Food Automation-service Techniques, Inc.

Technology Licensing Corporation

Allan E Witt

Bernard G Koether

Charles A Maher, Jr

Mario Pasquini

Andrew B Macri

Computer controlled cooking apparatus for extending the life of shortening utilizing a host computer to lower the average temperature to which the shortening is subjected, a cooking computer within each cooking apparatus to determine when a filter operation should occur based upon how many of each of a plurality of foods have previously been cooked, a technique for locking out future cook cycles until a filter operation has occurred so that the quality of the shortening is maintained, and a technique to prevent shortening from burning by ensuring that the solidified shortening is gradually melted before it is subjected to the much higher power. Additionally, a cooking profile for each food is utilized in order to determine if food being cooked during a power failure may continue to be cooked when the power is restored or if such food may be discarded.

Shortening management system

Cooking apparatus controlled by a programmed digital microcomputer for determining whether the cooking process is complete and for filtering the cooking medium when, for example, only one cooking process is complete. The apparatus also determines whether the cooking medium has been filtered and locks out the initiation of a cooking process after, for example, the completion of only one cooking process at least until the apparatus determines that the cooking medium has been filtered.

Cooking apparatus

An oven cooking monitor and method automatically control the cooking, to a selected degree of doneness, of a plurality of food times requiring different cooking times, thereby permitting the food items to be loaded into the oven in random size order and to be removed in the order in which they become done. In restaurant or fast food cooking a number of different roasts of beef of different sizes often are placed in an oven to be cooked to a uniform degree of doneness, or roasts of similar or different size are placed in an oven at different times. Uniform cooking, without overcooking, is achieved through the present invention by providing a separate disconnectable probe for each food item to generate a signal varying with the temperature sensed by each probe. A reference temperature signal is set to correspond to a desired degree of doneness, and the sensed temperature signal and reference temperature signal are compared, yielding an output signal when the sensed and reference temperatures match. When an output signal is generated to indicate that one of the food items has reached the desired degree of doneness, the monitor indicates the particular probe associated with the done food item and automatically switches the oven to a holding temperature substantially curtailing further cooking. The done food item is removed, and its probe is disconnected, whereupon the monitor stops the probe indicator and automatically switches the oven again to its cooking temperature. Cooking then proceeds until the next food item is done. In this fashion, a plurality of food items such as roasts can be cooked without requiring careful supervision, and without exceeding a prescribed degree of doneness, thereby reducing waste. Roasts may be loaded randomly, and removed in the indicated order in which they become done.

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Westport, CT, United States of America

Allan E Witt