Patent ID: 7875813

Claim:
A weighing apparatus for directing processes involving perishable items of interest, comprising: a display; a main interface presented on said display, said main interface having a plurality of presets, each of which leads to a process control interface associated with a perishable item of interest; a process control interface presented on said display upon selection of an associated preset, said process control interface having a plurality of selectable process steps, said process steps including process data relating to a process involving said perishable item of interest, said process defined in a process file that includes: (a) product identifier data, (b) process step identifier data for each of a plurality of process steps for preparing said perishable item, (c) start time data for a process step, (d) duration or end time data for a process step; and a controller and associated software configured to direct said process defined by said process steps, said software including said process file and utilized by said controller: (1) to guide a user through performing a plurality of process steps for each of a plurality of processes; (2) to compare said start time data and said duration or end time data for each of said process steps to determine when items for said processes need to move to a next process step; and (3) to provide during said start time and said duration or end time for a process step of a second one of said plurality of processes an alert to a user of said apparatus using at least said display of said weighing apparatus when an item for a first one of said plurality of processes needs to move to a next process step.