1. A method for monitoring sounds at a bedside comprising:
operating a bedside sound monitoring unit including a microphone, a microprocessor and a communications port;
by operating the bedside unit, detecting sounds received by the microphone of the bedside unit and determining if detected sounds include a timing of the breathing pattern presence or absence wherein the timing of the breathing pattern presence or absence represents an alarm condition requiring a response; and
using the operating bedside unit, generating and sending response signals out the communications port when a response is required.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the sound monitoring unit is a bedside unit which further includes a switch for controlling supply of power to a waking device, and said method further comprises operating the bedside unit to detect from sounds received by the microphone of the bedside unit when the sounds represent a smoke detector alarm and in response thereto switching on supply of power to the waking device.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the response signals out the communications port comprise notification signals to an Internet site.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising communicating from the Internet site to a telecommunication number.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising, by operating the bedside sound monitoring unit in a setup mode, inputting a night time duration for which a breathing pattern absence represents an alarm condition.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising, by operating the bedside sound monitoring unit in a setup mode, inputting a waking time after which a breathing pattern presence represents an alarm condition.
7. A method for providing for alarm monitoring in a residence, comprising:
receiving at an Internet site a request to monitor a bedside audible alarm monitoring unit along with response instructions; and
receiving at an Internet site an alarm indicating signal sent from the bedside alarm monitoring unit when the bedside unit, by utilizing a digital acoustic signature recognition technology, detects an alarm condition, and transmitting a notification signal from the Internet site in response, wherein the digital acoustic signature recognition technology comprises a technique selected from the group consisting of matched filtering, cross correlation, and neural networking.
8. A memory device for a microprocessor in an alarm monitoring unit comprising:
a memory substrate for a bedside unit; and
monitoring means disposed on the memory substrate, the monitoring means including:
means encoded on the memory substrate for determining when sound received through a microphone of the bedside unit is a security alarm sound, the means comprising a digital acoustic signature recognition technology selected from the group consisting of matched filtering, cross correleation, and neural networking; and
second means encoded on the memory substrate for communicating responsive signals when a security alarm sound is determined.
9. A memory device for a microprocessor in a bedside alarm monitoring unit comprising:
a memory substrate for a bedside unit; and
monitoring means disposed on the memory substrate, the monitoring means including:
means encoded on the memory substrate for determining when sound received through a microphone of the bedside unit includes a timing of the breathing pattern presence or wherein the timing of the breathing pattern presence or absence represents an alarm condition; and
means encoded on the memory substrate for communicating responsive signals when a breathing pattern alarm condition is determined.
10. A method for monitoring sounds at a bedside comprising:
operating a bedside sound monitoring unit including a microphone, a memory having a signal signature of a breathing pattern stored therein, a microprocessor and a communications port;
by operating the bedside unit, detecting sounds received by the microphone of the bedside unit and converting the sounds to a real time digital pattern representing the sounds;
using the microprocessor and a digital acoustic signature recognition technology selected from the group consisting of matched filtering, cross correlation, and neural networking, comparing the real time digital pattern to the signal signature stored in the memory and determining if detected sounds include a timing of the breathing pattern presence or absence wherein the timing of the breathing pattern presence or absence represents an alarm condition requiring a response; and
using the operating bedside unit, generating and sending response signals out the communications port when a response is required.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for cooking in a non-oil medium a food product, wherein the end product mimics the organoleptic characteristics of a fry-cooked product, said method comprising the steps of:
a) determining a dehydration profile corresponding to the fry-cooked product;
b) preparing a food product for cooking;
c) cooking in a non-oil medium the food product at a controlled rate, wherein said controlled rate is adjusted to mimic the dehydration profile of step a) for the food product of step b).
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the cooking of step b) comprises microwave cooking
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the controlled rate of step c) comprises a first microwave power step and a second microwave power step.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the fry-cooked food product of step a) consists of a starting food material selected from the group consisting of potato, sweet potato, yam, beet, parsnip, carrot, peas, chickpeas, lentils, pinto beans, kidney beans, broad beans, butter beans, black eye beans, soy beans, oats, wheat, sorghum, rice, millet, rye, and barley.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the fry-cooked food product comprises dough prior to frying.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein said dough comprises potato.
7. The method of claim 5 wherein said dough comprises corn.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein step b) comprises a blanching step.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein said blanching step comprises a wet blanch.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein said wet blanch comprises a medium comprising water at about 60\xb0 C. to about 100\xb0 C., and further wherein said blanching step occurs for between about 50 seconds and about 3 minutes.
11. The method of claim 9 wherein step b) further comprises an oil addition step after the blanching step.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein the oil is conditioned prior to use in step b), thereby increasing the fried characteristics provided by the added oil.
13. The method of claim 8 wherein said blanching step comprises an oil blanch.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein said blanch step comprises a warm oil dip of about 60 to about 120 seconds in duration and wherein said food product is brought to a temperature of about 60\xb0 C. to about 99\xb0 C. during said blanch.
15. The method of claim 13 wherein step b) further comprises a de-oiling step after the blanching step.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein the food product is cooled prior to or following the de-oiling step.
17. The method of claim 16 wherein step b) further comprises an oil addition step after said de-oiling step.
18. The method of claim 15 wherein the food product is pre-dried following the de-oiling step.
19. The method of claim 8 wherein said blanch step comprises a flash fry for about 7 seconds to about 20 seconds in oil having a temperature of about 120\xb0 C. to about 180\xb0 C.
20. The method of claim 8 wherein said blanch step comprises a flash fry for about 15 seconds to about 20 seconds in oil having a temperature of about 150\xb0 C. to about 160\xb0 C.
21. The method of claim 1 wherein step b) comprises adding oil to said food product prior to step c).
22. The method of claim 21 wherein the oil is conditioned prior to use in step b), thereby increasing the fried characteristics provided by the added oil.
23. The method of claim 1 wherein step b) comprises adding food ingredients to said food product.
24. The method of claim 1 wherein the controlled rate of step c) corresponds to moisture removal between starch transition points.
25. The method of claim 1 wherein the dehydration profile is determined by measuring the moisture level in a fry-cooked product at a plurality of points during the time that the fryer-cooked product is fried.
26. The method of claim 1 wherein the dehydration profile is determined by an iterative process, wherein said iterative process produces the desired end product.
27. The method of claim 1 wherein said controlled cooking rate of step c) comprises a first dehydration rate of between about 0.02 grams of moisture per gram of solid per second and about 0.2 grams of moisture per gram of solid per second, and wherein further said controlled cooking rate of step c) comprises a second dehydration rate of between about 0.004 grams of moisture per gram of solid per second and about 0.08 grams of moisture per gram solid per second.
28. The method of claim 1 wherein said food product is par-dried to a halfproduct, and wherein further said half-product is packaged for later finish drying by the consumer of said product.
29. The method of claim 28 wherein said food product is par-dried to below its starch melting point.
30. The method of claim 28 wherein said food product is par-dried to below its glass transition point.