Mobile application for controlling outdoor grill

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10708409-B2
Application number	US-201916432815-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 5, 2019
Priority date	Oct 23, 2015
Publication date	Jul 7, 2020
Grant date	Jul 7, 2020

Abstract

Embodiments are directed to controlling an electronically-controlled appliance using a software application and providing a user interface for controlling an electronically-controlled appliance. In one scenario, a computer system receives an indication from a remote computing system indicating that an electronically-controlled appliance is communicably connected to the remote computing system. The computer system provides a notification in the software application indicating that the electronically-controlled appliance is available to receive instructions, and receives a user input at the software application indicating that certain functions are to be performed by the electronically-controlled appliance. The computer system further generates instructions configured to control the electronically-controlled appliance based on the functions specified in the received user input, and sends the generated instructions to the electronically-controlled appliance to perform the specified functions. These functions are then interpreted and carried out on the electronically-controlled appliance via the hardware controller.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for controlling a wood-pellet grill using a software application on a remote device, the wood-pellet grill comprising at least one hardware controller and a hopper having an auger and for loading combustible pellets into a combustion area of the wood-pellet grill, the method comprising:
receiving a request from the wood-pellet grill for permission to establish network communication with one or more remote computing systems;
providing a notification with a user interface of the remote device, the notification conveying the request for permission to establish network communication with one or more remote computing systems;
detecting a user interaction with the remote device, the user interaction granting permission to establish network communication with one or more remote computing systems; and
transmitting a data packet to the wood-pellet grill, the data packet authorizing the wood-pellet grill to establish network communication with one or more remote computing systems.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
detecting, at the remote device, a user interaction to initiate the software application on the remote device; and
in response to the detected user interaction, initiating the software application on the remote device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more remote computing systems comprises a cloud service.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more remote computing systems comprises one or more of a data analytics system, a third-party advertisement system, a remote diagnostic system, an eCommerce service, a social media network, or a customer service system.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
providing, at the remote device, a prompt to a user to input demographic information;
receiving demographic information via one or more detected user interactions; and
transmitting the received demographic information to a cloud platform associated with the cloud service of the one or more remote computing systems to register the wood-pellet grill to a user account.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving, via detected user interactions with the remote device, instructions including one or more changes to a cooking procedure that be implemented by the wood-pellet grill.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving usage data regarding the wood-pellet grill from the one or more remote computing systems.

8. The method of claim 1 , further providing at the remote device indications of conditions of monitored functions of the wood-pellet grill.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
detecting, in response to providing the indications of conditions of monitored functions of the wood-pellet grill, a user interaction with the remote device;
generating user-specified control instructions based on the detected user interaction with the remote device; and
transmitting the user-specified control instructions to the wood-pellet grill to be implemented by the wood-pellet grill.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
displaying one or more user-selectable elements related to downloadable recipes;
detecting a user interaction with the one or more user-selectable elements related to downloadable recipes; and
in response to the detected user interaction, downloading one or more recipes and providing the recipe to the wood-pellet grill.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform steps comprising:
receiving, at a remote device, an indication that a wood-pellet grill is attempting to communicate with one or more remote computing systems, wherein the wood-pellet grill comprises a hopper having an auger and for loading combustible pellets into a combustion area of the wood-pellet grill;
detecting, at the remote device, a first user interaction indicating that the wood-pellet grill is permitted to communicate with the one or more remote computing systems;
transmitting an indication of permission to one or more of the wood-pellet grill or the one or more remote computing systems;
receiving confirmation from at least one of the one or more remote computing systems indicating that the wood-pellet grill is in network communication with the one or more remote computing systems;
providing a notification with a user interface of the remote device that the wood-pellet grill is available to receive instructions;
detecting, at the remote device, a second user interaction indicating that a particular operation is to be taken by the wood-pellet grill;
generating one or more instructions to cause the hopper of the wood-pellet grill to adjust a rate at which wood pellets are fed into the combustion area of the wood-pellet in order to achieve the particular operation; and
transmitting the one or more generated instructions to the wood-pellet grill.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , further comprising instructions thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the processor to further perform a step of provide one or more of an timer alert, a probe alert, or a temperature alert with the user interface of the remote device.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , further comprising instructions thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the processor to further perform a step of displaying, via the remote device, a custom cooking cycle graphical user interface.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13 , further comprising instructions thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the processor to further perform steps of:
detecting a user interaction with user-selectable elements of the custom cooking cycle graphical user interface;
based on the detected user interaction, generating instructions for a customized smoking cycle; and
transmitting the instructions for the customized smoking cycle to the wood-pellet grill.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , further comprising instructions thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the processor to further perform a step of, in response to detecting a user interaction to save a customize cooking cycle, storing a data structure representing the customized cooking cycle within one or more of a storage system of the one or more of the remote computing systems, a memory of the wood-pellet grill, or a memory of the remote device.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 , further comprising instructions thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the processor to further perform a step of, in response to detecting a user interaction to initiate a recipe on the wood-pellet grill, generating and transmitting instructions to the wood-pellet grill to adjust one or more smoking settings of the wood-pellet grill.

17. A wood-pellet grill, comprising:
a hopper and an auger;
a combustion area, wherein the hopper and auger are configured to load combustible pellets into the combustion area; and
a controller comprising:
at least one processor
at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the wood-pellet grill to:
attempt to establish network communication with one or more remote computing systems;
receive authorization from a remote device to establish network communication with the one or more remote computing systems;
esta

Assignees

• Traeger Pellet Grills Llc

Inventors

• Colston Michael Virgil

Classifications

• H04M1/72415 Primary

  for remote control of appliances · CPC title

• H04Q9/00

  Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom · CPC title

• H04W4/80

  Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication · CPC title

• G08C2201/93

  Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop · CPC title

• G08C17/02 Primary

  using a radio link · CPC title