System and method for brewing and dispensing coffee using customer profiling

• US 9,499,385 B1
• Filed: 04/16/2010
• Issued: 11/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Costa Express Limited
• Original Assignee: Briggo, Inc.
• Inventors: Studor, Charles F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Collins, Michael K
• Application Number:
  US12/762,099
• Time in Patent Office: 2,412 Days
• Field of Search: 700/233, 700/234, 700/236, 700/239, 700/244
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 31/3609 Loose coffee being employed
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/405 with one or more infusion chambers moving successively between loading, infusing and dumping stations
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/41 of liquid ingredients
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/44 Parts or details or accessories of beverage-making apparatus filters or strainers A47J31/06
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/4403 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/52 Alarm-clock-controlled mechanisms for coffee- or tea-making apparatus ; Timers for coffee- or tea-making apparatus; Electronic control devices for coffee- or tea-making apparatus
• 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: A47J 31/525 the electronic control being based on monitoring of specific process parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/60 Cleaning devices
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 3/0003 provided with automatic fluid control means
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 3/0019 using ingredient cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 3/0022 provided with heating arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24575 using context
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 13/065 for drink preparation
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0806 Details of the card record carriers per se G06K

Abstract

A system and method for brewing and dispensing beverages may use customer profiling to select beverages to be produced and presented to a given customer and/or messages to be displayed to the customer, based on customer-specific information stored on a loyalty card, in a local system, or remotely. A user interface mechanism may receive input identifying the given customer. A controller may select a base drink recipe dependent on the customer'"'"'s identity, and may initiate production of a beverage using the selected drink recipe. Each drink recipe may specify an amount of water, coffee, flavorings, dairy, and/or other ingredients, and may be further customizable to add or remove ingredients and/or to change an amount thereof, based on received user input. The stored customer-specific information may include a customer identifier, account information, a purchase history, a message history, drink recipes, and/or an email address for each of a plurality of customers.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a user interface mechanism comprising a video capture device;

a facial recognition mechanism that during operation receives input from the video capture device and identifies a customer from the received input using facial recognition; and

a controller that during operation and in response to said identifying;

selects one of a plurality of standard or custom drink recipes dependent on the identity of the customer, wherein each drink recipe specifies an amount of two or more ingredients in a respective brewed beverage; and

initiates production of a brewed beverage using the selected drink recipe,

wherein during operation;

the controller determines the actual temperature of the brewed beverage; and

the user interface mechanism displays the determined temperature.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein to select the one of a plurality of standard or custom drink recipes the controller accesses information indicating one or more drink preferences of the identified customer from a data structure that stores customer-specific information.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the data structure is stored on a loyalty card, debit card, or gift card and is accessed using the user interface mechanism.

4. The system of claim 2,

wherein the system further comprises an interface that during operation communicates with a remote system;

wherein the data structure comprises a database located on the remote system; and

wherein the database stores customer-specific information for a plurality of customers.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the customer-specific information further comprises one or more of:

a customer identifier, account information, a purchase history, one or more custom drink recipes, one or more preferred standard drink recipes, one or more drink recipe names, a history of received messages, or an email address.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein, during operation, the user interface mechanism displays at least a portion of the customer-specific information.

7. The system of claim 1,

wherein, during operation, the controller selects one or more messages to be displayed to the identified customer dependent on the identity of the identified customer;

and

wherein, during operation, the user interface mechanism displays the one or more selected messages to the identified customer.

8. The system of claim 1,

wherein, during operation, the user interface mechanism receives additional input indicating a selection of one or more of:

a standard drink recipe previously ordered by the identified customer;

a custom drink recipe previously ordered by the identified customer;

or

a customization of a standard or custom drink recipe previously ordered by the identified customer, wherein the customization comprises one or more of;

an ingredient to be added to the standard or custom drink recipe, an ingredient to be removed from the standard or custom drink recipe, or a change in an amount of an ingredient of the standard or custom drink recipe; and

wherein to select the one of a plurality of standard or custom drink recipes the controller selects a drink recipe dependent on the additional input.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein during operation, the controller:

determines a message to be displayed on a cup in which the brewed beverage is to be delivered dependent on one or more of;

the identity of the customer or the selected drink recipe; and

initiates labeling of the cup in which the brewed beverage is to be delivered with the determined message, wherein the determined message comprises one or more of;

an identifier of the customer, a drink recipe name, a drink recipe, or a customer-specific message or advertisement.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a sensor that during operation:

detects retrieval of a cup containing the brewed beverage; and

communicates to the controller that the brewed beverage was retrieved.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a dispenser that during operation dispenses a loyalty card, a debit card, or a gift card.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein during operation:

the user interface mechanism

receives input specifying that a recommendation for one of the plurality of standard or custom drink recipes should be sent to another customer, or

receives input specifying that one of the plurality of standard or custom drink recipes should be sent to another customer; and

the controller tracks reuse of the recommended or sent drink recipe.

13. The system of claim 12,

wherein during operation, the controller sends the recommendation for the one of the plurality of standard or custom drink recipes or the one of the plurality of standard or custom drink recipes to one or more customers, wherein the one or more customers comprises the other customer;

and

wherein to send the recommendation or the drink recipe, the controller sends the recommendation or the drink recipe to the one or more customers by email, sends the recommendation or the drink recipe to one or more phones, or shares the recommendation or the drink recipe with the one or more customers through a social networking site.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises the facial recognition mechanism.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the video capture device includes the facial recognition mechanism.

16. A method, comprising:

using a computer to perform;

receiving input from a video capture device;

identifying a customer from the received input using facial recognition;

in response to said identifying;

selecting one of a plurality of standard or custom drink recipes dependent on the identity of the customer, wherein each drink recipe specifies an amount of two or more ingredients in a respective brewed beverage; and

initiating production of a brewed beverage using the selected drink recipe;

determining the actual temperature of the brewed beverage; and

displaying the determined temperature on a user interface mechanism.

17. The method of claim 16,

wherein said selecting one of a plurality of standard or custom drink recipes comprises accessing information indicating one or more drink preferences of the identified customer from a data structure that stores customer-specific information for a plurality of customers;

and

wherein the customer-specific information further comprises, for each of the plurality of customers, one or more of;

a customer identifier, account information, a purchase history, one or more custom drink recipes, one or more preferred standard drink recipes, one or more drink recipe names, a history of received messages, or an email address.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

using the computer to perform;

receiving additional user input indicating a selection of one or more of;

a standard drink recipe previously ordered by the identified customer;

a custom drink recipe previously ordered by the identified customer;

or

a customization of a standard or custom drink recipe previously ordered by the identified customer, wherein the customization comprises one or more of;

an ingredient to be added to the standard or custom drink recipe, an ingredient to be removed from the standard or custom drink recipe, or a change in an amount of an ingredient of the standard or custom drink recipe; and

wherein said selecting one of a plurality of standard or custom drink recipes comprises selecting a drink recipe dependent on the additional user input.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving input specifying that a recommendation for one of the plurality of standard or custom drink recipes should be sent to another customer or input specifying that one of the plurality of standard or custom drink recipes should be sent to another customer; and

tracking reuse of the recommended or sent drink recipe.

20. A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions that when executed on one or more computers cause the one or more computers to perform:

receiving input from a video capture device;

identifying a customer from the received input using facial recognition;

in response to said identifying;

selecting one of a plurality of standard or custom drink recipes dependent on the identity of the customer, wherein each drink recipe specifies an amount of two or more ingredients in a respective brewed beverage; and

initiating production of a brewed beverage using the selected drink recipe;

determining the actual temperature of the brewed beverage; and

displaying the determined temperature on a user interface mechanism.

21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 20,

wherein said selecting one of a plurality of standard or custom drink recipes comprises accessing customer-specific information from a data structure that stores customer-specific information for a plurality of customers;

and

wherein the customer-specific information comprises, for each of the plurality of customers, one or more of;

a customer identifier, account information, a purchase history, one or more custom drink recipes, one or more preferred standard drink recipes, a history of received messages, an email address, or one or more drink preferences.

22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein when executed by the one or more computers, the program instructions further cause the one or more computers to perform:

receiving additional user input indicating a selection of one or more of;

a standard drink recipe previously ordered by the identified customer;

a custom drink recipe previously ordered by the identified customer;

or

a customization of a standard or custom drink recipe previously ordered by the identified customer, wherein the customization comprises one or more of;

an ingredient to be added to the standard or custom drink recipe, an ingredient to be removed from the standard or custom drink recipe, or a change in an amount of an ingredient of the standard or custom drink recipe; and

wherein said selecting one of a plurality of standard or custom drink recipes comprises selecting a drink recipe dependent on the additional user input.

23. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein when executed by the one or more computers, the program instructions further cause the one or more computers to perform:

receiving input specifying that a recommendation for one of the plurality of standard or custom drink recipes should be sent to another customer or input specifying that one of the plurality of standard or custom drink recipes should be sent to another customer; and

tracking reuse of the recommended or sent drink recipe.