Food content detector

• US 20100125177A1
• Filed: 11/14/2008
• Published: 05/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gearbox LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Searete LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Ishikawa, Muriel Y., Wood, Lowell L. JR., Hyde, Roderick A., Kare, Jordin T., Sweeney, Elizabeth A., Wood, Victoria Y.H., Leuthardt, Eric C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,392,124 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/0092 Nutrition
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/60 relating to nutrition control, e.g. diets
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

A system may include utensil means for portioning a foodstuff into a first portion and a second portion, a means for detecting a first portion size for the first portion with the utensil means, a means for detecting a second portion size for the second portion with the utensil means, and a means for determining a cumulative amount of portioned foodstuff based upon the first portion size and the second portion size.

Claims

1-224. -224. (canceled)

225. A system, comprising:

utensil means for portioning a foodstuff into a first portion and a second portion;

means for detecting a first nutritional content for the first portion with the utensil means;

means for detecting a second nutritional content for the second portion with the utensil means; and

means for determining a cumulative amount of nutritional content based upon the first nutritional content and the second nutritional content.

226. The system of claim 225, wherein the utensil means for portioning a foodstuff into a first portion and a second portion comprises:

at least one of a chopstick, a cup, a fork, a glass, a knife, a ladle, a scoop, or a spoon.

227. The system of claim 225, wherein the means for detecting a first nutritional content for the first portion with the utensil means comprises:

means for detecting the first nutritional content for the first portion, wherein the first portion is sized by at least one of mass, volume, or weight.

228. The system of claim 225, wherein the means for determining a cumulative amount of nutritional content based upon the first nutritional content and the second nutritional content comprises:

means for adding the first nutritional content and the second nutritional content for a positive accumulation.

229. The system of claim 225, wherein the means for determining a cumulative amount of nutritional content based upon the first nutritional content and the second nutritional content comprises:

means for subtracting the first nutritional content and the second nutritional content for a negative accumulation.

230. The system of claim 225, further comprising:

means for storing the cumulative amount of the nutritional content.

231. The system of claim 230, wherein the means for storing the cumulative amount of the nutritional content comprises:

at least one of flash memory, Random Access Memory (RAM), or Read Only Memory (ROM).

232. The system of claim 225, further comprising:

means for reporting the cumulative amount of the nutritional content.

233. The system of claim 232, wherein the means for reporting the cumulative amount of the nutritional content comprises:

at least one of an audio signal, a tactile signal, or a visual signal.

234. The system of claim 225, further comprising:

means for reporting that the cumulative amount of the nutritional content has reached a target amount.

235. The system of claim 234, wherein the means for reporting that the cumulative amount of the nutritional content has reached a target amount comprises:

means for alerting a user when the target amount is reached.

236. The system of claim 225, further comprising:

means for transmitting the cumulative amount of the nutritional content.

237. The system of claim 236, wherein the means for transmitting the cumulative amount of the nutritional content comprises:

means for transmitting the cumulative amount of the nutritional content to a remote display.

238. The system of claim 236, wherein the means for transmitting the cumulative amount of the nutritional content comprises:

means for transmitting the cumulative amount of the nutritional content to a remote storage device.

239. The system of claim 225, further comprising:

means for comparing the cumulative amount of the nutritional content to a target amount.

240. The system of claim 239, wherein the means for comparing the cumulative amount of the nutritional content to a target amount comprises:

means for comparing the cumulative amount of the nutritional content to a goal amount.

241. The system of claim 239, further comprising:

means for reporting a representation of the comparison.

242. The system of claim 239, further comprising:

means for transmitting a representation of the comparison.

243. The system of claim 239, further comprising:

means for alerting a user to the comparison.

244. The system of claim 225, further comprising:

means for determining a nutritional parameter for the nutritional content.

245. The system of claim 244, wherein the means for determining a nutritional parameter for the nutritional content comprises:

means for determining an energy density for the nutritional content.

246. The system of claim 245, wherein the means for determining an energy density for the nutritional content comprises:

means for determining a calorie density for the nutritional content.

247. The system of claim 244, wherein the means for determining a nutritional parameter for the nutritional content comprises:

means for determining a component concentration for the nutritional content.

248. The system of claim 247, wherein the means for determining a component concentration for the nutritional content comprises:

means for determining a concentration of at least one of a carbohydrate, a monosaccharide, a disaccharide, an oligosaccharide, a polysaccharide, a cellulose component, a fiber component, a sugar component, a dairy component, a fat, a saturated fat, an unsaturated fat, a polyunsaturated fat, a trans fat, a cholesterol component, a lipoprotein, a mineral, a peanut component, a protein, a salt, a triglyceride, or a vitamin.

249. The system of claim 244, wherein the means for determining a nutritional parameter for the nutritional content comprises:

means for determining the nutritional parameter on at least one of a per-mass basis, a per-volume basis, or a per-weight basis.

250. The system of claim 244, wherein the means for determining a nutritional parameter for the nutritional content comprises:

means for measuring the nutritional parameter for the nutritional content.

251. The system of claim 250, wherein the means for measuring the nutritional parameter for the nutritional content comprises:

at least one of a calorimeter, a conductivity sensor, an electrical lead, an enzymatic sensor, a biosensor, a chemical sensor, a microchip sensor, an Enzyme-Linked Assay sensor, an infrared (IR) spectroscopy sensor, a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) sensor, an optical sensor, a permittivity sensor, a gas sensor, a Radio Frequency (RF) sensor, an electronic nose sensor, an electronic tongue sensor, a multi-frequency RF sensor, a cantilever sensor, an acoustic wave sensor, a piezoelectric sensor, a responsive polymer-based sensor, a quartz microbalance sensor, a metal oxide sensor, an X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) sensor, a nucleic acid-based sensor, or a regenerable sensor.

252. The system of claim 244, wherein the means for determining a nutritional parameter for the nutritional content comprises:

means for receiving the nutritional parameter for the nutritional content.

253. The system of claim 252, wherein the means for receiving the nutritional parameter for the nutritional content comprises:

at least one of a barcode reader, a database, a label reader, a meal-specific association, or a user input.

254-598. -598. (canceled)