Actively managed food delivery

• US 10,445,684 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2016
• Issued: 10/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zest Labs, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Zest Labs, Inc.
• Inventors: Mehring, Peter A., Reese, Thomas C., Kawaguchi, Dean M., Dekate, Sameer, Shikami, Russell
• Primary Examiner(s): Epstein, Brian M
• Application Number:
  US15/085,288
• Publication Number:
  US 20160292634A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,294 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06398 Performance of employee with respect to a job function
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0832 Special goods or special handling procedures, e.g. handling of hazardous or fragile goods
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0838 Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants

Abstract

A method for managing a product delivery process, according to one embodiment, includes: receiving status information from one or more product containers, wherein the status information includes conditions of each of the one or more product containers; determining preferred ranges for the conditions of each of the one or more product containers based on a product stored in each of the one or more product containers; determining whether the received conditions from the one or more product containers are within the preferred ranges; and sending a command in response to determining that at least one of the received conditions is outside the determined preferred range.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for managing a product delivery process, comprising:

receiving, by a computer, status information from one or more product containers, wherein the status information includes conditions of each of the one or more product containers;

determining, by the computer, preferred ranges for the conditions of each of the one or more product containers based on a product stored in each of the one or more product containers, wherein the preferred ranges change over time by a predefined amount per unit time, wherein the predefined amount and the unit time are specified in a profile associated with the product stored in each of the one or more product containers;

determining, by the computer, whether the received conditions from the one or more product containers are within the preferred ranges; and

sending, by the computer, a command to an environmental control unit coupled to the one or more product containers in response to determining that at least one of the received conditions is outside the determined preferred range,

wherein the environmental control unit is configured to adjust the at least one condition of the one or more product containers in response to receiving the command.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the conditions of the product container include at least one of:

an ambient temperature in the product container, a relative humidity in the product container, whether the product container is open or closed, and a power status associated with the product container.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the product containers is a bag having a light sensor, and comprising receiving sensor information from the light sensor indicating that the bag is open;

and sending a notification in response to receiving the sensor information from the light sensor indicating that the bag is open.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the product is a food product, wherein a plurality of the food products are stored in the one or more product containers, at least one of the products being predestined for a first destination that is different than a second destination of another of the products.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, comprising:

receiving, by the computer, food product history corresponding to the food products stored in the one or more product containers;

using, by the computer, the food product history to determine a prioritized delivery scheme of the one or more product containers; and

sending, by the computer, the prioritized delivery scheme to an individual transporting the one or more product containers, and/or to a dispatcher.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, comprising:

evaluating, by the computer, the food product history corresponding to the food products and/or the conditions of each of the one or more product containers;

determining, by the computer, whether any of the food products are unsafe and/or undesirable; and

sending, by the computer, a command to not deliver certain food products in response to determining that they are unsafe and/or undesirable.

7. A computer program product, comprising:

executable computer code embodied on a computer readable storage medium, the computer code including;

computer code for receiving status information from one or more product containers, wherein the status information includes conditions of each of the one or more product containers;

computer code for determining preferred ranges for the conditions of each of the one or more product containers based on a product stored in each of the one or more product containers, wherein the preferred ranges change over time by a predefined amount per unit time, wherein the predefined amount and the unit time are specified in a profile associated with the product stored in each of the one or more product containers;

computer code for determining whether the received conditions from the one or more product containers are within the preferred ranges; and

computer code for sending a command to an environmental control unit coupled to the one or more product containers in response to determining that at least one of the received conditions is outside the determined preferred range,

wherein the environmental control unit is configured to adjust the at least one condition of the one or more product containers in response to receiving the command.

8. The computer program product as recited in claim 7, wherein the conditions of the product container include at least one of:

an ambient temperature in the product container, a relative humidity in the product container, whether the product container is open or closed, and a power status associated with the product container.

9. The computer program product as recited in claim 7, comprising computer code for receiving food product history corresponding to the products stored in the one or more product containers, wherein the food product history includes information selected from the group consisting of:

ingredient freshness, an expiration date, preparation time, preparation conditions, and hand-off to delivery time.

10. The computer program product as recited in claim 7, wherein a plurality of the products are stored in the one or more product containers, at least one of the products being predestined for a first destination that is different than a second destination of another of the products, wherein the products are food products, wherein the food product with the longest time since preparation is prioritized for delivery ahead of another of the food products prepared later.

11. The computer program product as recited in claim 10, comprising:

computer code for evaluating the food product history corresponding to the food products and/or the conditions of each of the one or more product containers;

computer code for determining whether any of the food products are unsafe and/or undesirable; and

computer code for sending a command to not deliver certain food products in response to determining that they are unsafe.

12. A system, comprising:

a processor and logic integrated with and/or executable by the processor, the logic being configured to;

receive, by the processor, status information from one or more product containers, wherein the status information includes conditions of each of the one or more product containers;

determine, by the processor, preferred ranges for the conditions of each of the one or more product containers based on food products stored in the one or more product containers, wherein the preferred ranges change over time by a predefined amount per unit time, wherein the predefined amount and the unit time are specified in a profile associated with the products stored in the one or more product containers;

determine, by the processor, whether the received conditions from the one or more product containers are within the preferred ranges; and

send, by the processor, a command to an environmental control unit coupled to the one or more product containers in response to determining that at least one of the received conditions is outside the determined preferred range,

wherein the environmental control unit is configured to adjust the at least one condition of the one or more product containers in response to receiving the command.

13. The system as recited in claim 12, wherein the conditions of the product container include at least one of:

an ambient temperature in the product container, a relative humidity in the product container, whether the product container is open or closed, and a power status associated with the product container, wherein the status information is received from a plurality of product containers, wherein the food product history includes information selected from the group consisting of;

ingredient freshness, an expiration date, preparation time, preparation conditions, and hand-off to delivery time.

14. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, by the computer, status information from one or more product containers, wherein the status information includes conditions of each of the one or more product containers;

determining, by the computer, preferred ranges for the conditions of each of the one or more product containers based on food products stored in the one or more product containers, wherein the preferred ranges change over time by a predefined amount per unit time, wherein the predefined amount and the unit time are specified in a profile associated with the products stored in the one or more product containers;

determining, by the computer, whether the received conditions from the one or more product containers are within the preferred ranges;

sending, by the computer, a command to an environmental control unit coupled to the one or more product containers in response to determining that at least one of the received conditions is outside the determined preferred range,

wherein the environmental control unit is configured to adjust the at least one condition of the one or more product containers in response to receiving the command;

receiving, by the computer, food product history corresponding to the food products stored in the one or more product containers;

using, by the computer, the food product history to determine a prioritized delivery scheme of the one or more product containers, wherein the food product with the longest time since preparation is prioritized for delivery ahead of another of the food products prepared later;

sending, by the computer, the prioritized delivery scheme to an individual transporting the one or more product containers;

evaluating, by the computer, the food product history corresponding to the food products and/or the conditions of each of the one or more product containers;

determining, by the computer, whether any of the food products are unsafe and/or undesirable; and

sending, by the computer, a command to not deliver certain food products in response to determining that they are unsafe and/or undesirable.