Instructions for conditioning nutritional substances

• US 9,429,920 B2
• Filed: 08/25/2014
• Issued: 08/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Iceberg International SARL
• Original Assignee: Iceberg International SARL
• Inventors: Minvielle, Eugenio
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, THIEN MINH
• Application Number:
  US14/467,433
• Publication Number:
  US 20140364972A1
• Time in Patent Office: 736 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/383, 235/381, 235/492, 235/486, 235/487
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A23P 10/00 Shaping or working of foodstuffs characterised by the products
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0001 by organoleptic means
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/02 Food
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24 Querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/0092 Nutrition
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• 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

Nutritional substance systems and methods are disclosed enabling the tracking and communication of changes in nutritional, organoleptic, and aesthetic values of nutritional substances, and further enabling the adaptive storage and adaptive conditioning of nutritional substances.

Claims

1. A dynamic control module for a conditioning system for nutritional substances comprising:

a first port for receiving information related to a dynamic information identifier provided with a nutritional substance;

a second port in communication with a database with information referenced to the dynamic information identifier, the database including various conditioning protocols for the nutritional substance that may be modified to create various modified conditioning protocols stored in the database and referenced to the same nutritional substance, wherein the conditioning protocols and modified conditioning protocols include instructions that modify the conditioning protocol based on feedback from a nutritional substance attribute sensor during conditioning;

a third port for receiving consumer input; and

a controller configured to send a request to the database for at least one of the modified conditioning protocols after receiving the information related to the dynamic information identifier of the nutritional substance, and further configured to output a final conditioning protocol based on the at least one modified conditioning protocol received from the data base and the consumer input, wherein the final conditioning protocol contains instructions executable by a control system of a conditioner.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to further modify the modified conditioning protocol so that it is compatible with the conditioner before outputting the final conditioning protocol.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the dynamic control module is integrated with the conditioner.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first port and second port both transmit data over the same conductors.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the database additionally contains Δ

N information associated with the various conditioning protocols.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the conditioning protocols are comprised of a hierarchy of conditioning protocols.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the hierarchy includes nodes that branch to specific conditioning protocols based on consumer input.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the hierarchy includes nodes that branch to specific conditioning protocols based on information relating to a type of conditioner.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the condition protocols include contingent instructions that require consumer input.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the dynamic condition protocols that may be modified include data values representing various conditioning instructions that may be modified to alter the conditioning temperature.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the dynamic condition protocols that may be modified include data values representing various conditioning instructions that may be modified to alter the conditioning time.

12. A system for providing dynamic conditioning protocols to conditioners for nutritional substances comprising:

an input port configured to receive information regarding a nutritional substance;

a library comprising conditioning protocols referenced to known nutritional substances, wherein the conditioning protocols are able to be modified and stored in the library as modified conditioning protocols referenced to the same known nutritional substances, wherein the conditioning protocols and modified conditioning protocols include instructions that modify the conditioning protocol based on feedback from a nutritional substance attribute sensor during conditioning;

a controller configured to compare the information regarding the nutritional substance with the modified conditioning protocols to determine at least one matching modified conditioning protocol for conditioning the nutritional substance and to send the modified conditioning protocol to a conditioner, wherein the modified conditioning protocol sent to the conditioner contains instructions executable by a control system of the conditioner.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the input port additionally receives information regarding a type of conditioner.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the controller determines a modified conditioning protocol based additionally on the information regarding the type of conditioner.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the input port additionally receives data representing consumer input.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller determines a matching modified conditioning protocol additionally based on the consumer input.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the controller is incorporated in a server.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the conditioning protocols are additionally referenced to Δ

N information.

19. A method for providing an updated conditioning protocol for conditioning a nutritional substance, the method comprising:

updating various conditioning protocols in a database of conditioning protocols referenced to known nutritional substances, wherein the conditioning protocols include instructions that modify the conditioning protocol based on feedback from a nutritional substance attribute sensor during conditioning;

accessing at least one of the updated conditioning protocols in the database referenced to known nutritional substances;

receiving consumer input regarding preferences for conditioning; and

adapting a final conditioning protocol for the nutritional substance based at least on the updated conditioning protocol and the consumer input, wherein the final conditioning protocol contains instructions executable by a control system of a conditioner.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the conditioning protocols are referenced to Δ

N information in the database.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the conditioning protocol is additionally adapted based on the Δ

N information.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the Δ

N is historical information.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the accessed updated conditioning protocol is first selected to be accessed based on the consumer input.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the accessed updated conditioning protocol is first selected to be accessed based on information relating to a conditioner in communication with the system.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the Δ

N is an estimated value.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein the updating includes changing a temperature of the conditioning protocol.

27. The method of claim 19, wherein the updating includes changing a time of the conditioning protocol.