs and faults, updated diagnostic
`software and billing data. Advantageously, this allows ser-
`vice personnel as well as control center operators to update
`credits, warranties, or returns for a particular subscriber in
`real time. Also, service personnel may request the control
`center to generate and transmit various accounting, billing or
`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 11
`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 11
`
`

`
`5,875,430
`
`3
`repair records for a specific subscriber or appliance. Such
`capabilities enhance quality control as well as minimize the
`amount of work performed by service personnel on admin-
`istrative tasks.
`
`The control center may, if desired, control in real-time the
`normal operation for some or all of the kitchen or restaurant
`appliances. For example, to effect a change in a recipe for a
`particular food product, new cooking parameters may be
`communicated to the controllers of each desired kitchen or
`
`In this manner, retail food service
`restaurant appliance.
`chains may readily update the cooking profiles of their food
`products on a global basis.
`In another aspect of the invention, the control center may
`control when the kitchen or restaurant appliances are turned
`on and off. In this manner, a minimum peak power can be
`achieved by limiting the number of appliances turned on at
`any instance in time. Moreover,
`the appliances can be
`prioritized so that desired appliances can be serviced first,
`depending on the type of appliance and its relative impor-
`tance to the location.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The features and advantages of the present invention will
`become more readily apparent from the following detailed
`description of the invention in which like elements are
`labeled similarly and in which:
`FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of the present smart
`commercial kitchen network including a control center, a
`plurality of kitchen base stations, and a plurality of kitchen
`or restaurant appliances;
`FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of the appliances
`and the kitchen base stations of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 3 is a more detailed block diagram of the control
`center of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 4 is an exemplary illustration of a coverage map as
`it might be displayed to a control center operator;
`FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the transmitter and receiver
`of a kitchen or restaurant appliance used in accordance with
`the present invention;
`FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the
`kitchen base station of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B is flow charts illustrating the
`operation of the control center of FIG. 1; and
`FIG. 8 is a pictorial representation of the repair process
`used in accordance with the present invention.
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`The inventive Smart Commercial Kitchen (SCK) network
`has the ability, among other things, in real-time to monitor
`and control the maintenance, repair and energy management
`of kitchen or restaurant appliances located over a wide
`geographical area. Maintenance and repair, once initialized,
`are monitored through a control center which contains the
`necessary software diagnostics, accounting records, inven-
`tory records, and maintenance records for the particular
`appliance under service. The capability to integrate these
`various accounting and repair services affords a highly
`efficient means for providing timely service to system sub-
`scribers. The SCK network may be customized to the
`particular needs of the subscribers, and due to the preferred
`use of wireless communication, such as cellular radio
`communication, may be installed and used virtually any-
`where in the world.
`
`It is contemplated that the present SCK network may be
`realized,
`in part, by wireless communication. It
`is to be
`
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`4
`understood, however, that the network described below is
`for the purpose of illustration only and not for the purpose
`of limitation. Other suitable communication, whether optical
`or wired, may be used with the present invention.
`Also,
`in the embodiment below,
`integrated repair and
`accounting services are provided and coordinated preferably
`through a centralized control center. It should, however, be
`clearly understood that some of these services may be
`distributed or off loaded to base stations which may be
`programmed to effect these latter services. The choice is
`dependent on whether the network is structured as a highly
`centralized or distributed architecture.
`
`Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown—in schematic block
`diagram—a communication system 100 in accordance with
`the principles of the invention.
`In FIG. 1, an arbitrary
`geographic area may be divided into a plurality of radio
`coverage areas or cells 105 (C1-C6). It should be clearly
`understood that these cells may be located within the same
`or different buildings. While the system in FIG. 1 is shown
`to include only six (6) cells, it should be clearly understood
`that the number of cells may be much larger.
`Associated with and located within each of cells 105
`
`(C1-C6) is one or more kitchen or restaurant appliances 110
`(A1—An) under subscription to the services of the system.
`Each kitchen appliance 110 (A1—An) is preferably provided
`with a RF transmitter 120, RF receiver 130 and micropro-
`cessor based controller 140, as illustrated in FIG. 2.
`Alternatively, each kitchen appliance may effect communi-
`cations through wire data links. Restaurants, bakeries or
`hotels, for example, can have anywhere from one to forty
`(40) kitchen appliances at a single site or cell. Such kitchen
`or restaurant appliances include, for example, deep fryers,
`refractory ovens, baking ovens, combination ovens, infrared
`ovens, rotisseries, refrigerators, HVAC systems, and the
`like.
`
`Microprocessor based controllers have been developed,
`for example, by Food Automation-Service Techniques, Inc.
`(FAST.)® of Connecticut in recent years to assist in the
`preparation of properly cooked foods. These controllers,
`sold under the trade name FASTRON®, among other things,
`regulate the temperature within the kitchen appliance to
`insure that the food is cooked or baked to the proper degree
`of doneness. More particularly, under program control, the
`controller regulates the various operations of the kitchen
`appliance, such as the cooking time and temperature, for
`either a single food product or a plurality of food products.
`That is, the kitchen appliance is programmed to operate with
`cooking parameters tailored for a specific food product. See,
`for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,948, which is incorporated
`herein by reference.
`Moreover, the controller regulates the percentage of time
`power is applied to the heating (or cooling) element in
`accordance with the cooking parameters selected by the user.
`For example, the heating element or heating elements may
`be pulsed with either a fixed or variable duty cycle
`(proportional control heating), may be fully turned on, or
`operated in an off/on manner similar to a thermostat,
`depending on the heating mode of the kitchen appliance.
`Moreover, such controllers may include built-in intelli-
`gent sensing and diagnostic equipment, which coupled
`through an interface board, detect and identify various types
`of failures. Such failures include faulty heaters, sensors,
`fans, and the like. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,860
`and applicants’ copending applications: U.S. Ser. No.
`08/501,211 and U.S. application entitled “Diagnostic Sys-
`tem ForA Cooking Appliance” filed Oct. 26, 1995, Ser. No.
`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 12
`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 12
`
`

`
`5,875,430
`
`5
`08/549,098, which all are commonly assigned and incorpo-
`rated herein by reference.
`With continuing reference to FIG. 1, kitchen base stations
`150 (B1—B6) may be found within respective cells 105
`(C1-C6). Preferably, each kitchen base station 150 (B1—B6)
`is capable of communicating through wireless means, such
`as through cellular radio or other wireless means, with
`corresponding kitchen appliances 110 (A1—A11). If desired,
`manual changes in the menus or the cooking profiles may be
`made through an appropriate terminal 155 attached to the
`base station. As such, each kitchen base station 150 (B1—B6)
`includes a RF transmitter 160 and RF receiver 165, as
`illustrated in FIG. 2. Wire interconnections are not desirable,
`due primarily to the likelihood of such wires being inad-
`vertently cut by culinary instruments. It should, however, be
`understood that wire interconnections may be used. Of
`course, satellite, microwave or infrared communication may
`also be used in accordance with principles known to those
`skilled in the art.
`
`Preferably, each of cells 105 (C1-C6) is allocated at least
`one cellular radio channel used to effect bidirectional com-
`munication so as to monitor and track the maintenance,
`repair and energy management of kitchen appliances 110
`(A1—A11) by means of information transmitted to and
`received from those appliances. Such information may
`include cooking parameters, billing information, appliance
`identification, diagnostic information, and maintenance
`instructions, as discussed herein below. Those skilled in the
`art will readily note that the channels may operate either in
`an analog or a digital mode or a combination thereof. In the
`digital mode, analog signals are converted to digital repre-
`sentations prior to transmission over the RF channel. Purely
`data messages, such as those generated by microprocessor
`based controller 140 may be formatted and transmitted
`directly over a digital channel.
`Communication is provided between kitchen base stations
`150 (B1—B6) and a control center 170 through communica-
`tion links 175 of a data network 180. Control center 170 may
`be attended by one or more trained operators through
`terminals 185. Digital links operating at 56 Kb/sec or higher
`may be used as communication links 175. The data network
`180 may be an integrated system digital network (ISDN)
`facility. In this latter instance, the X0.25 protocol, may be
`used for facilitating the sending of message data between
`kitchen base stations 150 (B1—B6)and control center 170.
`The X0.25 protocol is well known to those of ordinary skill
`in the art and will not be discussed herein for the sake of
`
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`clarity.
`It should be understood that control center 170 includes a
`
`50
`
`repair and accounting database 190 that permits the
`exchange of information relating to repair, accounting and
`billing. In addition, each kitchen base station 150 may
`contain internally resident databases necessary or useful in
`the customer billing or accounting process. Control center
`170 may be, for example, located within the same physical
`location as the cells. For extended coverage around the
`world, however, a plurality of control centers linked to each
`other may be employed.
`Each kitchen base station 150 (B1—B6) may interrogate a
`corresponding controller 140 or controller 140 may request
`to transmit diagnostic information relating to the operating
`conditions of kitchen appliances 110 (A1—An), which diag-
`nostic information may be immediately communicated to
`control center 170. It is contemplated that this diagnostic
`information may also be stored in internally resident data-
`bases of the kitchen base stations. Control center 170 may
`
`55
`
`60
`
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`
`6
`take action as appropriate, including, among other things,
`downloading updated diagnostic software to controller 140,
`dispatching a service vehicle 195 through a mobile kitchen
`center 200, or updating accounting and inventory
`information, which is discussed in more detail herein below.
`Most of the functions are automatically controlled by control
`center 170, but may be also performed manually by the
`control center operator. If desired, some of these functions
`may be distributed to the base stations.
`Service vehicle 195 is provided, maintained and operated
`independently by the service agency subscribers to the
`system. Although FIG. 1 only shows one service vehicle, it
`should be clearly understood that
`in practice a fleet of
`service vehicles would be used.
`
`Communication network 100 also is preferably linked to
`a generic point of sale (POS) or an automated teller machine
`(ATM) system 205 which is linked to each of kitchen base
`stations 150 through data communication network 180.
`Further ATM/POS system 205 includes a POS/ATM data
`communication network 210. Plurality of independently
`operated ATM/POS systems all intercommunicate simulta-
`neously in order to provide billing service to subscribers of
`the inventive communication network. Aclearing house data
`communication network also interconnects the plurality of
`ATM/POS systems to clearing house network centers. By
`transferring information among the different ATM/POS sys-
`tems operated by various merchants, the clearing housing
`data communication network and the clearing house net-
`work centers allow direct inter-institution transactions, such
`as between ATM/POS system 205 and the particular ATM/
`POS system operated by the subscriber’s financial institu-
`tion.
`
`Referring to the illustration of FIG. 3, control center 170
`may include a communication controller 215, and a display
`controller 220, there being a suitable conventional interface
`225 therebetween. As stated above, control center 170
`includes database 190 containing, for example, the locations
`of the kitchen appliances, diagnostic software, associated
`accounting and billing information, and energy management
`data, as discussed herein below. Interface 225 may be a local
`area network (LAN) interface, having one or more terminals
`185, allowing control center operators to enter information.
`Terminals 185 are understood to include any of a variety of
`input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, trackball, or other
`user interface.
`
`Communication controller 215, among other things,
`serves as a processor and buffer between kitchen base
`stations 150, and display controller 220 and database 190.
`Data transmitted through communication controller 215
`may be displayed on a communication display 230. Display
`controller 220 is provided with a map display which displays
`information regarding the kitchen appliances in a graphical
`manner, such as on pre-existing digitized maps of arbitrarily
`large geographical areas, such as a city or state. Such a
`coverage display is illustrated in FIG. 4. For example,
`appliances may be noted by dots, with those requiring
`service indicated in red. Other suitable legends may be
`displayed, for example, indicating the type of appliance, last
`service day, parts availability, among other things.
`Referring next to FIG. 5, there is shown therein a sim-
`plified schematic block diagram of the equipment for
`kitchen appliances 105 used to transmit and receive data
`from kitchen base stations 150 in accordance with the
`
`present invention. In particular, the equipment illustrated in
`FIG. 5, may be used for communication to kitchen base
`stations 150 over digital channels. Data destined for trans-
`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 13
`
`Petitioner CoxCom, LLC - Exhibit 1008 Page 13
`
`

`
`5,875,430
`
`7
`mission to the kitchen base station is divided into data
`packets of messages in accordance, for example, with the
`time division multiple access (TDMA) technique of digital
`communications. Those skilled in the are will readily note
`that other techniques may be used, such as CDMA. Data
`packets along with supervisory messages generated by a
`so-called fast associated control channel (FACCH) generator
`515 are time division multiplexed by multiplexer 510. The
`output of multiplexer 510 is provided as an input to a burst
`interleaver 520 that divides the data into n consecutive time
`slots, each occupied by a byte consisting of m bits of control
`information. This interleaved data forms the input to a burst
`generator 525 that produces “messages burst” of data, each
`consisting of a time slot identifier, digital verification code,
`control or supervisory information and the data to be trans-
`mitted.
`
`The message burst produced by burst generator 525 is
`provided as an input to a RF modulator 530. RF modulator
`530 is used for modulating a carrier frequency according to,
`for example, the “A: DQPSK technique that is well known
`those in the art of cellular radio communication. The use of
`this technique implies that the information transmitted by
`each appliance transmitter is differentially encoded, that is
`two bit symbols are transmitted as four possible changes in
`phase: + or 4%: and + or —“A:. The carrier frequency for the
`selected transmitted channel is supplied to the RF modulator
`by a transmitting frequency synthesizer 535. The burst
`modulated carrier signal output of RF modulator 530 is
`amplified by a power amplifier 540 and then transmitted to
`the base station through an antenna 545.
`Each appliance 110 receives burst modulated signals from
`kitchen base stations 150 through an antenna 550 connected
`to a receiver 555. A receiver carrier frequency for the
`selected receiving channel is generated by a receiving fre-
`quency synthesizer 560 and supplied to a RF demodulator
`565. RF demodulator 565 is used to demodulate the received
`
`carrier signal into an intermediate frequency (IF) signal. The
`intermediate frequency signal is then demodulated further
`by an IF demodulator 570 which recovers the original digital
`information as it existed prior to “/4 DQPSK modulation. The
`digital information is then passed to symbol detector 575
`which converts the two bit symbol format of the digital data
`provided to a single bit data stream. For a more detailed
`description on the use of cellular radio communication, see,
`for example, Cellular Radio: Principles and Design, Ray-
`mond C. V. Macario, McGrraw-Hill, Inc. 1993.
`Those skilled in the art will readily note that much of the
`equipment used by appliances 110 to effect cellular com-
`munication may also be used by kitchen base stations 150
`and mobile kitchen center 200. Accordingly, for the sake of
`simplicity,
`that equipment will not be discussed herein.
`There is, however, one important difference. Kitchen base
`stations 150, unlike appliances 110, are preferably connected
`to control center 170 through high speed communication
`links of data network 180. Also, kitchen base stations 150
`each includes a microprocessor 167 that controls the activi-
`ties of the base station and communication among the
`appliances and the kitchen base stations. Decisions are made
`by the microprocessor in accordance with data received
`from control center 170. The microprocessor is also pro-
`vided with terminal keyboard and display unit 155 that
`allows a user to exchange information with appliances 110
`as well as with control center 170.
`
`FIG. 6 is a simplified flow chart illustrating the operation
`of the kitchen base station. Briefly, the flow chart includes a
`sequence of generally repetitive instructions arranged in a
`loop in which the station polls or is interrupted by special
`events and branches to an appropriate communication mode.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`8
`On power up at block 600, control passes to block 605
`which determines whether data has been received from the
`
`kitchen appliances. Essentially decision block 605 deter-
`mines whether the kitchen appliance(s) are communicating
`to the control center. If such communication is requested,
`control passes to block 610 to effect communication.
`Otherwise, block 615 determines whether the control center
`is attempting to communicate with the kitchen appliance(s).
`If so, at block 620 the received data is forwarded to the
`appropriate appliance. Control then passes to block 625
`which determines if an operator has entered any message
`data, either to an appliance or the control center. Any such
`data is then transmitted at block 630.
`
`In general, an application-oriented protocol is used to
`coordinate the activities between the appliances and the
`control center to ensure common syntax semantics for the
`transmitted application data. For example, the application-
`oriental protocol may specify a particular type of encoding
`for appliance identification data as well as the origination of
`such information with a message. The application-oriented
`protocol formats the messages and transmits either to the
`kitchen appliance or the control center. Control center 170
`may transmit, for example, updated diagnostic software for
`the appliance, updated cooking profiles, and in general, data
`associated with the operations of the kitchen appliances. On
`the other hand, data transmitted from the kitchen appliance
`may include identified failures or malfunctions in the cook-
`ing appliance,
`including kitchen appliance identification
`information.
`
`Normally, monitoring and tracking control passes to the
`control center after a malfunction or fault has been reported
`by the microprocessor based controller. However, the con-
`trol center may effect preventive maintenance even when
`there is no malfunction reported. Scheduled preventive
`maintenances are stored in database 190. Alternatively, each
`base station may request preventive maintenance for its
`associated kitchen appliance(s). At
`the appropriate time,
`control center 170 dispatches a service vehicle.
`Referring now to FIGS. 7A—7B,
`the operation of the
`control center is illustrated. FIGS. 7A and 7B the manner in
`
`which the control center in the present embodiment tracks
`and monitors repair and maintenance. In most instances, it is
`understood that the control center initializes service only to
`effect repair or preventiv