US 11,708,260 B2
Beverage dispense monitoring with camera
Samuel Karol, Hawthorne, NY (US); Anthony Romano, West Dundee, IL (US); Thore Mainart Bücking, Hitchin (GB); Timothy Charles King, Cambridge (GB); Joseph Albert Dolphin, Cambridge (GB); and Roger Bradley Millington, Huntingdon (GB)
Assigned to PepsiCo, Inc., Purchase, NY (US)
Filed by PepsiCo, Inc., Purchase, NY (US)
Filed on Jan. 20, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/648,484.
Application 17/648,484 is a continuation of application No. 16/992,937, filed on Aug. 13, 2020, granted, now 11,261,076.
Prior Publication US 2022/0144618 A1, May 12, 2022
Int. Cl. G01N 21/29 (2006.01); B67D 1/08 (2006.01); G06T 7/90 (2017.01); G06V 10/56 (2022.01); B67D 1/00 (2006.01); G01N 21/17 (2006.01); G06V 20/68 (2022.01)
CPC B67D 1/0888 (2013.01) [B67D 1/0875 (2013.01); G01N 21/29 (2013.01); G01N 21/293 (2013.01); G06T 7/90 (2017.01); G06V 10/56 (2022.01); B67D 1/0022 (2013.01); G01N 2021/1765 (2013.01); G06V 20/68 (2022.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A beverage dispenser comprising:
a nozzle configured to dispense a beverage;
a base ingredient supply fluidly connected to the nozzle;
an additive ingredient supply fluidly connected to the nozzle, wherein the beverage dispenser is configured to combine a base ingredient from the base ingredient supply and an additive ingredient from the additive ingredient supply to form the beverage;
a first camera configured to capture a color image of the beverage as the beverage is dispensed from the nozzle, the first camera being disposed inside a dispense bay of the beverage dispenser and having a first field of view that includes the beverage;
a second camera configured to capture a color image of the beverage as the beverage is dispensed, the second camera having a second field of view that includes the beverage and that differs from the first field of view; and
a light source that is configured to illuminate at least one of the first field of view and the second field of view.