VISIBLE FOOD PRODUCT STATUS INDICATION

1 . A system for providing a visible indication of food product status, the system comprising:

a camera configured to image a holding area containing a food product;

a controller configured to initiate a product timer for the food product in the holding area; and

a projection system to project a visible, food status indicia proximate to the food product in response to the product timer.

2 . The system of claim 1 wherein the food product is associated with a time limit.

3 . The system of claim 2 wherein the projection system projects a food status indicia proximate to the food product in response to the product timer exceeding the time limit.

4 . The system of claim 2 wherein the projection system projects a food status indicia proximate to the food product in response to the product timer exceeding a predetermined percentage of the time limit.

5 . The system of claim 2 wherein the projection system projects a food status indicia proximate to the food product in response to the product timer having the greatest value of a plurality of product timers for food products of the same type in the holding area.

6 . The system of claim 1 wherein the controller detects removal of the food product from the holding area using image processing.

7 . The system of claim 1 wherein the controller detects addition of the food product to the holding area using image processing.

8 . The system of claim 2 wherein the projection system projects a first food status indicia proximate to the food product in response to the product timer exceeding the hold time limit;

wherein the projection system projects a second food status indicia proximate to the food product in response to the product timer exceeding a predetermined percentage of the hold time limit;

wherein the first food status indicia has a first color and the second food status indicia has a second color, the first color different than the second color.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the product timer varies based on the food product type.

10 . A method for providing a visible indication of food product status, the method comprising:

obtaining an image of a holding area containing a food product;

initiating a product timer for the food product in the holding area; and

projecting a visible, food status indicia proximate to the food product in response to the product timer.

11 . The method of claim 10 wherein the food product is associated with a time limit.

12 . The method of claim 11 wherein the projecting comprises projecting a food status indicia proximate to the food product in response to the product timer exceeding the time limit.

13 . The method of claim 11 wherein the projecting comprises projecting a food status indicia proximate to the food product in response to the product timer exceeding a predetermined percentage of the time limit.

14 . The method of claim 11 wherein the projecting comprises projecting a food status indicia proximate to the food product in response to the product timer having the greatest value of a plurality of product timers for food products of the same type in the holding area.

15 . The method of claim 10 further comprising detecting removal of the food product from the holding area using image processing.

16 . The method of claim 9 further comprising detecting addition of the food product to the holding area using image processing.

17 . The method of claim 11 wherein the projecting comprises projecting a first food status indicia proximate to the food product in response to the product hold timer exceeding the hold time limit;

wherein the projecting comprises projecting a second food status indicia proximate to the food product in response to the product hold timer exceeding a predetermined percentage of the hold time limit;

wherein the first food status indicia has a first color and the second food status indicia has a second color, the first color different than the second color.

18 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the product timer varies based on the food product type.

19 . A computer program product, tangibly embodied on a computer readable medium, for providing a visible indication of food product status, the computer program product including instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to initiate operations comprising:

obtaining an image of a holding area containing a food product;

initiating a product timer for the food product in the holding area; and

projecting a visible, food status indicia proximate to the food product in response to the product timer.