Patent Application
20140318874
The devices, systems and methods disclosed herein relate generally to configurable and programmable electronic kitchen scales, and more particularly to configurable and programmable electronic kitchen scales connected to an interactive display system.
Electronic media devices are finding their way into the kitchen, as more people cook and consume media content simultaneously, such as browsing the internet for a recipe. Designing display devices specifically for use in the kitchen offers opportunities to change the way people cook by offering a more streamlined, interactive experience. However, limitations on the cooking experience remain due to the inability of recipes to automatically adjust to user-specific needs and the need for multiple kitchen accessories for measurement of ingredients in a variety of units, such as cups, teaspoons, tablespoons, etc.
One solution to this problem has been the use of a single scale that may be used for measuring all ingredients in a recipe. However, current implementations require a companion conversion table between the measured value and the weight for each type of ingredient. Further, if a user intends to prepare a different number of servings than specified in the recipe, the user must manually recalculate all of the ingredients in the recipe.
The systems, methods, and devices of the present disclosure each have several innovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for the desirable attributes disclosed herein.
In order to address these needs, the connected kitchen system described herein may include a scale capable of communication with a media center. The media center may be a display adapted for use in a kitchen setting, for example any of the displays described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/779,429, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/779,201, or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/779,158. A user may select a recipe to be presented on the display and ingredient-specific measurement commands may be sent to the scale. The command may include the amount of the ingredient specified by the recipe and this amount may be converted to the expected weight of the ingredient at the specified amount by either the display or the scale. The scale may send measured weights to the display for presentation to the user. The scale can also send a “key ingredient” command to the display, causing the display to adapt the recipe to the actual measured amount of the current ingredient on the scale. The scale may also provide an indication to the user to indicate when the desired ingredient weight has been reached. The scale may also be used by itself as a standard digital kitchen scale.
In one aspect, a configurable electronic scale includes a frame structure, a measurement panel mounted on the frame structure, at least one force sensor coupled to the frame structure and configured to measure a weight of an item placed on the measurement panel, and a processor configured to convert the measured weight of the item into an equivalent volume and provide an indication of the amount of the item placed on the scale.
In another aspect, a measurement system includes a display configured to display a recipe comprising at least one ingredient and a corresponding recipe ingredient amount and a scale in communication with the display. The scale is configured to receive the recipe ingredient amount from the display, measure an amount of ingredient placed on the scale by a user, and provide an indication of the amount of ingredient placed on the scale.
In yet another aspect, a measurement system includes an interactive display configured to display a recipe comprising a plurality of ingredients, each of the plurality of ingredients having a corresponding recipe ingredient amount and a scale in communication with the display. The scale is configured to measure an amount of a key ingredient placed on the scale by a user, wherein the key ingredient is one of the plurality of ingredients, and provide the measured key ingredient amount to the display. The display is configured to scale the corresponding recipe ingredient amounts according to a ratio between an amount specified in the recipe for the key ingredient and the measured key ingredient amount.
In another aspect, a method for weighing a series of recipe ingredients includes the steps of providing a configurable scale having a scale display and a measurement panel detachably secured to a frame structure, wherein a set of force sensors are configured to detect a weight of a first ingredient placed on the measurement panel, receiving a configuration instruction from an interactive display, and weighing the first ingredient and displaying one or both of a weight and a volume of the first ingredient on the scale display. The method also includes the steps of transmitting one or both of the weight and volume of the first ingredient to the interactive display, scaling a required weight or volume of a second ingredient based on the weight or volume of the first ingredient, weighing the second ingredient and displaying one or both of a weight and a volume of the second ingredient on the scale display, and transmitting one or both of the weight and volume of the second ingredient to the interactive display.
The disclosed aspects will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings and appendix, provided to illustrate and not to limit the disclosed aspects, wherein like designations denote like elements.
Implementations disclosed herein provide systems, devices, and apparatus for an electronic configurable kitchen scale accessory. For example, in one embodiment, the scale may have a bezel-less transparent measurement panel supported on a frame structure. A plurality of force sensors may be used to register a weight of an ingredient placed on the measurement panel. The frame structure may include a display and a plurality of buttons that may be manipulated by a user to display a weight or volume of the measured ingredient. The scale may be connected wirelessly or through display wires to a display device such that a user may browse the interne for recipes and adapt recipe ingredient amounts based on the weight of a key ingredient transmitted from the connected scale. The scale may contain a memory and a processor running instructions from a conversion module such that the scale may be configured to perform weight and volume conversions for common ingredients, such as converting a cup of an amount of material into a similar weight of that material. Accordingly, the kitchen scale accessory may be configured to convert, for example, a desired cup of flour in a recipe into a desired weight of flour so that the scale accessory can be used to measure out the proper amount of the flour corresponding to one cup.
As illustrated in
In some embodiments, the measurement panel 112 may be coupled to the frame structure 114 such that it entirely covers the upper surface of the frame structure. The measurement panel 112 may be detachably secured to the frame structure 114 by a magnetic coupling between the measurement panel 112 and the frame structure 114. In one embodiment, magnets may be bonded to the underside of the measurement panel 112 to assist with placement and alignment of the measurement panel 112 on the frame structure 114. The magnets may be placed near the force sensors 116A-D or may be placed at other points on the frame structure 114.
Referring now to the side cross-sectional view of the scale as shown in
Force sensors 116A-D may also be placed within the notches in the frame structure 114 to measure the weight of recipe ingredients. In the cross-sectional view of the scale accessory shown in
In some embodiments, the kitchen scale accessory may be part of a connected kitchen media system.
As shown in
With further reference to
Some embodiments of the scale may further comprise an indicator for providing feedback to the user when the desired weight of the ingredient has been reached. For example, as shown in
A high-level block diagram of one embodiment of a configurable kitchen scale accessory system 110 is shown in
The scaling system 111 may have a set of components including a processor 150 linked to a plurality of force sensors 116A-D, buttons 134, 136, and 138, an indicator 132, and a scale display 120. Additionally, the scale 100 may have a microphone 140 and speaker 142 connected to processor 150 through an audio processor 144. A working memory 152 and memory 160 are also in communication with processor 150. A persistent memory component 154 containing conversion tables 156 may also be in communication with processor 150. The scale 110 may also connect to a computer 104 and/or an interactive display/media server 102 in order to provide additional functions and applications for the scale 110, such as transmission of recipe ingredient amounts, recipe scaling instructions, or weight to volume conversion information for common ingredients. The scale 110 may be a standalone measurement device or may be used in connection with a computer, interactive display, or the internet via a wireless or wired connection such as via Wifi 158. Via the Internet 106, the scale 110 may access a speech recognition engine 146 to enable the scale to process voice commands and/or a conversion table update service 148 to update and expand the conversion tables 156 stored within the persistent memory 154.
Processor 150 may be a general purpose processing unit or a processor specially designed for display and conversion calculation applications. As shown, the processor 150 is connected to a memory 160 and a working memory 152. In the illustrated embodiment, the memory 160 stores a touch detection module 162, a weight detection module 164, a conversion module 166, a communication module 168, a display module 170, a voice command module 172, an update module 174, operating system 178, and user interface module 176. These modules may include instructions that configure the processor 150 to perform various display, touch sensing, ingredient weight detection, conversion functions, and device management tasks. Working memory 152 may be used by processor 150 to store a working set of processor instructions contained in the modules of memory 160. Alternatively, working memory 152 may also be used by processor 150 to store dynamic data created during the operation of scale accessory system 110.
As mentioned above, the processor 150 is configured by several modules stored in the memory 160. Touch detection module 162 includes instructions that configure the processor 150 to detect a user's touch on the scale display 120, the LCD touch sensitive display 130, or on buttons 134, 136, and 138. Therefore, processor 150, along with touch detection module 162 and buttons 134, 136, 138, represent one means for detecting a user's touch on the scale display 120 of the scale accessory 110.
The weight detection module 164 provides instructions that configure the processor 150 to detect a weight of an ingredient placed on the measurement panel 112 of the scale 110. Using the force sensor data from the force sensors 116A-D, the processor 150 can determine the amount of the ingredient placed on the scale and, along with the display module 170, can display the measured amount of the ingredient on the scale display 120. Therefore, processor 150, along with the weight detection module 164 and pressures sensors 116A-D, represent one means for detecting a weight of ingredients placed on the measurement panel 112.
The conversion module 166 provides instructions that configure the processor 150 to convert a detected weight of an ingredient as measured by the force sensors 116A-D to an equivalent volumetric amount. The conversion module 166 can access a common conversion look-up table, such as conversion tables 156 stored in persistent memory 154, listing weight to volume conversion information for common ingredients. In addition, the conversion module 166 may be updatable manually, or automatically, so that additional conversion information for new ingredients may be added into the scale, such as via a conversion table update service 148 accessible over the internet 106.
The communication module 168 provides instructions that configure the processor 150 to communicate with the interactive display 102, external computer 104, and/or the internet 106. The processor 150, along with the communication module 168, can receive recipe ingredient weight or volume information from the interactive display 102, computer 104, and/or the internet 106 and transmit a weight or volume of a measured ingredient to the interactive display 102, computer 104, and/or the internet 106. For example, the processor 150 can further receive key ingredient information from the interactive display 102, computer 104, and/or the internet 106 and transmit recipe scaling information to the display 102, computer 104, and/or the internet 106 based on the weight of the key ingredient as measured by the scale 110. Additionally, the processor 150, along with the communication module 168, can receive key ingredient information from the scale 110. For example, when a user presses a button on the scale 110 to indicate a key ingredient, the scale 110 can transmit recipe scaling information to the display 102, computer 104, and/or the internet 106 based on the weight of the key ingredient as measured by the scale 110. The processor 150, along with the communication module 168 and the conversion module 166, can also access an external memory location or the internet 106 to update the common conversion look-up table in order to provide accurate weight to volume conversion information for uncommon ingredients.
The display module 170 includes instructions that configure the processor 150 to display the weight or volume of a measured ingredient on the scale display 120. The display module 170 may also include instructions to display the name of the ingredient to be weighed, such as “flour.”
The voice command module 172 includes instructions that configure the processor 150 to receive and process spoken commands and instructions. For example, a user may select an ingredient to measure using a voice command. Upon recognition of the voice command, the voice command module 172 may instruct the processor 150 to communicate with a speech recognition engine, such as Google voice recognition engine, to process the voice command.
The update module 174 includes instructions that configure the processor 150 to perform software updates. Additionally, the update module 174 may include instructions that configure the processor 150 to update the conversion tables 156 stored in the persistent memory 154 from information obtained via the Internet 106, a computer 104, or other source.
The user interface module 176 includes instructions that configure the processor 150 to display an indicated amount of a measured ingredient on the indicator 132. The indicator 132 can be an LED indicator that indicates an amount of an ingredient by a graduated display of colored lights. The indicator can also be an auditory indicator that linguistically communicates to the user the weight or volume of a measured ingredient.
Operating system 178 configures the processor 150 to manage the memory and processing resources of system 110. For example, operating system 172 may include device drivers to manage hardware resources such as the scale display 120, buttons 134, 136, 138, indicator 132, or force sensors 116A-D. Therefore, in some embodiments, instructions contained in the scale accessory system modules discussed above may not interact with these hardware resources directly, but instead interact through standard subroutines or APIs located in operating system component 172. Instructions within operating system 172 may then interact directly with these hardware components.
Although
Additionally, although
In some embodiments, the configurable scale 110 may receive information from the interactive display 102 that the measured ingredient is a “key” recipe ingredient. In response, the configurable scale 110 may transmit the measured weight of this key recipe ingredient to the interactive display 102 to force the interactive display 102 to adapt or scale the recipe to this ingredient weight. The recipe may be scaled either up (doubled, tripled, etc.) or down (halved, etc.) depending on the measured amount of the key recipe ingredient. For example, if a user only has a certain amount of flour, a recipe for a cake could be scaled depending on the amount of flour measured by the scale 110. Scaling of the recipe is not limited to doubling, tripling, or halving and may be any fraction or multiple of the recipe depending on the measured amount of the key ingredient. In some embodiments, scaling of the remaining ingredients may not be linear.
In some embodiments, the configurable scale 110 may transmit information to the interactive display 102 that the measured ingredient is a “key” recipe ingredient, such as when a user presses a button on the scale 110 before, during, or after measuring an ingredient. In response, the interactive display 102 may adapt or scale the recipe to the measured ingredient weight. The recipe may be scaled either up or down as described above.
As discussed above, the scale 110 may incorporate a look-up table of weight to volume conversion information for common ingredients within memory storage incorporated into the scale 110. The scale 110 may also communicate with other devices, such as the interactive display 102, the computer 104 or the internet 106 to update or obtain weight to volume conversion information for less-common ingredients.
The configurable scale 110 may have a plurality of operation modes. In one mode, independent operation, the scale 110 is not connected to an external display device 102. The scale 110 can weigh and display the weight of a measured ingredient on the scale display 120. In some embodiments, the scale 110 may include voice processing capability to determine and interpret voice commands. Voice commands may be used to select an ingredient to measure or to indicate a desired unit of measurement. Voice commands may enable the user to more easily navigate the stored ingredient conversion table. As discussed above, a voice recognition engine such as Google voice recognition may be accessed over the Internet using a wired or wireless connection.
In another mode of operation, the configurable scale 110 may be connected to an interactive display or media server device 102. The configurable scale 110 may receive a task list of ingredients to measure for a specific recipe from the interactive display 102. The ingredients may be measured one at a time and removed from the measurement panel 112 after they are measured. The user may specify a key ingredient by pressing a button 134, 136, or 138 on the scale 110 before, during, or after an ingredient is measured. This “key ingredient” information may be transferred to the interactive display or media server device 102 and the recipe may be scaled accordingly. In some embodiments, scaling of the recipe may be performed by the configurable scale 110. In some embodiments, the user may indicate a key ingredient via the interactive display or media server device 102. The recipe may be scaled accordingly, either by the interactive display or media server device 102 or by the configurable scale 110. In some embodiments, the measurement panel 112 may be detached and used as a cutting board to further process the ingredient before it is added to a mixing bowl or other meal preparation area.
In yet another mode of operation, a group of ingredients may be added to a measuring bowl or the measurement panel 112 accumulatively and then transferred as a group to another bowl or meal preparation area. In some embodiments, the measurement panel 112 may be a bowl or other shape that may be used to hold recipe ingredients such as liquid ingredients. In some embodiments, the scale 110 may receive a task list of ingredients to measure for a specific recipe from the interactive display 102. The scale 110 may display the name of the ingredient to be measured, such as “flour,” to indicate that this ingredient should be placed on the measurement panel 112. Once this ingredient is weighed and the weight information is transferred to the interactive display 102, the scale 110 may then display the next ingredient to be weighed, such as “sugar.” Thus, in some embodiments, the scale 110 can prompt the user for the next ingredient needed for a specified recipe without requiring the user to constantly relate back to the recipe list for this information. In some embodiments, the scale 110 can also help correct for user error in measuring ingredients. For example, if a user enters too much of a second ingredient, the scale 110 may adapt the ingredient amounts accordingly and prompt the user to increase the amount of one or more of the previous ingredients from the recipe task list in response to the recipe adaptation.
The interactive display 102 may include an option for the user to select a current ingredient from a list, or an option for the user to manually input the current ingredient, so that the scale 110 may accurately determine the quantity of the ingredient from a data store of known ingredient weight-to-volume conversions. For example, the user may select the ingredient “flour,” and the scale 110 may retrieve data indicating that the preferred weight of one cup of flour is 4.25 ounces. Thus, the scale 110 may detect a weight of flour and output the volume, for example by displaying “1 cup” on either the scale display 114 or on the connected interactive display 102. If an ingredient is not provided with conversion data, a user may be able to manually enter conversion data and the scale 110 may store that data for future use. Because the scale 110 measures weights while recipe ingredients are commonly measured in volume, such as cups or teaspoons, this feature provides a user with a means of easily comparing the current ingredient amount on the scale 110 with the amount needed for the recipe.
In some embodiments, the scale 110 may be configured to determine a preferred output metric based on a variety of factors such as weight or ingredient. For example, an output metric of cups may be determined for large measured quantities of an ingredient or an output metric of teaspoons may be determined for small measured quantities of an ingredient. The scale 110 may also determine the preferred output metric based on the currently measured ingredient, for example teaspoons for baking soda or nutmeg, or cups for flour. Alternatively, the user may be able to specify what metric the scale should use to output ingredient weights, for example by standard units or metric units.
The process 800 continues to block 830, wherein the weight or volume of the measured ingredient is displayed on the scale display. The user then removes the measured ingredient to a mixing bowl or other meal preparation area. If another ingredient is to be weighed, as indicated in decision block 835, process 800 transitions to block 810 and the process is repeated as described above. If no other ingredients are to be weighed, the process 800 transitions to block 840 and ends.
The invention is operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with the invention include, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.
As used herein, instructions refer to computer-implemented steps for processing information in the system. Instructions can be implemented in software, firmware or hardware and include any type of programmed step undertaken by components of the system.
In the following description, specific details are given to provide a thorough understanding of the examples. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the examples may be practiced without these specific details. For example, electrical components/devices may be shown in block diagrams in order not to obscure the examples in unnecessary detail. In other instances, such components, other structures and techniques may be shown in detail to further explain the examples.
It is also noted that the examples may be described as a process, which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a finite state diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel, or concurrently, and the process can be repeated. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a software function, its termination corresponds to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function.
Those of skill in the art will understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.
Those having skill in the art will further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and process steps described in connection with the implementations disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention. One skilled in the art will recognize that a portion, or a part, may comprise something less than, or equal to, a whole. For example, a portion of a collection of pixels may refer to a sub-collection of those pixels.
The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the implementations disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
The steps of a method or process described in connection with the implementations disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of non-transitory storage medium known in the art. An exemplary computer-readable storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the computer-readable storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal, camera, or other device. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal, camera, or other device.
Headings are included herein for reference and to aid in locating various sections. These headings are not intended to limit the scope of the concepts described with respect thereto. Such concepts may have applicability throughout the entire specification.
The previous description of the disclosed implementations is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these implementations will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the implementations shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the present application are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57. This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/817,824, filed Apr. 30, 2013, titled “CONNECTED KITCHEN SCALE ACCESSORY,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61817824 | Apr 2013 | US |
