Decorating system for edible items

• US 9,743,687 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2016
• Issued: 08/29/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DecoPac Incorporated
• Original Assignee: DecoPac Incorporated
• Inventors: Davila, Carlos A., Anderson, John R., Schnoebelen, Andy, Whitten, Kent D.
• Primary Examiner(s): SAINI, AMANDEEP SINGH
• Application Number:
  US15/167,811
• Publication Number:
  US 20160278426A1
• Time in Patent Office: 459 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A21C 11/16 Extruding machines
• CPC Class Codes: A21C 15/002 Apparatus for spreading granular material on, or sweeping or coating the surface of baked articles of pieces of dough A21C9/04; for confectionary A23G3/28
• CPC Class Codes: A21C 15/04 Cutting or slicing machines or devices specially adapted for baked articles other than bread
• CPC Class Codes: A21D 13/47 Decorated or decorative products
• CPC Class Codes: A23G 3/0097 Decorating sweetmeats or confectionery
• CPC Class Codes: A23G 3/28 Apparatus for decorating sweetmeats or confectionery
• CPC Class Codes: A23P 20/15 Apparatus or processes for coating with liquid or semi-liquid products
• CPC Class Codes: A23P 2020/253 Coating food items by printing onto them; Printing layers of food products
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 10/00 Processes of additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 30/00 Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 50/02 for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1205 resulting in increased flexibility in print job configuration, e.g. job settings, print requirements, job tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1232 Transmitting printer device capabilities, e.g. upon request or periodically
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1253 Configuration of print job parameters, e.g. using UI at the client
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/126 Job scheduling, e.g. queuing, determine appropriate device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1285 Remote printer device, e.g. being remote from client or server
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1894 Outputting the image data to the printing elements
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/4045 Managing the interface to the data source, e.g. choosing an interface for data reception
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0621 Item configuration or customization
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00145 : from a remote location
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00164 : at a remote location
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00167 : Processing or editing H04N1/00196 - H04N1/00201 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00188 : Printing, e.g. prints or reprints H04N1/0019, H04N1/00196 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0019 : on souvenir-type products or the like, e.g. T-shirts or mugs

Abstract

In one aspect, the present disclosure relates to decorating and printing of edible media sheets based on a user-uploaded image. Using a browser-based user interface, the user selected image can be edited and embellished as an edible media design. The edible media design is converted to print data to enable printing of the edible media design using a printer installed with edible ink.

Claims

1. A system for customizing bakery products with images printed in edible ink upon an edible medium, comprising:

a local control device comprising a local image source and a display;

an edible media printer communicatively connected to the local control device; and

a

central control device communicatively connected to the local control device via a network, wherein

the local control device is remotely located from the central control device, and

the central control device comprises a computer-readable memory having instructions stored thereon, and a processor;

wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor of the central control device, cause the processor to;

receive, from the local image source, upload of an image,

prepare, for presentation to the user on the display of the local control device, a decorating graphical user interface including a preview of the image and a plurality of editing options,

provide, to the local control device, the graphical user interface for review within an application executing upon the local control device,

receive, from the local control device via the network, one or more editing options of the plurality of editing options, wherein the user selected the one or more editing options via the graphical user interface,

adjust the image according to the one or more editing options to create an adjusted image,

provide, to the local control device via the network for presentation to the user in the graphical user interface, the adjusted image,

receive, from local control device via the network, initiation of a print process, wherein the user initiated the print process via the graphical user interface,

responsive to receiving initiation of the print process, prepare, based upon the adjusted image and a selected edible media size, print data for printing a representation of the adjusted image on the edible medium using the edible media printer, and

provide, to the local control device via the network, the print data.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the print data is configured for processing, on the local control device, by a printer driver compatible with the edible media printer.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

provide, to the local control device via the network, a plurality of edible media sheet options for presentation within the graphical user interface; and

receive, from the local control device via the graphical user interface, selection of an edible media sheet type of the plurality of edible media sheet options;

wherein the selected edible media size corresponds to the edible media sheet type.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein preparing the preview of the image comprises preparing the preview of the image upon a shape of the selected edible media sheet type.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to receive, from the remote computing device, a printer type of the edible media printer.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of editing options comprise at least one of cropping, zooming, scaling, rotating, resizing, brightening, darkening, filtering, converting to black and white, converting to grayscale, color skewing, re-touching, and stretching the image.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein cropping options comprise a plurality of cropping shapes.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of editing options comprise plurality of frame options for framing the image; and

adjusting the image according to the one or more editing options comprises adding the image within a framed area internal to a selected frame of the plurality of frame options.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of editing options comprises one or more editing options applicable to editing the selected frame.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of editing options comprise at least one option for including text in a design incorporating the image;

adjusting the image according to the one or more editing options comprises adding the text and the image to the design; and

preparing the print data comprises preparing the print data based upon the design.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of editing options comprises one or more editing options applicable to editing the text.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more editing options applicable to editing the text comprise at least one of an arcing option, an angling option, font type, font color, justification, rotating, resizing, stretching and retouching.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more editing options applicable to editing the text are applied independently to editing options applied to the image.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of editing options comprise at least one option for tiling the image.

15. The system of claim 1, further comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage repository, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to store the image within the storage repository.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface comprises a selection region and a preview region, wherein the preview of the image is displayed within the preview region and the plurality of editing options are displayed within the selection region.

17. A method for customizing bakery products with images printed in edible ink upon an edible medium, comprising:

receiving upload of an image from a mobile device of a user;

preparing, by processing circuitry of a central control device for presentation to a user on a display of a local control device of the user, a decorating graphical user interface comprising a preview of the image and a plurality of editing options, wherein the central control device is remotely located from the local control device;

providing, to the local control device via a network, the graphical user interface for review within an application executing upon the local control device;

receiving, from the local control device via the network, one or more editing options of the plurality of editing options, wherein the user selected the one or more editing options via the graphical user interface;

adjusting, by the processing circuitry, the image according to the one or more editing options to create an adjusted image;

providing, to the local control device via the network for presentation to the user in the graphical user interface, the adjusted image;

receiving, from the local control device via the network, initiation of a print process, wherein the user initiated the print process via the graphical user interface;

responsive to receiving initiation of the print process, preparing, based upon the adjusted image, print data for printing a representation of the adjusted image on the edible medium using an edible media printer communicatively connected to the local control device; and

providing, to the local control device via the network, the print data.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the print data is prepared based further in part upon a selected edible medium size.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the application is a web browser application.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

receive, from a local image source communicatively connected to a local control device, upload of an image;

prepare, by processing circuitry of a central control device for presentation to a user on a display of the local control device, a decorating graphical user interface comprising a preview of the image and a plurality of editing options, wherein the central control device is remotely located from the local control device;

provide, to the local control device via a network, the graphical user interface for review within an application executing upon the local control device;

receive, from the local control device via the network, one or more editing options of the plurality of editing options, wherein the user selected the one or more editing options via the graphical user interface;

receive, from the local control device via the network, selection of an edible media sheet type of a plurality of edible media sheet types, wherein the edible media sheet type corresponds to an edible medium for application to a bakery product by the user;

adjust, by the processing circuitry, the image according to the one or more editing options to create an adjusted image;

provide, to the local control device via the network for presentation to the user in the graphical user interface, the adjusted image;

receive, from the local control device via the network, initiation of a print process, wherein the user initiated the print process via the graphical user interface;

responsive to receiving initiation of the print process, prepare, based upon the adjusted image and the selected edible media sheet type, print data for printing a representation of the adjusted image on the edible medium using an edible media printer communicatively connected to the local control device; and

provide, to the local control device via the network, the print data.