US-12627522-B2 - Networked food preparation apparatus

US12627522B2US 12627522 B2US12627522 B2US 12627522B2US-12627522-B2

Abstract

A kitchen network system comprising a plurality of food preparation apparatuses. Each of the food preparation apparatuses has a physical data bus, a single board computer, and an input/output (I/O) circuit communicatively coupled to the processor via the physical data bus. The single board computer comprises a processor that generates a control signal for controlling an operation of the food preparation apparatus and communicates the control signal on the physical data bus according to a publish/subscribe message-based protocol. In addition, the processor transmits and receives data for provisioning the single board computer to a wireless mesh network and connects the provisioned single board computer as a node on the wireless mesh network. The I/O circuit is responsive to the control signal for driving one or more components of the food preparation apparatus to perform the operation.

Inventors

Benjamin Kingbay Wann
Canyon Deville

Assignees

DUKE MANUFACTURING CO.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20250116

Claims (17)

1 . A commercial kitchen pan tracking system comprising: a Bluetooth mesh network comprising a plurality of Bluetooth nodes each forming part of the Bluetooth mesh network; a plurality of pans each having a battery-free Bluetooth sensor thereon, the Bluetooth sensor being in operative communication with the Bluetooth mesh network for tracking movement of the plurality of pans in the Bluetooth mesh network; a plurality of commercial food preparation apparatuses, the commercial food preparation apparatuses including at least some of the plurality of Bluetooth nodes forming the Bluetooth mesh network, wherein a first commercial food preparation apparatus of the plurality of commercial food preparation apparatuses comprises a wifi gateway in communication with a router, said wifi gateway operatively connecting the Bluetooth mesh network with the Internet via the router.
2 . The commercial kitchen pan tracking system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the commercial food preparation apparatuses comprises: a physical data bus; a single board computer, comprising: a processor, a built-in antenna, and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor: generate a control signal for controlling an operation of the food preparation apparatus, communicate the control signal on the physical data bus according to a publish/subscribe message-based protocol; transmit and receive data, via the antenna, for provisioning the single board computer to the Bluetooth mesh network, and connect the provisioned single board computer to the Bluetooth mesh network, wherein the single board computer is one of the nodes of the Bluetooth mesh network.
3 . The commercial kitchen pan tracking system of claim 2 , further comprising an input/output (I/O) circuit communicatively coupled to the processor via the physical data bus and configured to receive the control signal therefrom, the I/O circuit responsive to the control signal for driving one or more components of each food preparation apparatus to perform the operation thereof.
4 . The commercial kitchen pan tracking system of claim 3 , wherein the message-based protocol processor by which the single board computer and the I/O circuit communicate on the physical data bus is a Controller Area Network (CAN) protocol.
5 . The commercial kitchen pan tracking system of claim 3 , wherein the one or more components of the food preparation apparatuses comprises at least one of: a convection fan motor, a vent fan, or a water valve.
6 . The commercial kitchen pan tracking system of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the food preparation apparatuses comprises a relay circuit coupled to the I/O circuit, the relay circuit associated with the one or more components of the food preparation apparatuses and configured to switch on and off the one or more components responsive to the control signal from the processor.
7 . The commercial kitchen pan tracking system of claim 3 , wherein the I/O circuit outputs data representative of a state of at least one of the food preparation apparatuses and the single board computer is responsive thereto to generate the control signal.
8 . The commercial kitchen pan tracking system of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the food preparation apparatuses comprises a sensor coupled to the I/O circuit, the sensor detecting information regarding the state of the one or more components of the at least one of the food preparation apparatuses.
9 . The commercial kitchen pan tracking system of claim 8 , wherein the sensor comprises at least one of: a cavity temperature sensor, an ambient temperature sensor, an air inlet temperature sensor, a voltage detection sensor, or a current sensor.
10 . The commercial kitchen pan tracking system of claim 2 , wherein the single board computer comprises a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) device.
11 . The commercial kitchen pan tracking system of claim 2 , wherein the single board computer is coupled to a cloud service via a virtual data bus.
12 . The commercial kitchen pan tracking system of claim 2 , wherein the memory further stores processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, transmit and receive data, via the antenna, for communicatively coupling the single board computer to the virtual data bus.
13 . The commercial kitchen pan tracking system of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the food preparation apparatuses comprises a touchscreen coupled to the single board computer and configured for interaction with a user thereof.
14 . The commercial kitchen pan tracking system of claim 13 , wherein the single board computer is responsive to user input received via the touchscreen to generate the control signal.
15 . A commercial kitchen pan tracking system comprising: a Bluetooth mesh network comprising a plurality of Bluetooth nodes each forming part of the Bluetooth mesh network; a plurality of pans each having a battery-free Bluetooth sensor thereon, the Bluetooth sensor being in operative communication with the Bluetooth mesh network for tracking movement of the plurality of pans in the Bluetooth mesh network; and a portable computing device coupled to a cloud service and to the Bluetooth mesh network, wherein the portable computing device is another one of the nodes of the Bluetooth mesh network, and wherein the cloud service includes a database storing information associated with one or more food preparation apparatuses on the Bluetooth mesh network, wherein the information stored in the database comprises identifier data relating to at least one of: a site, a controller, or an input/output (I/O) board.
16 . The commercial kitchen pan tracking system of claim 15 , wherein the cloud service comprises a cloud-based kitchen management system.
17 . The commercial kitchen pan tracking system of claim 15 , wherein the identifier data stored in the database is cross-referenced with at least one of: a product warranty, service part availability, or service history.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/906,096, filed Sep. 12, 2022, which is a U.S. national phase application of International Application No. PCT/US2021/022925, filed Mar. 18, 2021, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/991,248, filed Mar. 18, 2020, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND The present disclosure generally relates to a networked food preparation apparatus, and more particularly to a food preparation apparatus configured to communicate on a low power wireless mesh (e.g., Bluetooth mesh) network. Food preparation establishments such as restaurants, including quick service or fast food restaurants, have kitchens including various food preparation apparatuses. Conventional techniques for controlling and managing such apparatuses present several challenges. For example, such kitchens often include food preparation apparatuses from several different manufacturers use different communications protocols that cannot securely communicate with each other and with a central kitchen management system. SUMMARY A kitchen network system embodying aspects of the present disclosure comprises a plurality of food preparation apparatuses. Each of the food preparation apparatuses has a physical data bus, a single board computer, and an input/output (I/O) circuit communicatively coupled to the processor via the physical data bus. The single board computer comprises a processor that generates a control signal for controlling an operation of the food preparation apparatus and communicates the control signal on the physical data bus according to a publish/subscribe message-based protocol. In addition, the processor transmits and receives data for provisioning the single board computer to a wireless mesh network and connects the provisioned single board computer as a node on the wireless mesh network. The I/O circuit is responsive to the control signal for driving one or more components of the food preparation apparatus to perform the operation. Other objects and features of the present invention will be in part apparent and in part pointed out herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram of a kitchen network of food preparation apparatuses according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example food preparation apparatus for use in the network of FIG. 1. Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a plurality of food preparation apparatuses 100 embodying aspects of the present invention. In the illustrated example, each food preparation apparatus 100 is configured as a food preparation apparatus for use in a food preparation establishment, such as a restaurant or other commercial kitchen, including a quick service or “fast food” restaurant. In an aspect, food preparation apparatus 100 is part of a food preparation establishment network system used for “smart kitchen” purposes, such as forecasting or predicting food that will be ordered in the future, preparing food, monitoring food preparation and food inventory, providing indications and instructions regarding food preparation and food inventory, labor scheduling management, asset tracking, smart appliance communication, sensor network integration, global inventory control, facilitating communications between devices in the network for these and other purposes, and the like. The food preparation apparatus 100 may include various food cooking devices. An example of one such cooking device is an oven, and it will be understood that other cooking devices, such as fryers, microwaves, conditioning cabinets (e.g. for dough, etc.), grills, and the like can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. The food preparation apparatuses 100 may also include one or more food holding units adapted for holding food at a suitable temperature (e.g., cool temperature, ambient temperature, and/or warm temperature) such as refrigerated back counters (RBC), tri-channel cold pan counters, steam tables, infrared holding units, heat sink holding units, reach-in under-counter refrigerators or freezers (RUF), hot/cold/freeze or hot/cold/frost units, or other holding units, etc. The food preparation apparatus 100 may also include various other food handling apparatuses such as food washers, sanitizers, processors, pans equipped with position sensors, etc. Referring further to FIG. 1, the apparatus 100 in the illustrated embodiment includes a single board computer 102, a touchscreen controller (not shown), and an I/O circuit 106. In an embodiment, the single board computer 102 includes a processor, a memory, and a data bus interface; the touchscreen controller includes a processor, a flash data memory (RAM), a data bus interface, and an electronically erasable program