Refill station using an intelligent beverage container

Abstract

Systems, devices, and methods are provided for conducting a refill of a beverage container. A beverage container may be detected at a refill station. The beverage container may be associated with a user account. The refill station may access information stored in the user account to determine if the beverage container is permitted to be refilled. Based on the determination, the refill station may refill the beverage container. Information indicative of the refill process may be displayed on an electronic display of the refill station. The refill station may also capture an image of the user of the beverage container and compare the captured image with an image stored in the associated user account to confirm the identity of the user. The determination that the beverage container may be refilled may be based, at least in part, on the identity confirmation.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)[0001]The present application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 691,609 entitled “BEVERAGE CONTAINER WITH INTEGRATED ELECTRONIC DISPLAY,” filed Aug. 21, 2012; to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 691,617 entitled “BEVERAGE CONTAINER WITH DYNAMIC LABEL,” filed Aug. 21, 2012; to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 691,618 entitled “STATE-BASED CONTAINER MANAGEMENT,” filed Aug. 21, 2012; to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 691,622 entitled “SOCIAL ACTIVITIES USING INTELLIGENT BEVERAGE CONTAINERS,” filed Aug. 21, 2012; to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 691,627 entitled “CENTRALLY COORDINATED SOCIAL ACTIVITIES USING INTELLIGENT BEVERAGE CONTAINERS,” filed Aug. 21, 2012; and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 691,630 entitled “ACCOUNT-BASED MANAGEMENT OF INTELLIGENT BEVERAGE CONTAINERS,” filed Aug. 21, 2012; of which the ent...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent describes a method, apparatus, and refill station for detecting a beverage container and refilling it based on information stored in the user's account. The beverage container may be detected using a wireless signal, such as a RFID module, and the user's account information may be used to determine if the container is permitted to be refilled. The refill station may display information based on the user's account and receive input from the user. The refill station may also include an image capture device to capture the user's image and use facial recognition algorithms to confirm their identity. The refill station may also include a communications module to transmit a message to the beverage container to display information about the refill. Overall, the patent provides a technical solution for efficiently refueling beverage containers and improving the user experience.

Problems solved by technology

Thus, even though a beverage container may be refilled with multiple different beverages, no solution exists for dynamically updating the label of the beverage container.

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