Automated beverage generation system and method of operating the same
First Claim
1. A method of operating an automated beverage generation system having an electronic controller and a plurality of mechanical components each configured for use in the production of a specified beverage, comprising:
- receiving at the electronic controller, a request to produce the specified beverage;
determining from the received request a serving temperature at which the specified beverage is to be served to a customer;
heating at least one of the mechanical components to a given temperature that is dependent on the serving temperature; and
effecting, by the controller, production of the specified beverage at the serving temperature, wherein producing the specified beverage comprises performing one or more chemical or mechanical processes using the at least one mechanical component heated to the given temperature, and varying, based at least in part on the serving temperature of the specified beverage, a pressure applied by at least one of the plurality of mechanical components during the performance of one or more chemical or mechanical processes that contribute(s) to the production of the specified beverage.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system that generates brewed beverages may receive requests to produce specified brewed beverages. The system may include a scheduler that initiates and controls the performance of one or more chemical or mechanical processes to produce the beverages. While one chemical or mechanical process for producing a beverage is being performed, other processes may be performed for production of the beverage or another beverage. The scheduler may determine the time at which to perform each process, the time at which a beverage should be presented, the resources to be used to perform the processes, or the time at which to perform a cleaning process, dependent on an actual or expected demand for beverages, or dependent on a target time for beverage retrieval. Shared resources may be applied to the production of beverages for high priority orders, while partially completed beverages for lower priority orders are staged for subsequent advancement.
65 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of operating an automated beverage generation system having an electronic controller and a plurality of mechanical components each configured for use in the production of a specified beverage, comprising:
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receiving at the electronic controller, a request to produce the specified beverage; determining from the received request a serving temperature at which the specified beverage is to be served to a customer; heating at least one of the mechanical components to a given temperature that is dependent on the serving temperature; and effecting, by the controller, production of the specified beverage at the serving temperature, wherein producing the specified beverage comprises performing one or more chemical or mechanical processes using the at least one mechanical component heated to the given temperature, and varying, based at least in part on the serving temperature of the specified beverage, a pressure applied by at least one of the plurality of mechanical components during the performance of one or more chemical or mechanical processes that contribute(s) to the production of the specified beverage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An automated beverage generation system, comprising:
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a plurality of mechanical components each configured for use in the production of a specified beverage; an electronic processor; and an electronic memory electrically coupled to the electronic processor and having instructions stored therein, wherein the electronic processor is configured to access the memory and execute the instructions stored therein such that it is configured to; receive a request to produce the specified beverage; determine a serving temperature at which the specified beverage is to be served to a customer; effect the heating of at least one of the plurality of mechanical components to a given temperature that is dependent on the serving temperature of the specified beverage; and effect the production of the specified beverage at the serving temperature using the at least one mechanical component heated to the given temperature, and varying, based at least in part on the serving temperature of the specified beverage, a pressure applied by at least one of the plurality of mechanical components during the performance of one or more mechanical or chemical processes that contribute(s) to the production of the specified beverage. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions thereon that when executed on one or more computers of an automated beverage generation system causes the one or more computers to carry out the method of:
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receiving a request to produce a specified beverage; determining a serving temperature at which the specified beverage is to be served to a customer; heating at least one of a of the automated beverage generation system to a given temperature that is dependent on the serving temperature, wherein each of the plurality of mechanical components is configured for use in the production of the specified beverage; and effecting, by the controller, production of the specified beverage at the serving temperature, wherein producing the specified beverage comprises performing one or more chemical or mechanical processes using the at least one mechanical component heated to the given temperature, and varying, based at least in part on the serving temperature of the specified beverage, a pressure applied by at least one of the plurality of mechanical components during the performance of one or more chemical or mechanical processes that contribute(s) to the production of the specified beverage. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification