Patent ID: 7080593

Claim:
A controlled cooking system that monitors, measures and controls the internal temperature of foods being cooked or baked, said system comprising: a) means for automatically turning on and off a power source to control the application of a heat source applied to a cooking implement, comprised of an oven or rotisserie, wherein when the power source is turned-on, food placed into the cooking implement is heated and cooked, b) a passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag having an integral temperature sensor, encapsulated in a non-toxic, heat resistant material that can be used once and then discarded or used several times before being discarded, wherein said RFID tag is buried into the food that is being cooked or baked, said RFID tag having means for receiving, energizing and enabling RF signals and means for automatically producing an output comprising a backscatter signal containing encoded temperature data indicative of the internal temperature of the food being cooked or baked, c) an interrogator having: (1) means for producing the RF signals that energizes and enables said RFID tag, (2) means for receiving an encoded temperature signal from said RFID tag, and (3) means for producing an interrogated data signal that includes decoded temperature data, and d) a microprocessor having a programmed temperature data that is indicative of the internal temperature required to optimally cook a particular food, wherein when the decoded temperature data applied from said interrogator is below the programmed temperature, said microprocessor allows said power source applied to said cooking implement to remain on, conversely when the decoded temperature data is equal to or exceeds the programmed temperature, said microprocessor shuts off the power source, thus terminating the cooking cycle; said RFID tag further comprising an LC resonant circuit that functions in combination with a rectifier to convert the applied RF signal to a d-c voltage that energizes and enables said RFID tag which then produces the encoded temperature signal that is applied to said interrogator via the RF backscatter signal.