Method and apparatus for cooking using coded information associated with food packaging

Abstract

A cooking apparatus capable of reading or detecting coded information printed on or otherwise associated with food packaging is provided. Food packaging capable of being read or detected by a cooking apparatus is also provided. The cooking apparatus sets cooking time and cooking temperature as a result of reading or detecting coded information printed on or otherwise associated with food packaging. The cooking apparatus is capable of interacting with a user of the cooking apparatus to further assist the cooking process started as a result of reading or detecting coded information printed on or otherwise associated with food packaging. The cooking apparatus capable of connecting to a remote computer and server and receiving and displaying web pages generated by the remote server to further assist the cooking process.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for cooking using a smart cooking appliance and a separate smart device comprising:
 the separate smart device having a smart device data transceiver capable of communicating with the smart cooking appliance using a cellular telephony network,   the separate smart device capable of wirelessly downloading a plurality of different software applications, one or more of the downloadable software applications allowing the separate smart device to add capabilities to itself for controlling a smart cooking appliance, and one or more of the downloadable software applications allowing the separate smart device to perform functions unrelated to controlling the smart cooling appliance,   the separate smart device having a processor design to execute the one or more of the downloadable software applications for controlling the smart cooking appliance and the one or more of the downloadable software applications to perform functions unrelated to controlling the smart cooking appliance,   the separate smart device, in connection with the execution of the one or more of the downloadable software applications for controlling the smart cooking appliance, is designed to send messages through the smart device data transceiver using a cellular telephony network capable of being received by the smart cooking appliance, the one or more application providing cooking instruction to the smart cooking appliance; and   the smart cooking appliance having
 a cooking element, 
 a processor, 
 a receiver electrically connected to the processor capable of wirelessly communicating with the separate smart device using a cellular telephony network, including capable of receiving instructions from the separate smart device regarding setting of the cooking element. 
   
     
     
         2 . A system as in  claim 1 , wherein the separate smart device includes a display screen and the display screen is capable of displaying a recipe having one or more cooking settings. 
     
     
         3 . A system as in  claim 2 , wherein the cooking instruction sent to the smart cooking appliance corresponds to the recipe displayed on the display screen. 
     
     
         4 . A system for cooking comprising:
 a separate smart device, the separate smart device capable of wirelessly communicating using a cellular telephony network information corresponding to a plurality of cooking settings to a smart cooking appliance and capable of making voice calls with other separate smart devices, the separate smart device having
 a protective enclosure that allows the separate smart device to be moved with reduced risk of damage, 
 a speaker contained within the protective enclosure, 
 a microphone contained with the protective enclosure, 
 a smart device data transceiver contained within the protective enclosure capable of communicating with the smart cooking appliance using a cellular telephony network, 
 a smart device processor capable of controlling the smart cooking appliance via sending messages through the smart device data transceiver using a cellular telephony network and capable of communication with other smart devices to enable voice calls between smart devices, and 
   the smart cooking appliance including a housing containing a controllable cooking element for cooking food,   the housing supporting at least one manually actuatable input device for manually inputting one or more cooking settings,   the cooking housing containing a processor capable of receiving information corresponding to a plurality of cooking settings sent to the cooking apparatus wirelessly from the separate smart device using a cellular telephony network; and   the processor connected to the controllable cooking element for controlling the cooking element in response to the information corresponding to a plurality of cooking settings.   
     
     
         5 . A system as in  claim 4 , wherein the separate smart device includes a display screen and the display screen is capable of displaying a recipe having one or more cooking settings. 
     
     
         6 . A system as in  claim 5 , wherein the cooking instruction sent to the smart cooking appliance corresponds to the recipe displayed on the display screen. 
     
     
         7 . A smart cooking appliance comprising:
 a cooking element,   a processor,   a receiver electrically connected to the processor capable of wirelessly communicating with a separate smart device using a cellular telephony network and capable of receiving instructions from the smart device regarding setting of the cooking element,   wherein the smart device is capable of communicating with the smart cooking appliance using a cellular telephony network and capable of wirelessly downloading plurality of difference software applications, one or more of the downloadable software applications allowing the separate smart device to add capabilities to itself for controlling the smart cooking appliance, and one or more of the downloadable software applications allowing the separate smart device to perform functions unrelated to controlling the smart cooking appliance,   wherein the smart device is designed to execute the one or more of the downloadable software applications for controlling the smart cooking appliance and the one or more of the downloadable software applications to perform functions unrelated to controlling the smart cooking appliance, and   wherein in connection with the execution of the one or more of the downloadable software applications for controlling the smart cooking appliance, the smart device sends messages using a cellular telephony network capable of being received by the smart cooking appliance providing one or more cooking instructions to the smart cooking appliance.   
     
     
         8 . A smart cooking appliance comprising:
 a housing containing a controllable cooking element for cooking food,   the housing supporting a least one manually actuatable input device for manually inputting one or more cooking settings,   the cooking housing containing a processor capable of receiving information corresponding to a plurality of cooking settings sent to the cooking apparatus wireless from a separate smart device; and   the processor connected to the controllable cooking element for controlling the cooking element in response to the information corresponding to a plurality of cooking settings,   wherein the separate smart device is capable of wirelessly communicating using a cellular telephony network information corresponding to a plurality of cooking settings to the smart cooking appliance and is capable of making voice calls with other separate smart devices, the separate smart device having
 a protective enclosure that allows the separate smart device to be moved with reduced risk of damage, 
 a speaker contained within the protective enclosure, 
 a microphone contained within the protective enclosure, 
 a smart device data transceiver contained within the protective enclosure capable of communicating with the smart cooking appliance using a cellular telephony network, and 
 a smart device processor capable of controlling the smart cooking appliance via sending messages through the smart device data transceiver and capable of communication with the other smart devices to enable voice calls between separate smart devices.