Food content detector

• US 20100125417A1
• 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 8,321,141 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/19
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 19/2205 Drinking glasses or vessels A47G19/23 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 21/02 Forks; Forks with ejectors; Combined forks and spoons; Salad servers
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 21/04 Spoons; Pastry servers
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 21/103 Chop-sticks
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/02 Food
• 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

1-48. -48. (canceled)

49. A system, comprising:

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

means for detecting a first portion size for the first portion with the portioning means;

means for detecting a second portion size for the second portion with the portioning means;

means for determining a cumulative amount of portioned foodstuff based upon the first portion size and the second portion size; and

means for determining a nutritional parameter for the portioned foodstuff.

50. The system of claim 49, wherein the means for portioning a foodstuff into a first portion and a second portion comprises:

at least one of a bowl, a chopstick, a container, a cup, a fork, a glass, a knife, a ladle, a plate, a scoop, a serving dish, a spatula, a spoon, tongs, or a utensil.

51. The system of claim 49, wherein the means for detecting a first portion size for the first portion with the portioning means comprises:

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

52. The system of claim 49, wherein the means for determining a cumulative amount of portioned foodstuff based upon the first portion size and the second portion size comprises:

means for adding the first portion size and the second portion size for a positive accumulation.

53. The system of claim 49, wherein the means for determining a cumulative amount of portioned foodstuff based upon the first portion size and the second portion size comprises:

means for subtracting the first portion size and the second portion size for a negative accumulation.

54. The system of claim 49, further comprising:

means for storing the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein the means for storing the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff comprises:

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

56. The system of claim 49, further comprising:

means for reporting the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff.

57. The system of claim 56, wherein the means for reporting the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff comprises:

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

58. The system of claim 49, further comprising:

means for reporting that the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff has reached a target amount.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein the means for reporting that the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff has reached a target amount comprises:

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

60. The system of claim 49, further comprising:

means for transmitting the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff.

61. The system of claim 60, wherein the means for transmitting the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff comprises:

means for transmitting the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff to a remote display.

62. The system of claim 60, wherein the means for transmitting the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff comprises:

means for transmitting the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff to a remote storage device.

63. The system of claim 49, further comprising:

means for comparing the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff to a target amount.

64. The system of claim 63, wherein the means for comparing the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff to a target amount comprises:

means for comparing the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff to a goal amount.

65. The system of claim 63, further comprising:

means for reporting a representation of the comparison.

66. The system of claim 63, further comprising:

means for transmitting a representation of the comparison.

67. The system of claim 63, further comprising:

means for alerting a user to the comparison.

68. The system of claim 49, wherein the means for determining a nutritional parameter for the portioned foodstuff comprises:

means for determining an energy density for the portioned foodstuff.

69. The system of claim 68, wherein the means for determining an energy density for the portioned foodstuff comprises:

means for determining a calorie density for the portioned foodstuff.

70. The system of claim 49, wherein the means for determining a nutritional parameter for the portioned foodstuff comprises:

means for determining a component concentration for the portioned foodstuff.

71. The system of claim 70, wherein the means for determining a component concentration for the portioned foodstuff 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.

72. The system of claim 49, wherein the means for determining a nutritional parameter for the portioned foodstuff 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.

73. The system of claim 49, wherein the means for determining a nutritional parameter for the portioned foodstuff comprises:

means for measuring the nutritional parameter for the portioned foodstuff.

74. The system of claim 73, wherein the means for measuring the nutritional parameter for the portioned foodstuff 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.

75. The system of claim 49, wherein the means for determining a nutritional parameter for the portioned foodstuff comprises:

means for receiving the nutritional parameter for the portioned foodstuff.

76. The system of claim 75, wherein the means for receiving the nutritional parameter for the portioned foodstuff comprises:

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

77. The system of claim 49, wherein the means for determining a cumulative amount of portioned foodstuff based upon the first portion size and the second portion size comprises:

means for calculating a nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff utilizing the nutritional parameter for the portioned foodstuff and the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff.

78. The system of claim 77, wherein the means for calculating a nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff utilizing the nutritional parameter for the portioned foodstuff and the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff comprises:

means for calculating a nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff utilizing an energy density for the portioned foodstuff and the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff.

79. The system of claim 77, wherein the means for calculating a nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff utilizing the nutritional parameter for the portioned foodstuff and the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff comprises:

means for calculating a nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff utilizing a component concentration for the portioned foodstuff and the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff.

80. The system of claim 77, further comprising:

means for storing the nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff.

81. The system of claim 80, wherein the means for storing the nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff comprises:

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

82. The system of claim 77, further comprising:

means for reporting the nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff.

83. The system of claim 82, wherein the means for reporting the nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff comprises:

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

84. The system of claim 77, further comprising:

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

85. The system of claim 84, wherein the means for reporting that the nutritional content-of the portioned foodstuff has reached a target amount comprises:

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

86. The system of claim 77, further comprising:

means for transmitting the nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff.

87. The system of claim 86, wherein the means for transmitting the nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff comprises:

means for transmitting the nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff to a remote display.

88. The system of claim 86, wherein the means for transmitting the nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff comprises:

means for transmitting the nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff to a remote storage device.

89. The system of claim 77, further comprising:

means for comparing the nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff to a target amount.

90. The system of claim 89, wherein the means for comparing the nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff to a target amount comprises:

means for comparing the nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff to a goal amount.

91. The system of claim 89, further comprising:

means for reporting a representation of the comparison.

92. The system of claim 89, further comprising:

means for transmitting a representation of the comparison.

93. The system of claim 89, further comprising:

means for alerting a user to the comparison.

94. The system of claim 49, further comprising:

means for determining a type of the portioned foodstuff;

means for referencing the type of the portioned foodstuff against a stored nutritional parameter for the portioned foodstuff; and

means for calculating a nutritional content for the portioned foodstuff utilizing the stored nutritional parameter for the portioned foodstuff and the cumulative amount of the portioned foodstuff.

95. The system of claim 94, wherein the means for determining a type of the portioned foodstuff comprises:

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

96-598. -598. (canceled)