AUTHENTICATION READER AND A DISPENSER COMPRISING THE AUTHENTICATION READER
First Claim
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1. ) A beverage brewer comprising:
- a) a location for inserting a cup containing a beverage for brewing, wherein said cup has a machine readable feature comprising an excitable fluorescent taggant on part of its external surface;
b) a non-scanning light source positioned to illuminate the taggant when the cup is inserted into the base unit in a correct orientation, the light source having a first wavelength and the taggant being arranged to cause the taggant ink to absorb light at the first wavelength and to emit light at a second different wavelength;
c) a sensor to receive light emitted by the taggant upon illumination by the light source, wherein said sensor comprises an RGB sensor with an added filter that matches the signal response from the excitable fluorescent taggant;
d) a control circuit to receive a signal indicative of the wavelength and/or the shape of the detected light from the sensor, compare it with stored data to determine whether the shape and/or the shift in wavelength of the detected light caused by the taggant ink indicates that the cup is authentic, and prevent operation of the brewing mechanism unless the cup is authentic; and
e) a dispensing mechanism for dispensing the brewed beverage.
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Abstract
An authentication reader and a dispenser comprising the authentication reader for authenticating a product having a taggant ink disposed on the product'"'"'s surface.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. ) A beverage brewer comprising:
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a) a location for inserting a cup containing a beverage for brewing, wherein said cup has a machine readable feature comprising an excitable fluorescent taggant on part of its external surface; b) a non-scanning light source positioned to illuminate the taggant when the cup is inserted into the base unit in a correct orientation, the light source having a first wavelength and the taggant being arranged to cause the taggant ink to absorb light at the first wavelength and to emit light at a second different wavelength; c) a sensor to receive light emitted by the taggant upon illumination by the light source, wherein said sensor comprises an RGB sensor with an added filter that matches the signal response from the excitable fluorescent taggant; d) a control circuit to receive a signal indicative of the wavelength and/or the shape of the detected light from the sensor, compare it with stored data to determine whether the shape and/or the shift in wavelength of the detected light caused by the taggant ink indicates that the cup is authentic, and prevent operation of the brewing mechanism unless the cup is authentic; and e) a dispensing mechanism for dispensing the brewed beverage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, 17)
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- 11. A cup containing material suitable for brewing a beverage, the cup being removably insertable into a brewing machine in a fixed position in which the brewed beverage can be dispensed by a dispensing mechanism, the cup having a machine readable feature comprising a taggant on part of its external surface, the taggant being arranged to absorb light at a first wavelength and to emit light at a second different wavelength.
Specification