IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0688839
(2010-01-15)
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등록번호 |
US-8608026
(2013-12-17)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
- Temko, Seth W.
- Raczynski, Walter V.
- Zimnicki, Charles L.
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출원인 / 주소 |
|
대리인 / 주소 |
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인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
6 인용 특허 :
24 |
초록
▼
The application discloses a device that determines how much material is dispensed from a container by measuring the angle at which the container is tilted. The device includes an accelerometer for measuring an angle by which the container is tilted, and an electronic component for transmitting data
The application discloses a device that determines how much material is dispensed from a container by measuring the angle at which the container is tilted. The device includes an accelerometer for measuring an angle by which the container is tilted, and an electronic component for transmitting data based on the angle measured by the accelerometer. In some embodiments, the accelerometer measures the angle by which the container is tilted at a multiple different times.
대표청구항
▼
1. A device for generating data regarding material dispensed from a container to which the device is attached, the device comprising: an accelerometer circuit configured to: conduct a measurement of an angle by which the container is tilted;determine whether the angle exceeds a threshold angle based
1. A device for generating data regarding material dispensed from a container to which the device is attached, the device comprising: an accelerometer circuit configured to: conduct a measurement of an angle by which the container is tilted;determine whether the angle exceeds a threshold angle based on the measurement;in response to determining that the angle does not exceed the threshold angle, conduct at least one periodic measurement of the angle by which the container is tilted, wherein the at least one periodic measurement is conducted according to a first measurement frequency;in response to determining that the angle exceeds the threshold angle: conduct at least one periodic measurement of the angle by which the container is tilted, wherein the at least one periodic measurement is conducted according to a second measurement frequency; andgenerate a measured angle for each of the at least one periodic measurement, the measured angle comprising an angular value of the measurement and a time indication of when the measurement was taken;a memory storing a plurality of dispensing rates, wherein each dispensing rate of the plurality of dispensing rates associated with a particular tilt angle; anda processor is configured to: calculate a total dispensed amount of material from the container as a function of: at least one measured angle; andthe dispensing rate corresponding to the at least one measured angle; andcause the total dispensed amount to be stored in the memory. 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is a spout through which material is dispensed from the container. 3. The device of claim 2, wherein the accelerometer circuit is aligned perpendicular to a flow channel of the spout. 4. The device of claim 2, wherein the accelerometer circuit is aligned parallel to the flow channel of the spout. 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the accelerometer circuit is attached to the inside of the container. 6. The device of claim 1, wherein the accelerometer circuit is attached to the outside of the container. 7. The device of claim 1, wherein the accelerometer is further configured to measure at least one of a speed of movement of the container and a direction of movement of the container. 8. A method for measuring the amount of material dispensed from a container, the method comprising: conducting a measurement of an angle by which the container is tilted, wherein the measurement is performed by an accelerometer circuit that is part of a device attached to the container;determining, by the accelerometer circuit, whether the angle exceeds a threshold angle based on the measurement;in response to determining that the angle does not exceed the threshold angle, conducting, by the accelerometer circuit, at least one periodic measurement of the angle by which the container is tilted, wherein the at least one periodic measurement is conducted according to a first measurement frequency;in response to determining that the angle exceeds the threshold angle: conducting, by the accelerometer circuit, at least one periodic measurement of the angle by which the container is tilted, wherein the at least periodic measurement is conducted according to a second measurement frequency;generating, by the accelerometer circuit, a measured angle for each of the at least one periodic measurements, the measured angle comprising an angular value of the measurement and a time indication of when the measurement was taken;calculating, by a processor, a total amount dispensed of material from the container as a function of at least one measured angle and a dispensing rate corresponding to the at least one measured angle; andstoring the total amount dispensed in a memory. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein calculating the total amount dispensed of material from a container comprises: determining, by the processor, a total dispensing time over which the container is tilted such that material is dispensed from the container based on the time indication of the at least one measured angle;calculating, by the processor, an average angle of the container based on the at least one angular value of the at least one measured angle;based on a dispensing rate corresponding to the average angle and the total dispensing time, calculating, by the processor, a total dispensed amount of material dispensed from the container. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the dispensing rate assumes the material dispensed is water. 11. The method of claim 9, wherein calculating the total amount dispensed of material from the container is based on the dispensing rate corresponding to the average angle, the total dispensing time, and reference information regarding the material. 12. The method of claim 8, wherein calculating the total amount dispensed of material from the container comprises: for each of the at least one measured angle, determining a dispensing rate corresponding to the measured angle;for each of the at least one measured angle, calculating the amount of material dispensed from the container based on the measured angle and the dispensing rate corresponding to the measured angle;summing the calculated amounts of material dispensed. 13. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to calculate the total amount dispensed from the container by: calculating an average angle based on the at least one angular value of the at least one measured angle;calculating a total dispensing time based on the time indication of the at least one measured angle; andcalculating a total dispensed amount based on the total dispensing time and the dispensing rate corresponding to the average angle. 14. The device of claim 13, wherein the calculating the total dispensed amount is based on the dispensing rate corresponding to the average angle, the total dispensing time, and reference information associated with the material. 15. The device of claim 1, wherein processor is configured to calculate the total dispensed amount of material from the container by: for each of the at least one measured angle, determining a dispensing rate corresponding to the measured angle from the plurality of dispensing rates;for each of the at least one measured angle, calculating the amount of material dispensed from the container based on the measured angle and the dispensing rate corresponding to the measured angle; andcalculating a total dispensed amount by summing the calculated amounts of material dispensed. 16. The device of claim 15, wherein the calculating the amount of material dispensed from the container for each of the at least one measured angle is based on the measured angle, the dispensing rate corresponding to the measured angle, and reference information associated with the material. 17. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: calculate a total dispensing time based on the time indication of each of the at least one measured angle;determine whether the total dispensing time exceeds a maximum dispensing time; andin response to determining that the total dispensing time exceeds the maximum dispensing time, discard the stored total dispensed amount. 18. The device of claim 1, wherein the second measurement frequency is greater than the first measurement frequency. 19. The device of claim 1, wherein the accelerometer circuit is further configured to: in response to determining that the angle exceeds the threshold angle: conduct a specified number of periodic measurements of the angle by which the container is according to the second measurement frequency;determine whether the angle does not exceed the threshold angle for a particular number of consecutive measurements within the specified number of periodic measurements; andin response to determining that the angle does not exceed the threshold angle for the particular number of consecutive measurements, conduct at least one periodic measurement of the angle by which the container is tilted according to the first measurement frequency. 20. The device of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether the material has been dispensed into a single recipient container or into a plurality of recipient containers as a function of the measurement of at least one of the speed of movement of the container and the direction of movement of the container. 21. The method of claim 8, further comprising: calculating a total dispensing time based on the time indication of each of the at least one measured angle;determining whether the total dispensing time exceeds a maximum dispensing time; andin response to determining that the total dispensing time exceeds the maximum dispensing time, discarding the stored total dispensed amount. 22. The method of claim 12, wherein the calculating the amount of material dispensed from the container for each of the at least one measured angle is based on the measured angle, the dispensing rate corresponding to the measured angle, and reference information associated with the material. 23. The method of claim 8, further comprising measuring at least one of a speed of movement of the container and a direction of movement of the container. 24. The method of claim 23, further comprising determining whether the material has been dispensed into a single recipient container or into a plurality of recipient containers as a function of the measurement of at least one of the speed of movement of the container and the direction of movement of the container. 25. The method of claim 8, wherein the second measurement frequency is greater than the first measurement frequency. 26. The method of claim 8, further comprising: in response to determining that the angle exceeds the threshold angle: conducting a specified number of periodic measurements of the angle by which the container is according to the second measurement frequency;determining whether the angle does not exceed the threshold angle for a particular number of consecutive measurements within the specified number of periodic measurements; andin response to determining that the angle does not exceed the threshold angle for the particular number of consecutive measurements, conducting at least one periodic measurement of the angle by which the container is tilted according to the first measurement frequency. 27. The method of claim 9, wherein the dispensing rate corresponds to an alcoholic beverage.
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