Customised nutritional food and beverage dispensing system

• US 7,762,181 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2005
• Issued: 07/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Massey University
• Original Assignee: Fonterra Company-Operative Group Limited
• Inventors: Boland, Michael John, Archer, Richard, Alexander, David Lionel James, Haylock, Steven John, Thompson, Abby Kerrin, Munro, Peter Aaron
• Primary Examiner(s): Campbell; Thor S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel; Vinod D
• Application Number:
  US11/241,456
• Publication Number:
  US 20060081653A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,761 Days
• Field of Search: 99275-277, 994/83, 99485-489, 99467-476, 99279-323, 99325-333, 993/57, 141168-172, 141/83, 705 2- 6, 705/45, 705/231, 600/300, 708/132, 222/1, 222/8, 222/28, 222/52, 222/145.5, 222/146.2, 222/144.5
• US Class Current: 99/322
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/40 Beverage-making apparatus with dispensing means for adding a measured quantity of ingredients, e.g. coffee, water, sugar, cocoa, milk, tea
• 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: G07F 17/0064 for processing of food articles cooking vessels A47J37/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/60 relating to nutrition control, e.g. diets
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment

Abstract

A system for dispensing a customized nutritional serving is made up of ingredients stored within a device incorporating the system. The device has a controller in whose memory is stored an inventory of the ingredients available in the device, their compositions and properties and customer profile data. The controller is programmed to formulate a serving which best matches the customized serving selected by the customer within constraints set by the programming taking into account the inventory of ingredients and the health profile of the customer. The customer is then presented with the selected serving and either accepts it or modifies it. The device is then programmed to prepare and dispense the final selection.

Claims

1. A system for dispensing a customized nutritional serving which comprises:

an ingredient storage module;

an ingredient processing module;

a serving dispenser;

a customer interface; and

a controller operatively linked to the customer interface and programmed to control the storage module, the processing module and the serving dispenser;

the controller having stored in its memory an inventory of ingredients in the storage module, their compositions and their properties, and customer profile data;

the controller being programmed to operate in the following manner;

when a customer selects a customized serving through the customer interface, the controller;

a) looks up the information stored in its memory, formulates a serving which best matches the customized serving selected by the customer within predetermined constraints set by its programming and presents a selected serving to the customer for confirmation or modification;

b) if the customer modifies the selection, repeats step a) on the modified selection, and presents the resulting selected serving to the customer for confirmation or modification; and

c) when the customer has confirmed a serving issues instructions to the ingredient storage and processing modules and the serving dispenser to prepare and dispense the serving.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ingredient processing module and the serving dispenser are integral with one another.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the serving dispenser is at least partly operated by a customer or by an operator.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the predetermined constraints in the programming of the controller include but are not limited to one or more of the following:

limitations on physical properties of ingredients,

the compatibility of ingredients with one another,

limitations on certain ingredients by health status,

requirements of certain ingredients by health status,

availability of ingredients in the inventory, and cost.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is programmed so that as if a repeat customer is identified through the customer interface, the customer is presented with a selected serving based on a previous selection of that customer, and if the customer confirms the selection the controller skips directly to step c), while if the customer selects a different serving the controller begins at step a).

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein in carrying out steps a) and b) the controller:

uses the customer profile data to generate nutritional requirements and targets for the customer and consults the inventory of ingredients to generate limits on the inclusion levels of each ingredient, and

selects ingredients to formulate a serving optimised to meet nutritional requirements within the constraints of available ingredients.

7. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the controller selects ingredients to formulate a serving optimised to meet nutritional requirements within the constraints of other requirements.

8. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the other requirements include requirements that certain ingredients are not included together at incompatible levels and that the serving comprises sufficient but not excessive liquid ingredients in a way that departs as little as possible from nutritional targets, that matches as closely as possible the customer'"'"'s preferred flavour choices, and that is as inexpensive as possible.

9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the steps a) and b) the selected serving presented to the customer is determined through the use of a boolean-tree algorithm.

10. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein in the steps a) and b) the selected serving presented to the customer is determined through the use of mixed integer linear programming.

11. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ingredient storage module comprises a plurality of storage compartments.

12. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ingredients storage module contains a dosing means for dosing predetermined amounts of ingredients stored in compartments into a serving.

13. A system as claimed in any claim 1, wherein there is provided ingredient advancing means for moving ingredients from the ingredients storage module to the ingredient processing module.

14. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is operatively linked to one or more servers each having stored in its memory at least some of the inventory of ingredients in the storage module and possible servings available therefrom, nutritional and health data relating to ingredients in the storage module and possible servings therefrom, and at least some of the customer profile data.

15. A system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the controller and/or server is operatively linked to an external database.

16. A system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the external database contains information on health and nutrition.

17. A system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the external database contains health information of a customer.

18. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the customer profile data includes health status, records of recent purchases and preferences.

19. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the customer interface is a touch panel or keyboard integral with the dispensing system.

20. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the customer interface is a cell phone operable from a location remote from the dispensing system.

21. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the customer interface is a customer computer operatively linked through to the internet to the system.

22. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the customer interface is a card reader which reads information digitally or magnetically stored on a card presented by a customer.

23. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is operatively linked to a billing function.

24. A system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the billing function is operatively linked to an electronic crediting/debiting system.

25. A system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the billing function is actuable by the insertion of coins, banknotes, prepaid electronic cards or the like.

26. A network of systems as claimed in claim 1, operatively linked to one or more servers.