Dynamically adjusting ratios of beverages in a mixed beverage

• US 10,384,925 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2014
• Issued: 08/20/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Coca-Cola Company
• Original Assignee: The Coca-Cola Company
• Inventors: Cuppari, Scott, Boutte', Michael Edmond
• Primary Examiner(s): Pitaro, Ryan F
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lobo, Carl P
• Application Number:
  US14/453,815
• Publication Number:
  US 20150046877A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,839 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/0015 the beverage being prepared by mixing at least two liquid components
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/0888 Means comprising electronic circuitry (e.g. control panels, switching or controlling means)
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 13/065 for drink preparation

Abstract

The dynamic adjustment of ratios of beverages to be mixed and dispensed in creating mixed or blended beverages is provided. A selection of beverages may be received from a user interface menu displayed by a computing device. A representation of a mixed beverage comprising the beverage selections may then be displayed according to pre-assigned default ratios. An input may then be received to adjust an assigned ratio associated with one or more of the beverage selections. The computing device may then adjust an assigned ratio associated with the one or more beverage selections in response to receiving the input. The computing device may then automatically adjust assigned ratios associated with other beverage selections in the representation of the mixed beverage. The computing device may then display a representation of the mixed beverage with the adjusted ratios in the user interface.

Claims

1. A method of dynamically adjusting ratios for mixing beverages, comprising:

receiving at a computing device a plurality of beverage selections of core brand beverages from a user interacting with the computing device;

displaying on the computing device a representation of a mixed beverage comprising the plurality of beverage selections according to assigned ratios;

receiving, from the user via the computing device, a rotational input to adjust an assigned ratio associated with at least one beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections comprising receiving information from a user control located between a first beverage selection and a second beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections;

adjusting in the computing device the assigned ratio associated with the at least one beverage selection in response to receiving the input;

automatically adjusting in the computing device an assigned ratio associated with at least one other beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections;

displaying, on the computing device, the representation of the mixed beverage comprising the plurality of beverage selections based on the adjusted assigned ratios for the at least one beverage selection and the at least one other beverage selection; and

transferring wirelessly a recipe associated with the mixed beverage comprising the plurality of beverage selections based on the adjusted assigned ratios from the computing device to a beverage dispensing device such that the mixed beverage can be created and automatically dispensed by the beverage dispensing device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying on the computing device a representation of the mixed beverage comprising the plurality of beverage selections according to assigned ratios comprises displaying the representation of the mixed beverage having equal ratios of each of the plurality of beverage selections.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving, wherein the user control is configured to be rotated in a first direction to decrease a ratio of the first beverage selection while dynamically increasing a ratio of the second beverage selection in the mixed beverage.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the user control is further configured to be rotated in a second direction to increase a ratio of the first beverage selection while dynamically decreasing a ratio of the second beverage selection in the mixed beverage.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving at a computing device a plurality of beverage selections of core brand beverages from a user interacting with the computing device comprises receiving at the computing device three or more beverage selections of core brand beverages from the user interacting with the computing device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving, from the user via the computing device, an input to adjust an assigned ratio associated with at least one beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections comprises enabling the user to slide one or more of a plurality of icons along an axis of a single slider, wherein each icon in the plurality of icons is uniquely associated with a beverage from the plurality of beverage selections, and further wherein sliding a first icon from the plurality of icons in a first direction along the axis of the single slider increases a ratio of a beverage associated with the first icon in the mixed beverage and dynamically decreases ratios of other beverages associated with other icons in the plurality of icons in the mixed beverage.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically adjusting, by the computing device, an assigned ratio associated with at least one other beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections, is further operative to maintain another assigned ratio for another beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a plurality of beverage selections from a user via the computing device comprises receiving a plurality of randomly selected beverage selections in response to one or more of:

shaking of the computing device;

tilting of the computing device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving, from the user via the computing device, an input to adjust the assigned ratio associated with at least one beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections comprises receiving the input to adjust the assigned ratio in response to one or more of:

shaking of the computing device;

tilting of the computing device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a plurality of beverage selections from a user via a computing device comprises allowing a user to drag one or more beverage selections into a mix user control displayed on a user interface on the computing device.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising allowing the user to adjust a flavor of one or more of the core brand beverages in the plurality of beverage selections.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein transferring wirelessly a recipe associated with the mixed beverage comprises wirelessly transferring the recipe to the beverage dispensing device via a handshaking procedure.

13. A mobile computing device for dynamically adjusting ratios for mixing beverages, comprising:

a memory for storing executable program code; and

a processor, functionally coupled to the memory, the processor being responsive to computer-executable instructions contained in the program code and operative to;

receive, from a user of the mobile computing device, a plurality of beverage selections of core brand beverages from a user interface menu;

display a representation of a mixed beverage comprising the plurality of beverage selections according to assigned ratios;

receive, from the user of the mobile computing device, a rotational input to adjust an assigned ratio associated with at least one beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections comprising receiving information from a user control located between a first beverage selection and a second beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections;

adjust the assigned ratio associated with the at least one beverage selection in response to receiving the input;

automatically adjust an assigned ratio associated with at least one other beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections;

display the representation of the mixed beverage comprising the plurality of beverage selections based on the adjusted assigned ratios for the at least one beverage selection and the at least one other beverage selection; and

wirelessly transfer a recipe associated with the mixed beverage comprising the plurality of beverage selections based on the adjusted assigned ratios to a beverage dispensing device via a handshaking procedure such that the mixed beverage can be created and automatically dispensed by the beverage dispensing device.

14. The mobile computing device of claim 13, wherein the processor, in displaying a representation of the mixed beverage comprising the plurality of beverage selections according to assigned ratios, is operative to display the representation of the mixed beverage having equal ratios of each of the plurality of beverage selections.

15. The mobile computing device of claim 13, wherein the user control is configured to be rotated in a first direction to decrease a ratio of the first beverage selection while dynamically increasing a ratio of the second beverage selection in the mixed beverage.

16. The mobile computing device of claim 13, wherein the processor, in receiving, from a user of the mobile computing device, a plurality of beverage selections of core brand beverages from a user interface menu is operative to receive three or more beverage selections of core brand beverages from the user of the mobile computing device.

17. The mobile computing device of claim 13, wherein the processor, in adjusting the assigned ratio associated with the at least one beverage selection in response to receiving the input, is operative to zoom out a user control to increase the assigned ratio associated with the at least one beverage selection.

18. The mobile computing device of claim 13, wherein the processor, in receiving, from the user of the mobile computing device, an input to adjust an assigned ratio associated with at least one beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections, is operative to display a plurality of icons along a common axis of a single slider, wherein each icon in the plurality of icons is uniquely associated with a beverage from the plurality of beverage selections, and further wherein sliding a first icon from the plurality of icons in a first direction along the common axis of the single slider relative to other icons from the plurality of icons on the slider increases a ratio of a beverage associated with the first icon in the mixed beverage, while sliding the first icon in a second direction along the common axis of the single slider decreases a ratio of the beverage associated with the first icon in the mixed beverage.

19. The mobile computing device of claim 13, wherein the processor, in automatically adjusting an assigned ratio associated with at least one other beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections, is further operative to maintain another assigned ratio for another beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections.

20. The mobile computing device of claim 13, wherein the processor, in receiving a plurality of beverage selections from a user interface menu is operative to receive an input on the computing device to receive a plurality of randomly selected beverage selections from the user interface menu.

21. The mobile computing device of claim 20, wherein the processor, in displaying a representation of a mixed beverage comprising the plurality of beverage selections according to assigned ratios, is operative to:

in response to receiving the input, randomly assign ratios to the randomly selected beverage selections; and

display the representation of the mixed beverage according to the randomly assigned ratios.

22. The mobile computing device of claim 20, wherein the processor, in receiving an input on the computing device to receive a plurality of randomly selected beverage selections from the user interface menu is operative to receive an agitation input on the computing device.

23. The mobile computing device of claim 13, wherein the processor, in receiving an input on the computing device to wirelessly transfer a recipe associated with the mixed beverage comprising the plurality of beverage selections based on the adjusted assigned ratios to a beverage dispensing device via a handshaking procedure such that the mixed beverage can be created and dispensed by the beverage dispensing device is operative to facilitate the handshaking procedure using one or more of:

Bluetooth wireless technology;

near field communication technology;

long polling technology;

Wi-Fi technology.

24. The mobile computing device of claim 13, wherein the processor, in adjusting the assigned ratio associated with the at least one beverage selection in response to receiving the input, is operative to:

receive a tilt input to rotate the computing device about an axis; and

randomly adjust the assigned ratio associated with the at least one beverage selection in response to receiving the tilt input.

25. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer executable instructions which, when executed by a mobile computing device, cause the mobile computing device to perform a method of dynamically adjusting ratios for mixing beverages, the method comprising:

displaying a menu of core brand beverages in a user interface;

receiving a plurality of beverage selections from the core brand beverages from the menu;

displaying a representation of a mixed beverage comprising the plurality of beverage selections according to assigned ratios;

receiving a rotational input to adjust an assigned ratio associated with at least one beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections comprising receiving information from a user control located between a first beverage selection and a second beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections;

adjusting the assigned ratio associated with the at least one beverage selection in response to receiving the input;

automatically adjusting, by the computing device, an assigned ratio associated with at least one other beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections;

displaying, in a user interface, the representation of the mixed beverage comprising the plurality of beverage selections based on the adjusted assigned ratios for the at least one beverage selection and the at least one other beverage selection; and

wirelessly transferring a recipe associated with the mixed beverage comprising the plurality of beverage selections based on the adjusted assigned ratios from the mobile computing device to a beverage dispensing device using one or more handshaking procedures such that the mixed beverage can be created and automatically dispensed at the beverage dispenser.

26. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 25, wherein displaying a representation of the mixed beverage comprising the plurality of beverage selections according to assigned ratios comprises displaying the representation of the mixed beverage having equal ratios of each of the plurality of beverage selections.

27. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 25, wherein receiving a plurality of beverage selections from the core brand beverages from the menu comprises receiving three or more beverage selections of core brand beverages from the menu.

28. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 25, wherein the user control is configured to be rotated in a first direction to decrease a ratio of the first beverage selection while dynamically increasing a ratio of the second beverage selection in the mixed beverage.

29. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 25, wherein receiving an input to adjust an assigned ratio associated with at least one beverage selection from the plurality of beverage selections comprises displaying a plurality of icons along a single axis of a slider, wherein each icon in the plurality of icons is uniquely associated with a beverage from the plurality of beverage selections, and further wherein sliding a first icon from the plurality of icons in a first direction along the axis of the slider increases a ratio of a beverage associated with the first icon in the mixed beverage.

30. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 25, further comprising computer executable instructions which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform actions comprising:

presenting an option to enable sharing of a recipe associated with the mixed beverage comprising the plurality of beverage selections based on the adjusted assigned ratios via one or more social media websites.

31. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 25, wherein receiving a plurality of beverage selections from the core brand beverages from the menu comprises receiving an input on the computing device to receive a plurality of randomly selected beverage selections from the menu.

32. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 31, wherein displaying a representation of a mixed beverage comprising the plurality of beverage selections according to assigned ratios comprises:

in response to receiving the input, randomly assigning ratios to the randomly selected beverage selections; and

displaying the representation of the mixed beverage according to the randomly assigned ratios.

33. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 31, wherein receiving an input on the computing device to receive a plurality of randomly selected beverage selections from the menu comprises receiving an agitation input on the computing device.

34. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 25, wherein wirelessly transferring the recipe comprises facilitating the one or more handshaking procedures using one or more of:

Bluetooth wireless technology;

near field communication technology;

long polling technology;

Wi-Fi technology.

35. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 25, wherein adjusting the assigned ratio associated with the at least one beverage selection in response to receiving the input comprises:

receiving a tilt input to rotate the computing device about an axis; and

randomly adjusting the assigned ratio associated with the at least one beverage selection in response to receiving the tilt input.