SYSTEM FOR INDICATING STATUS OF A FOOD ITEM IN A KITCHEN
A system for indicating status of a food item in a kitchen includes a food preparation appliance having at least one shelf. A countdown timer operatively communicates with the food preparation appliance for counting a food processing time period of a food item in the at least one shelf. A processor receives a count from the countdown timer. A visual indicator provides a visual indication at the at least one shelf. The processor communicates with the visual indicator and causes the visual indicator to indicate a current status of a food item in the at least one shelf as a function of the count from the countdown timer.
1 . A system for indicating status of a food item in a kitchen comprising:
a food preparation appliance, the food preparation appliance having at least one food preparation section;
a countdown timer operatively communicating with the food preparation appliance for counting a food processing time period of a food item in the at least one food preparation section;
a processor receiving a count from the countdown timer; and
a visual indicator providing a visual indication at the at least one food preparation section, the processor communicating with the visual indicator and causing the visual indicator to indicate a current status of a food item in the at least one food preparation section as a function of the count from the countdown timer.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the food preparation appliance has at least a second food preparation section, each food preparation section being a shelf.
3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein a the visual indicator includes at least two visual indicators, each respective visual indicator being associated with a respective shelf to indicate a condition of the shelf with which the visual indicator is associated.
4 . The system of claim 2 , wherein each shelf is thermally isolated from an adjacent shelf.
5 . The system of claim 3 , further comprising a door for selectively sealing the food preparation appliance, a window disposed within the door, the visual indicator being visible through the window.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the food preparation appliance has at least a second food preparation section, each food preparation section being a shelf, each shelf being thermally isolated from an adjacent shelf, the visual indicator being disposed on a respective shelf, for indicating a condition of a food item disposed in the shelf, and a door for selectively sealing the food preparation appliance, a window disposed within the door, each visual indicator being visible through the window.
7 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a controller communication with the processor for operating each food preparation section in accordance with a respective recipe.
8 . The system of claim 7 , further comprising a library communicating with the controller, the library storing two or more recipes, the controller causing the processor to operate the food preparation section in accordance with a first recipe at a first food preparation section and a second recipe at a second preparation section, the recipe including the count.
9 . The system of claim 1 wherein the visual indicator changes from a first condition to a second condition at an end of the count.
10 . The system of claim 1 , comprising a second food preparation device, the controller operatively communicating with the food preparation device and the second food preparation device, the controller performing a second count when a food item is transferred from the food preparation device to the second food preparation device.
11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the second count is a continuation of the first count.
12 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the second food preparation device is a holding station.
13 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the food preparation appliance comprises an input for inputting a food type to be processed; the processor receiving the input of the food type to be processed and determining whether there is a contraindication for preparing the input food type in the food preparation appliance at the food preparation section; and
the visual indicator providing a visual indication at the at least one food preparation section, the processor communicating with the visual indicator and causing the visual indicator to indicate a warning if a contraindication exists as determined by the processor.
14 . A system for indicating status of a food item in a kitchen comprising:
a food preparation appliance, the food preparation appliance having at least one food preparation section;
an input for inputting a food type to be processed;
a processor receiving the input of the food type to be processed and determining whether there is a contraindication for preparing the input food type in the food preparation appliance; and
a visual indicator providing a visual indication at the at least one food preparation section, the processor communicating with the visual indicator and causing the visual indicator to indicate a warning if a contraindication exists as determined by the processor.
15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the food preparation appliance has at least a second food preparation section, each food preparation section being a shelf.
16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein each shelf is thermally isolated from an adjacent shelf.
17 . The system of claim 14 , further comprising a controller communication with the processor for operating each food preparation section in accordance with a respective recipe.
18 . The system of claim 17 , further comprising a library communicating with the controller, the library storing two or more recipes, the controller causing the processor to operate the food preparation section in accordance with a first recipe at a first food preparation section and a second recipe at a second preparation section, the controller determining the contraindication as a function of the two or more recipes.