Display Components

Abstract

A display assembly (201) for a kitchen device (100), the display assembly (201) comprising: a liquid crystal display panel (214) having a plurality of liquid crystal elements (300) forming a dot matrix (302); a memory device (225) for storing executable instructions for operating the dot matrix (302); a processor (202) adapted to execute the executable instructions to: determine a desired output of the dot matrix (302); retrieve a predetermined instruction set corresponding to the desired output from the memory device (225); and operate the dot matrix (302) using the predetermined instruction set, wherein the predetermined instruction set includes instructions for each element (300) of the plurality of liquid crystal elements (300).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a display assembly for a kitchen device. Background Art

[0002] Typically, kitchen appliances are equipped with a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel to provide information to the user about the cooking process or the status of the kitchen appliance. For example, microwave ovens and ovens have such LCD panels to display the time remaining in the cooking process. However, the amount of information provided at any one time and the total variety of possible information that can be provided using an LCD panel are limited. This is because the limited amount of available front-facing surface of a kitchen appliance is usually a limitation for large LCD panels. Kitchen appliances are usually designed to have as small a form factor as possible to be more conveniently stored, moved, and used in a kitchen environment.

[0003] One known method of solving the problem of information diversity and limited quantity is to use pictographic elements. Typically, pictographic elements can provide more information in a given space than text. For example, the common icon of "thaw" on a toaster takes up much less space than the word "thaw". Typically, each pictographic element is implemented as a single liquid crystal element on an LCD panel.

[0004] However, due to cultural differences, overuse of pictograms, or simply bad design, users may become confused between several pictograms and misunderstand pictograms, leading to poor user experience and security issues.

[0005] The second problem encountered by kitchen fixture designers is that each element has only two states: on and off. The shape of each element is fixed at the time of manufacture, thus lacking flexibility in providing a variety of information. Implementing too many liquid crystal elements in an LCD panel undesirably increases the cost of the LCD panel while providing only a linear return in the diversity of information that can be provided (each additional element only provides a single additional segment of information that can be provided). Finally, in LCD panels that rely solely on pictographic elements, the cost of localization, i.e., the cost of implementing local languages, can be a considerable expense. In addition, each kitchen fixture is locked into the localized position at the time of its initial manufacture, because the pictographic elements for text characters cannot be easily changed after manufacture. Summary of the invention

[0006] It is an object of the present invention to solve one or more of the above problems, or at least to provide a useful alternative to the kitchen arrangements discussed above.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a display assembly for a kitchen device, the display assembly comprising:

[0008] A liquid crystal display panel having a plurality of liquid crystal elements forming a dot matrix;

[0009] a memory device for storing executable instructions for operating the dot matrix;

[0010] A processor adapted to execute the executable instructions to:

[0011] determining a desired output of the matrix;

[0012] retrieving from said memory device a predetermined set of instructions corresponding to said desired output; and

[0013] The dot matrix is ​​operated using the predetermined instruction set, wherein the predetermined instruction set includes instructions for each of the plurality of liquid crystal elements.

[0014] Preferably, the display assembly further comprises:

[0015] Liquid crystal pictogram element; and

[0016] A user input device is provided for selecting a pictographic element, wherein the processor is adapted to associate the pictographic element with a corresponding output of the dot matrix such that when the pictographic element is selected using the user input device, the processor determines a desired output of the dot matrix based on the corresponding output.

[0017] Preferably, the pictographic element is associable with a plurality of possible corresponding outputs, and wherein the processor is adapted to associate the pictographic element with a corresponding output from the plurality of possible corresponding outputs based on a geographical location of the kitchen appliance or a user selection.

[0018] Preferably, the processor is adapted to receive the geographical location and / or user selection by communicating with the personal computing device.

[0019] Preferably, the liquid crystal display panel further has:

[0020] a second plurality of liquid crystal elements forming a second matrix;

[0021] The executable instructions further include executable instructions for operating the second dot matrix, and the processor is adapted to execute the executable instructions to:

[0022] associating the desired output of the array of dots with a second desired output of the second array of dots;

[0023] determining the second desired output of the second array of dots based on the desired output of the array of dots;

[0024] retrieving from said memory device said predetermined set of instructions corresponding to said second desired output; and

[0025] The second lattice is operated using the predetermined set of instructions corresponding to the second desired output.

[0026] Preferably, the processor is adapted to retrieve the predetermined set of instructions from the memory device in a single operation of operating the lattice using the predetermined set of instructions, and

[0027] Wherein said operation of said dot matrix using said predetermined instruction set operates each liquid crystal element substantially simultaneously.

[0028] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a kitchen device having the display assembly of the first aspect.

[0029] In a third aspect, the present invention provides a method of operating a display assembly of a kitchen device having a plurality of liquid crystal elements forming a dot matrix, the method comprising the steps of:

[0030] determining a desired output of the matrix;

[0031] retrieving a predetermined set of instructions corresponding to the desired output from a memory device of the kitchen device; and

[0032] Using the predetermined instruction set to operate the dot matrix,

[0033] The predetermined instruction set includes instructions for each of the plurality of liquid crystal elements.

[0034] Preferably, the display assembly further comprises a liquid crystal pictogram element and a user input device, and the method further comprises the steps of:

[0035] associating the pictographic elements with corresponding outputs of the dot matrix; and

[0036] When the pictographic element is selected using the user input device, the desired output of the dot matrix is ​​determined based on the corresponding output.

[0037] Preferably, the pictographic element is associated with a plurality of possible corresponding outputs, and the method further comprises the steps of:

[0038] The pictographic element is associated with the corresponding output from the plurality of possible corresponding outputs based on a geographic location of the kitchen appliance or a user selection.

[0039] Preferably, the method further comprises the following steps:

[0040] The geographic location and / or the user selection is received by communicating with a personal computing device.

[0041] Preferably, the kitchen device further comprises a second plurality of liquid crystal elements forming a second matrix, and the method further comprises the following steps:

[0042] associating the desired output of the array of dots with a second desired output of the second array of dots;

[0043] determining the second desired output of the second array of dots based on the desired output of the array of dots;

[0044] retrieving from said memory device said predetermined set of instructions corresponding to said second desired output; and

[0045] The second lattice is operated using the predetermined instruction set.

[0046] In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a programmable memory device comprising executable instructions for performing the method of the third aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0048] Figure 1 is a front view of a kitchen device with a display assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0049] Figure 2A yes Figure 1 A schematic block diagram of a display component.

[0050] Figure 2B yes Figure 1 A schematic block diagram of a display component.

[0051] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 Detailed front view of the display assembly.

[0052] Figure 4A is Figure 1 A visual representation of a predetermined set of instructions used in a display component.

[0053] Figure 4B is Figure 1 A visual representation of a predetermined set of instructions used in a display component.

[0054] Figure 4C is Figure 1 A visual representation of a predetermined set of instructions used in a display component.

[0055] Figure 4D is Figure 1 A visual representation of a predetermined set of instructions used in a display component.

[0056] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 Detailed front view of the liquid crystal display panel of the display assembly.

[0057] Figure 6 yes Figure 1 Detailed front view of the liquid crystal display panel of the display assembly.

[0058] Figure 7 yes Figure 1 Detailed front view of the liquid crystal display panel of the display assembly. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] Figure 1 A kitchen device 100 having a display assembly 201 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0060] Figure 2A and 2B Together they form a schematic block diagram of a display assembly 201 including embedded components. Figure 2A As can be seen in FIG. 2 , the display component 201 includes a processor 202, preferably an embedded controller 202. Therefore, the display component 201 can be referred to as an "embedded device". In this example, the controller 202 has a processing unit (or processor) 205 bidirectionally coupled to an internal storage module 209, such as Figure 2B The storage module 209 may be formed by a nonvolatile semiconductor read-only memory (ROM) 260 and a semiconductor random access memory (RAM) 270, as shown in FIG. Figure 2B RAM 270 may be volatile, nonvolatile, or a combination of volatile and nonvolatile memory.

[0061] The display assembly 201 includes a display controller 207 connected to a video display 214, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, etc. The display controller 207 is configured to operate the video display 214 according to a display instruction set received from the embedded controller 202 to which the display controller 207 is connected.

[0062] The display assembly 201 also includes a user input device 213, which is typically formed of keys, a keypad, or similar controls. In some embodiments, the user input device 213 may include a touch-sensitive panel physically associated with the display 214 to together form a touch screen. Such a touch screen can therefore operate as a form of graphical user interface (GUI), rather than a prompt or menu-driven GUI typically used with a keyboard-display combination. Other forms of user input devices may also be used, such as a microphone for voice commands (not shown) or a joystick / thumb wheel (not shown) for facilitating navigation through menus. Figure 1 As seen in FIG. 1 , the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of buttons 102 , 104 , 106 , 108 , 110 , 112 , and two rotary selectors 114 , 116 .

[0063] like Figure 2A2, the display component 201 may also include a portable memory interface 206, which is coupled to the processor 205 via a connection 219. The portable memory interface 206 allows a complementary portable memory device 225 to be coupled to the display component 201 to act as a source or destination for data or to supplement the internal storage module 209. Examples of such interfaces permit coupling with portable memory devices such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory devices, Secure Digital (SD) cards, Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMIA) cards, optical disks, and magnetic disks.

[0064] The display component 201 also has a communication interface 208 to permit the display component 201 to be coupled to a computer or communication network 220 via a connection 221. The connection 221 can be wired or wireless. For example, the connection 221 can be radio frequency or optical. Examples of wired connections include Ethernet. Additionally, examples of wireless connections include Bluetooth. TM Type local interconnect, Wi-Fi (including protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 series of standards), Infrared Data Association (IrDa), etc.

[0065] The various systems and / or methods described below may be implemented using the embedded controller 202 as one or more software applications 233 comprising executable instructions executable within the embedded controller 202 . Figure 2A The display assembly 201 implements the described systems and / or methods. Specifically, reference Figure 2B , the steps of the described method are implemented by executable instructions in the software application 223 executed within the controller 202. The executable instructions can be formed into one or more code modules, each code module is used to perform one or more specific tasks. The executable instructions can also be divided into two separate parts, where the first part and the corresponding code module perform the described method, and the second part and the corresponding code module manage the user interface between the first part and the user.

[0066] The software application 223 of the embedded controller 202 is typically stored in the non-volatile ROM 260 of the internal storage module 209. The software application 223 stored in the ROM 260 can be updated from a computer-readable medium when necessary. The software application 223 can be loaded into the processor 205 and executed by the processor. In some cases, the processor 205 can execute executable instructions located in the RAM 270. The executable instructions can be loaded into the RAM 270 by the processor 205 initiating the copying of one or more code modules from the ROM 260 to the RAM 270. Alternatively, the executable instructions of one or more code modules can be pre-installed in the non-volatile area of ​​the RAM 270 by the manufacturer. After the one or more code modules are already located in the RAM 270, the processor 205 can execute the executable instructions of the one or more code modules.

[0067] The software application 223 is typically pre-installed by the manufacturer and stored in the ROM 260 prior to distributing the display assembly 201. However, in some cases, the software application 223 may be supplied to the user encoded on one or more portable memory devices (not shown) and accessed via the ROM 260. Figure 2A The portable memory interface 206 of the display assembly 201 is read and subsequently stored in the internal storage module 209 or in the portable memory 225. In another alternative, the software application 223 can be read by the processor 205 from the network 220, or loaded into the controller 202 or the portable storage medium 225 from other computer-readable media. Computer-readable storage media refers to any non-transitory tangible storage medium that participates in providing instructions and / or data to the controller 202 for execution and / or processing. Examples of such storage media include floppy disks, magnetic tapes, CD-ROMs, hard disk drives, ROMs or integrated circuits, USB memories, magneto-optical disks, flash memories, or computer-readable cards such as PCMCIA cards, etc., whether such devices are internal or external to the display assembly 201. Examples of temporary or intangible computer-readable transmission media that can also participate in providing software, applications, instructions and / or data to the device 201 include radio or infrared transmission channels and network connections to another computer or networked device, as well as the Internet or intranet, including email transmissions and information recorded on websites, etc. A computer-readable medium having such software or computer programs recorded thereon is a computer program product.

[0068] The second part 223 of the executable software application and the corresponding code modules mentioned above are used to implement the Figure 2AThe device 201 and the software application 223 may be configured to display one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) output on the display 214 of the device 201. Through manipulation of the user input device 213 (e.g., a keypad), users of the device 201 and the software application 223 may manipulate the interface in a functionally adaptable manner to provide control commands and / or input to the application associated with the GUI. Other forms of functionally adaptable user interfaces may also be implemented, such as an audio interface utilizing voice prompts output via a speaker (not shown) and user voice commands input via a microphone (not shown).

[0069] Figure 2B An embedded controller 202 is shown in detail with a processor 205 for executing client applications 10 and internal memory 209. The internal memory device 209 includes a read-only memory (ROM) 260 and a random access memory (RAM) 270. The processor 205 is capable of executing software applications 223 stored in one or both of the connected memories 260 and 270. When the electronic device 201 is initially powered on, the system program resident in the ROM 260 is executed. The application 233 permanently stored in the ROM 260 is sometimes referred to as "firmware". The execution of the firmware by the processor 205 can implement various functions, including processor management, memory management, device management, and storage management.

[0070] The processor 205 typically includes a plurality of functional modules, including a control unit (CU) 251, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) 252, a digital signal processor (DSP) 253, and a local or internal memory including a set of registers 254, together with an internal buffer or cache memory 255, the registers typically containing atomic data elements 256, 257. One or more internal buses 259 interconnect these functional modules. The processor 205 also typically has one or more interfaces 258 for communicating with external devices via a system bus 281 using a connection 261.

[0071] The software application 223 includes a series of instructions 262 to 263, which may include conditional branching and looping instructions. The application 233 may also include data used in the execution of the software application 223. This data may be stored as part of the instructions or in a separate location 264 within the ROM 260 or RAM 270.

[0072] Generally, the processor 205 is given a set of instructions to execute therein. The set of instructions may be organized into blocks that perform specific tasks or handle specific events that occur in the display component 201. Typically, the software application 223 waits for an event and then executes the code block associated with the event. The processor 205 may respond to a detected event by the processor 205. Figure 2AThe user input device 213 triggers an event from the user's input. Events can also be triggered in response to other sensors and interfaces in the display component 201.

[0073] Execution of a set of executable instructions may require reading and modifying numerical variables. Such numerical variables are stored in RAM 270. The disclosed method uses input variables 271 stored in known locations 272, 273 in memory 270. Input variables 271 are processed to produce output variables 277 stored in known locations 278, 279 in memory 270. Intermediate variables 274 may be stored in additional memory locations in locations 275, 276 of memory 270. Alternatively, some intermediate variables may exist only in registers 254 of processor 205.

[0074] The execution of a series of instructions is achieved in the processor 205 by repeatedly applying the fetch-execute cycle. The control unit 251 of the processor 205 maintains a register called a program counter, which contains the address of the next instruction to be executed in the ROM 260 or RAM 270. At the beginning of the fetch-execute cycle, the contents of the memory address indexed by the program counter are loaded into the control unit 251. The instructions thus loaded control the subsequent operations of the processor 205, such as causing data to be loaded from the ROM memory 260 into the processor register 254, causing the contents of the register to be arithmetically combined with the contents of another register, causing the contents of the register to be written to a location stored in another register, and so on. At the end of the fetch-execute cycle, the program counter is updated to point to the next instruction in the system program code. Depending on the instruction just executed, this may involve incrementing the address contained in the program counter or loading the program counter with a new address in order to implement a branch operation.

[0075] Each step or sub-process in the method process described below is associated with one or more segments of the software application 223 and is performed by repeatedly executing fetch-execute loops in the processor 205 or similar programmed operations of other independent processor blocks in the display component 201 .

[0076] exist Figure 3 In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the display 214 is a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel 214 having a plurality of liquid crystal elements 300 forming a dot matrix 302. The LCD panel 214 further has at least one liquid crystal pictographic element 304. Figure 3In the preferred embodiment shown in , the LCD panel 214 has a plurality of pictographic elements 304 representing the state or desired state of the kitchen device 100. A selector element 306 is located above each pictographic element 304, or a single selector element 306 is used for the LCD panel 214 and moves between a plurality of positions, each pictographic element 304 having a position located above it. The selector element 306 has a triangular shape, wherein one point of the triangle points to the corresponding pictographic element 304 associated with the selector element 306. The selector element 306 is operably connected to the user input device 213 so that the activation of the selector element 306 is controlled using the user input device 213. The LCD panel 214 also has a plurality of seven-segment arrays 308 suitable for presenting the numbers 0 to 9.

[0077] ROM 260 contains a plurality of predetermined display instruction sets 310 for generating output on display 214, examples of which are described in Figures 4A to 4D As shown in Figures 4A to 4D As shown in each of the , each predetermined instruction set 310 corresponds to a set of "on" and "off" instructions for each liquid crystal element 300 of the dot matrix 302 to produce an output on the display 214. The processor 202 is adapted to execute a software application 223 to determine the desired output of the dot matrix, for example, depending on the selector element 306 currently activated due to the use of the user input device 213. Alternatively or additionally, the desired output may be determined based on the operating state of the kitchen appliance 100.

[0078] If available Figures 4A to 4D , each of the outputs generated from the predetermined instruction sets 310 on the display 214 is in a different language. For example, using a VLOOKUP table, each pictographic element 304 may be associated with multiple predetermined instruction sets 310. In one embodiment, a pictographic element 304 showing a slice of pizza may be associated with a predetermined instruction set 310 that generates output in the shape of the word "Pizza" on the display 214 in a variety of different languages.

[0079] The display assembly 201 may further include a second plurality of liquid crystal elements (not shown) forming a second dot matrix (not shown). The second dot matrix may be located directly below the dot matrix 302. The processor 202 is adapted to execute the software application 223 to determine a second desired output of the second dot matrix. The determination made by the processor 202 may depend on the desired output of the dot matrix 302, for example.

[0080] The use of display assembly 201 will now be discussed.

[0081] In order to set up the kitchen appliance 100 for use, an initialization process must be performed. The processor 202 is adapted to execute executable instructions contained in the software application 223 to receive information related to the geographic location and / or language preference. The processor 202 is adapted to receive the information by accessing the communication interface 208 to receive the geographic location information from a personal computing device (not shown), such as a mobile device (not shown). The processor 202 is also adapted to receive the information by selecting a language preference using the user input device 213.

[0082] After receiving the information related to the geographic location and / or the language preference, the processor 202 is adapted to execute executable instructions contained in the software application 223 to associate one or more pictographic elements 304 with corresponding outputs of the dot matrix 302 based on the information related to the geographic location and / or the language preference. The processor 202 is further adapted to associate one or more desired outputs of the dot matrix 302 with a second corresponding output of a second dot matrix. In an exemplary embodiment, the language preference may be "English".

[0083] The display component 201 is now initialized so that once the desired output of the dot matrix 302 is determined, the processor 202 can retrieve the predetermined instruction set 310 associated with the desired output from the ROM 270 as a whole to simultaneously operate all liquid crystal elements 300 of the dot matrix 302 according to the predetermined instruction set 310 and generate the desired output on the display 214.

[0084] For example, Figure 5 , the user can operate the user input device 214 to illuminate the selector element 306 above the pictographic element 304, thereby displaying the visual representation of a pizza slice to select the pictographic element 304. The pictographic element 304 "pizza slice" is associated with a corresponding output during initialization that forms the shape of the word "Pizza" on the dot matrix 302. Therefore, the processor 202 determines that the desired output on the display 214 is the shape of the word "Pizza". The processor 202 then retrieves the predetermined instruction set 310 corresponding to the desired output from the ROM 370 and uses the predetermined instruction set 310 to operate the dot matrix 302.

[0085] In addition, the processor 202 is adapted to determine the second desired output based on the desired output of the dot matrix 302, because the desired output of the dot matrix 302 is associated with the second corresponding output during the initialization process. The processor 202 is adapted to retrieve the predetermined instruction set 310 corresponding to the second desired output from the ROM 270 and operate the liquid crystal elements of the second dot matrix using the predetermined display instruction set.

[0086] In addition, the processor 202 is adapted to operate one or more pictographic elements 304 after another pictographic element 304 has been selected. For example, selecting the pictographic element 304 corresponding to "toast" may cause the display 214 to activate one or more pictographic elements 304 corresponding to a visual indication of the "color" of toast. The operation of the one or more pictographic elements 304 corresponding to the visual indication of the "color" of toast may be controlled by a user input device 213, such as a rotary selector 114, 116. In another example, selecting the pictographic element 304 corresponding to "oven" may cause the display 214 to activate the pictographic element 304 corresponding to "trivet", such as Figure 6 . In addition, selection of the pictographic element 304 may also cause the processor 202 to retrieve a second desired output corresponding to "Use trivet" for operation of the second dot matrix. In yet another embodiment, the processor 202 is adapted to operate one or more pictographic elements 304 after another pictographic element 304 has been selected and the kitchen device 100 has been operated in a heating operation. For example, selecting the pictographic element 304 corresponding to "oven" and operating the kitchen device 100 in the "oven" operation may cause the display 214 to activate the pictographic element 304 corresponding to "oven mitt", such as Figure 7 As seen in.

[0087] In another embodiment of the display component 201, the desired output may be time dependent. For example, after the pictographic element 304 is selected, the desired output may be the shape of the word "Frozen" for two seconds. After two seconds, the desired output may be the shape of the word "Heating". The function of the display component 201 is substantially similar in that the processor 202 determines the desired output (which may vary), retrieves a predetermined display instruction set 310 corresponding to the desired output, and uses the predetermined instruction set 310 to operate the dot matrix 302.

[0088] In another embodiment of the display assembly 201, the processor 202 is adapted to execute executable instructions contained in the software application 223 to associate one or more pictographic elements 304 with corresponding outputs of the dot matrix 302 based on updated information related to the geographic location and / or language preference. The processor 202 is adapted to receive the updated information by accessing the communication interface 208 to receive the geographic location information from the personal computing device.

[0089] Advantages of display assembly 201 will now be discussed.

[0090] Because the display assembly 201 operates using predetermined display instructions, the precise output of the dot matrix 302 can be predetermined. This enables precise kerning and graphic design of the output of the dot matrix 302, which can be challenging when manufacturing products for a wide variety of languages. The simple association of the desired output with the predetermined instruction set 310 also reduces the amount of processing required to produce the desired output, since the instruction set only needs to be retrieved once from the ROM 270.

[0091] Due to the use of dot matrix 302 in display assembly 201, it is possible to manufacture a single display assembly 201 for multiple localized markets. It is also possible to re-localize the kitchen appliance 100, i.e. switch the language in which the kitchen appliance 100 operates. This is desirable for example for the hotel industry which may wish to adjust the appliance language for each guest being served.

Claims

1. A display assembly for a kitchen device, the display assembly comprising: A liquid crystal display panel, the liquid crystal display panel comprising: A plurality of liquid crystal elements forming a dot matrix; as well as A plurality of pictographic elements adjacent to the dot matrix, each pictographic element being composed of a single liquid crystal element, a memory device for storing executable instructions for operating the dot matrix; A processor adapted to execute the executable instructions to: determining a desired output of the matrix; retrieving from said memory device a predetermined set of instructions corresponding to said desired output; and Using the predetermined instruction set to operate the dot matrix, wherein the predetermined instruction set includes instructions for each of the plurality of liquid crystal elements, wherein the liquid crystal display panel further has a selector element associated with and adjacent to each of the plurality of pictographic elements, each selector element being composed of a single liquid crystal element, and wherein the pictographic element is capable of being associated with a plurality of corresponding outputs of the dot matrix, and Therein, the processor is adapted to associate the pictographic element with one or more of the plurality of corresponding outputs from the dot matrix based on a geographical location of the kitchen appliance.

2. The display assembly according to claim 1, further comprising: a user input device for selecting said pictographic element, wherein the processor is adapted to associate the pictographic element with one or more corresponding outputs of the dot array such that when the pictographic element is selected using the user input device, the processor determines the desired output of the dot array based on the one or more corresponding outputs.

3. The display assembly of claim 1, wherein the processor is adapted to receive the geographic location by communicating with a personal computing device.

4. The display assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the liquid crystal display panel further comprises: a second plurality of liquid crystal elements forming a second matrix; in, The executable instructions further include executable instructions for operating the second dot matrix, and the processor is adapted to execute the executable instructions to: associating the desired output of the array of dots with a second desired output of the second array of dots; determining the second desired output of the second array of dots based on the desired output of the array of dots; retrieving from said memory device said predetermined set of instructions corresponding to said second desired output; as well as The second lattice is operated using the predetermined set of instructions corresponding to the second desired output.

5. A display assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the processor is adapted to retrieve a predetermined set of instructions from the memory device in a single operation of operating the dot matrix using the predetermined set of instructions, and Wherein said operation of said dot matrix using said predetermined instruction set operates each liquid crystal element substantially simultaneously.

6. A kitchen device comprising the display assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. A method of operating a display assembly of a kitchen device, The display assembly of the kitchen device comprises: A plurality of liquid crystal elements forming a dot matrix; and A plurality of pictographic elements adjacent to the dot matrix, each pictographic element being composed of a single liquid crystal element, The method comprises the following steps: determining a desired output of the matrix; retrieving a predetermined set of instructions corresponding to the desired output from a memory device of the kitchen device; and Using the predetermined instruction set to operate the dot matrix, wherein the predetermined set of instructions includes instructions for each of the plurality of liquid crystal elements, wherein the display assembly further comprises a selector element associated with and adjacent to each of the plurality of pictographic elements, each selector element being comprised of a single liquid crystal element, and The pictographic element can be associated with a plurality of corresponding outputs of the dot matrix, and the method further comprises the following steps: The pictographic element is associated with one or more of the plurality of corresponding outputs from the dot matrix based on a geographic location of the kitchen appliance.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the display assembly further comprises a user input device, and the method further comprises the steps of: associating the pictographic element with one or more corresponding outputs of the dot matrix; as well as When the pictographic element is selected using the user input device, the desired output of the array of dots is determined based on the one or more corresponding outputs.

9. The method according to claim 7, further comprising the steps of: The geographic location is received by communicating with a personal computing device.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the kitchen device further comprises a second plurality of liquid crystal elements forming a second matrix, and the method further comprises the steps of: associating the desired output of the array of dots with a second desired output of the second array of dots; determining the second desired output of the second array of dots based on the desired output of the array of dots; retrieving from said memory device said predetermined set of instructions corresponding to said second desired output; and The second lattice is operated using the predetermined instruction set.

11. A programmable memory device comprising executable instructions for performing the method of any one of claims 7 to 10.

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