Apption Labs Limited

Aption Labs Limited

Teemu Nivala

Joseph Cruz

Olli Toivo Talvitie

Ming-Hao Yeh

Kuo-Lang Huang

Wen Cing-Yan Nivala

Janne Petteri Heiskanen

Fatch Chapeyama

A food thermometer includes a tip portion and an outer shell including a minimum food insertion depth indicator visible on an exterior of the outer shell. A thermal barrier member is located inside the outer shell along a center virtual axis defined by the outer shell at or adjacent a projected position of the minimum food insertion depth indicator on the virtual axis, or closer to the tip portion than the orthogonally projected position of the minimum food insertion depth indicator. In another aspect, a food thermometer includes a first portion and a second portion connected to the first portion. A third portion connected to the second portion includes an antenna. A thermal barrier member is located in at least one of the first portion and the second portion to thermally insulate the interior of the first portion from at least a portion of the interior of the second portion.

Food thermometer and method of using thereof

Food thermometer

A temperature sensing device includes a temperature sensor to measure a temperature of a cooking chamber of a cooking appliance. A housing of the temperature sensing device is configured to be mounted on the cooking appliance. A Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) inside the housing is coupled to the temperature sensor, and an insulating layer is located outside an interior wall of the housing. In one aspect, an antenna is coupled to the PCBA to wirelessly transmit data from the temperature sensing device indicating the measured temperature. In another aspect, the temperature sensing device includes a temperature gauge with a needle to indicate the measured temperature, and a motor inside the housing to actuate the needle. According to another aspect, the temperature sensing device is a wireless signal repeater including an exterior antenna and an interior antenna to transmit signals through a wall of the cooking appliance.

Temperature sensing devices and wireless communication improvements for cooking appliances

Temperature data is wirelessly received from a food thermometer inserted into food. A remaining time for cooking the food is estimated based at least in part on the received temperature data. The progression of a recipe to at least two new stages is indicated on a user interface based on the received temperature data. According to one aspect, the food thermometer includes a thermal sensor configured to measure an internal temperature of the food or an ambient temperature adjacent the food. It is determined that the indicated temperature measured by the thermal sensor increased by at least a threshold value from a previously indicated temperature wirelessly received from the food thermometer, and the progression of the recipe is indicated on the user interface to a new cooking stage.

A wireless signal repeater includes an interior antenna located in an interior a cooking appliance, and an exterior antenna located outside the cooking appliance. A coupling portion connects the interior antenna to the exterior antenna through a hole in a wall of the cooking appliance for wirelessly retransmitting wireless signals received by the wireless signal repeater. According to another aspect, a cooking appliance includes a cooking chamber for cooking food, and an interior antenna located inside the cooking chamber. An exterior antenna is located on an exterior of the cooking appliance, and a coupling portion is configured to connect the interior antenna with the exterior antenna. According to another aspect, an aperture is located in a cooking chamber and a reflector is mounted over the aperture on an exterior of the cooking appliance and is configured to narrow a radiation pattern for wireless signals transmitted through the aperture.

Wireless communication improvements for cooking appliances

An indication of an ambient temperature near food is received using an ambient temperature sensor of a food thermometer, and an indication of a food temperature at an interior portion of the food is received using one or more thermal sensors of the food thermometer. A rate at which the indication of the food temperature changes is determined, and the completion time is estimated based on at least the indication of the ambient temperature near the food and the rate at which the indication of the food temperature changes. In one aspect, a resting temperature rise is estimated based on the rate at which the indication of the food temperature changes and at least one of a food type, a thickness of the food, and an amount of time for the indication of the food temperature to increase by a temperature rise value during a period of cooking.

A food thermometer includes a first portion for insertion into food. The first portion includes electronics sensitive to heat, and a third portion of the thermometer includes an antenna for transmitting data. According to one aspect, a completion time is estimated based on an ambient temperature and a rate at which the food temperature changes. According to another aspect, the thermometer includes an outer shell with a metallic portion and a non-metallic portion. An inner shell inside the outer shell extends from the metallic portion into the non-metallic portion such that the inner shell in the non-metallic portion serves as at least part of the antenna. The inner shell with the metallic portion of the outer shell serves as a coaxial transmission waveguide for an antenna signal.

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Leicester, United Kingdom

Teemu Nivala