METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR UTILIZING DELAYED DILUTION, MIXING AND FILTERING TO PROVIDE CUSTOMIZED VARIETIES OF FRESH-BREWED COFFEE ON DEMAND

• US 20090136632A1
• Filed: 11/24/2008
• Published: 05/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Folgers Coffee Company The (The J. M. Smucker Company)
• Original Assignee: Folgers Coffee Company The (The J. M. Smucker Company)
• Inventors: Gutwein, Roger William, Connor, Christopher Wade
• Granted Patent: US 8,062,684 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 426/231
• CPC Class Codes: A23F 5/243 Liquid, semi-liquid or non-dried semi-solid coffee extract preparations; Coffee gels; Liquid coffee in solid capsules A23F5/246 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A23F 5/26 Extraction of water-soluble constituents A23F5/246 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/002 following a specific operational sequence, e.g. for improving the taste of the extraction product
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/40 Beverage-making apparatus with dispensing means for adding a measured quantity of ingredients, e.g. coffee, water, sugar, cocoa, milk, tea
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/41 of liquid ingredients
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/521 the electronic control being performed over a network, e.g. by means of a computer or a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 13/065 for drink preparation

Abstract

An improved system for providing an individually customized fresh brewed coffee beverage on demand by a consumer, in a wide range of variety and strength. Said brewing system for making relatively large quantities of fresh brewed coffee beverages (in particular, customized as to desired variety, body, character and/or strengths), as chosen by multiple individual consumers just prior to their consumption. Said system is easy to use by the consumer or other individual (e.g., restaurant wait staff) obtaining the customized beverage. Further, maintenance of the equipment requires only a small amount of personal attention by the owner/operator of the equipment.

A general object of the present invention is to utilize “delayed dilution” of a concentrated extract to provide a beverage brewing system which immediately (upon customer selection) provides selective dilution (based on individual consumers selections) of a fresh-brewed coffee extract after the extract has been allowed to brew and held as an extract before dilution. It is also a general object of the present invention to utilize the undiluted extract to mix and dissolve other beverage compounds to make flavored coffees, cappuccinos, lattes, and the like. “Delayed mixing” and/or “delayed filtering” may also be utilized.

Claims

1-15. -15. (canceled)

16. A method for delivering an individually customized coffee beverage product to an individual consumer, said method comprising the steps of:

a) a customization interface (consumer interface) obtaining information regarding said consumer'"'"'s preferences;

b) said customization interface processes said information;

c) said customization interface communicates with a beverage delivery system;

d) said beverage delivery system delivers an individually customized coffee beverage, based upon the information processed by the customization interface, wherein the beverage delivery system performs one or more of the following steps, in any order;

1) delaying the dilution of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the extract;

2) delaying the mixing of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the extract; and

3) delaying the filtering of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the extract.

31. The method of claim 16 wherein the customization interface utilizes a Global Assimilation Customization Systems.

17. A method for delivering an individually customized coffee beverage product to an individual consumer, said method comprising the steps of:

a) a customization interface (consumer interface) obtaining information regarding said consumer'"'"'s preferences;

b) said customization interface processes said information;

c) said customization interface communicates with the consumer to provide an individually customized recommendation to be utilized by the consumer in selecting a suitable beverage option from the beverage delivery system;

wherein the beverage delivery system performs one or more of the following steps, in any order;

1) delaying the dilution of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the extract;

2) delaying the mixing of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of the brewing of the extract;

3) delaying the filtering of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the extract.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the consumer inputs said recommendation to the beverage delivery system.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein a customized beverage is delivered by the beverage delivery system.

20. A method for delivering an individually customized coffee beverage product to an individual consumer, said method comprising the steps of:

a) a customization interface (consumer interface) obtaining information regarding said consumer'"'"'s preferences;

b) said customization interface processes said information;

c) said customization interface communicates with the consumer to provide an individually customized selection identification to be utilized by the consumer in selecting a suitable coffee beverage option from the beverage delivery system wherein the beverage delivery system performs one or more of the following steps, in any order;

1) delaying the dilution of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the extract;

2) delaying the mixing of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the extract;

3) delaying the filtering of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the extract.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the consumer inputs said identification to the beverage delivery system.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein a customized beverage is delivered by the beverage delivery system.

23. A method for delivering an individually customized information related to coffee beverage product options to an individual consumer, said method comprising the steps of:

a) a customization interface (consumer interface) obtaining information regarding said consumer'"'"'s preferences;

b) said customization interface processes said information;

c) said customization interface provides customization information to the individual consumer;

wherein the beverage delivery system performs one or more of the following steps, in any order;

1) delaying the dilution of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the extract;

2) delaying the mixing of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the extract;

3) delaying the filtering of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the extract.

32. The method of claim 23 wherein the customization interface utilizes a Global Assimilation Customization Systems.

24. A method for delivering an individually customized recommendation for coffee beverage product options to an individual consumer, said method comprising the steps of:

a) a customization interface (consumer interface) obtaining information regarding said consumer'"'"'s preferences;

b) said customization interface processes said information;

c) said customization interface delivers the individually customized recommendation to the consumer to be utilized by the consumer in selecting a suitable beverage option from the beverage delivery system

wherein the beverage delivery system performs one or more of the following steps, in any order;

1) delaying the dilution of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the extract;

2) delaying the mixing of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the extract;

3) delaying the filtering of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the extract.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the consumer inputs said recommendation to the beverage supply system.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein a customized beverage is delivered by the beverage supply system.

33. The method of claim 24 wherein the customization interface utilizes a Global Assimilation Customization Systems.

27. A method for delivering an individually customized selection identification regarding coffee beverage product options to an individual consumer, said method comprising the steps of,

a) a customization interface (consumer interface) obtaining information regarding said consumer'"'"'s preferences;

b) said customization interface processes said information;

c) said customization interface communicates with the consumer to provide an individually customized selection identification to be utilized by the consumer in selecting a suitable beverage option from the beverage delivery system;

wherein the beverage delivery system performs one or more of the following steps, in any order;

1) delaying the dilution of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the coffee extract;

2) delaying the mixing of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the extract;

3) delaying the filtering of the coffee extract for a minimum period of about 5 minutes after the onset of brewing of the extract.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the consumer inputs said identification to the beverage delivery system.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein a customized beverage is delivered by the beverage delivery system.

30. The method of claim 27 wherein the consumer is given an identification mechanism for future use with a beverage delivery system.

34. The method of claim 27 wherein the customization interface utilizes a Global Assimilation Customization Systems.

48. An interactive system according to claim 27 which additionally comprises a beverage delivery system in communication with the customization director comprising executable instructions for delivering a customized beverage product.

35. A method for providing a customized coffee beverage product to a consumer, comprising the steps of:

a) obtaining consumer preference data;

b) determining a consumer beverage formulation corresponding to the consumer preference data; and

c) providing the consumer a customized coffee beverage corresponding to the customized the beverage formulation, wherein the customized originates from a brewed concentration extract.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of obtaining consumer preference data comprises:

a) collecting a user identification from the consumer;

b) retrieving the consumer preference data from a data store corresponding to the user identification.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of determining a consumer beverage formulation comprises implementation of a mathematical algorithm.

38. The method of claim 37, further comprising the steps of:

a) obtaining consumer feedback data from the consumer on the customized beverage; and

b) incorporating the consumer feedback data into the mathematical algorithm.

39. An interactive system for delivering a customized coffee beverage product to a consumer comprising:

a) a user interface;

b) a customization director in communication with a customization data store and the user interface, wherein the customization director comprises executable instructions for determining a user'"'"'s customized formulation; and

c) a beverage delivery system in communication with the customization director comprising executable instructions for delivering a customized beverage product.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein the customization director comprises executable instructions for delivering a customized beverage product which originates from a brewed concentration extract.

41. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling a beverage delivery system to produce a customized coffee beverage product, comprising the steps of:

a) obtaining consumer preference data;

b) determining a consumer beverage formulation corresponding to the consumer preference data; and

c) providing the consumer a customized coffee beverage corresponding to the consumer beverage formulation.

42. A program product comprising a signal bearing medium embodying a program of machine-readable instructions executable by a digital processing apparatus to perform the steps of claim 41.

43. A method for providing a recommendation to a consumer for a retail beverage product to a consumer, comprising the steps of:

a) obtaining consumer preference data;

b) determining one or more retail consumer beverage products corresponding to the consumer preference data; and

c) providing the consumer a recommendation of one or more retail beverage products corresponding to the one or more retail consumer beverage products suitable for said consumer based upon said consumer'"'"'s preferences.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the steps of obtaining consumer preference data comprises:

a) collecting a user identification from the consumer;

b) retrieving the consumer preference data from a data store corresponding to the user identification.

45. The method of claim 43, wherein the step of obtaining consumer preference data comprises allowing the consumer to sample one or more consumer products sold in the retail environment.

46. The method of claim 43, wherein the step of determining a consumer beverage product comprises implementation of a mathematical algorithm.

47. An interactive system for making recommendations to a consumer in a retail environment regarding a customized beverage product comprising:

a) a user interface;

b) a customization director in communication with a customization data store and the user interface, wherein the customization director comprises executable instructions for determining a user'"'"'s customized formulation.

49. A method of providing a customized beverage product to a consumer, comprising the steps of:

a) obtaining consumer preference data;

b) determining a consumer beverage formulation corresponding to the consumer preference data; and

c) providing the consumer a customized beverage corresponding to the customized the beverage formulation, wherein the customized originates from a brewed extract.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein, after the customized beverage is provided to the consumer, the consumer is provided with recommendations for other products suitable for said consumer based upon consumer preference data.

51. The method of claim 50 wherein said consumer preference data is combined with seasonal or promotional offerings which are inputted into the consumer recommendations.

52. The method of claim 50 wherein the consumer recommendations include information about one or more retail products.

53. The method of claim 50 wherein the consumer preference data includes data generated from samples of products sold in the retail environment.

54. The method of claim 50 wherein the consumer preference data includes data generated from previously delivered customized beverages or samples thereof.