Beverage preparation system
AssigneeKerry, Inc.
InventorsJohn Michael HERBERT, Bryan R. HOTALING, John A. MacNEILL, Scott A. LECLERC, Matt NAPLES, Patrick J. DEVINE
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A beverage preparation machine permits automated preparation of a variety of beverages. A plurality of stations add ingredients to a beverage container and process the contents directly in the container in some embodiments. Parallel preparation of more than one beverage may be performed in some embodiments. A robotic arm moves the beverage container to the stations. The robotic arm may include a weight sensor as part of controlling the addition of ingredients.
Claims28
A beverage preparation machine comprising:
- a first beverage preparation station configured to add an ingredient of a first type to a container;
- a second beverage preparation station either configured to add an ingredient of a second type to the container and/or configured to process contents of the container;
- a first gripper configured to grip the container while the container is moved from the first station to the second station.
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A beverage preparation machine comprising:
- a container repository configured to hold a plurality of containers for liquid;
- a first beverage preparation station configured to add an ingredient of a first type to a container;
- a second beverage preparation station configured to process contents of the container;
- a container mover configured to remove the container from the first station, move the container to the second station, and position the container within the second station at a location where processing components of the second station can process the contents of the container.
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A beverage preparation machine comprising:
- a plurality of stations, comprising:
- one or more container supply stations for storing a plurality of containers;
- one or more beverage preparation stations, including an ingredient dispensing station and a processing station, the processing station comprising a blade to mix or blend ingredients within the containers;
- one or more cleaning stations to clean the blade;
- and
- one or more user accessible stations for accessing a prepared beverage, wherein the plurality of stations are disposed in a generally circular arrangement;
- a robotic arm, rotatable about an axis within the circular arrangement;
- and
- a gripper at a distal end of the robotic arm,
- wherein the robotic arm and the gripper are configured to selectively position the containers at one or more of the plurality of stations.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.