대표
청구항
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1. A method of producing a melted food or beverage liquid product from a receptacle containing frozen liquid contents, comprising the steps of: receiving a receptacle in a chamber of a dispenser, the receptacle defining an enclosed inner volume containing a frozen liquid contents;identifying at least one of a thermodynamic characteristic and a mass of at least one of the receptacle and the frozen liquid contents, wherein the thermodynamic characteristic is identified using at least one of an optical sensor, a thermal sensor, and an electromagnetic sensor...
1. A method of producing a melted food or beverage liquid product from a receptacle containing frozen liquid contents, comprising the steps of: receiving a receptacle in a chamber of a dispenser, the receptacle defining an enclosed inner volume containing a frozen liquid contents;identifying at least one of a thermodynamic characteristic and a mass of at least one of the receptacle and the frozen liquid contents, wherein the thermodynamic characteristic is identified using at least one of an optical sensor, a thermal sensor, and an electromagnetic sensor, and wherein the mass is identified using at least one of a mass sensor, an optical sensor, and an electromagnetic sensor;melting at least a portion of the frozen liquid contents to generate a melted food or beverage liquid product by selectively performing at least one of: heating at least one of the receptacle when held in the chamber and the frozen liquid contents within the receptacle when held in the chamber without adding liquid to an interior of the receptacle when held in the chamber,supplying a dilution liquid to the interior of the receptacle, andapplying motion to at least one of the receptacle and the frozen liquid contents,wherein the selectively performing at least one of heating, supplying a dilution liquid, and applying motion is based on the identified characteristic;perforating the receptacle; anddispensing the melted food or beverage liquid product from the receptacle. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying a compositional characteristic, and wherein selectively performing at least one of heating, supplying a dilution liquid, and applying motion is further based on the compositional characteristic. 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying at least one of: a shelf life of the frozen liquid contents,a manufacture date of at least one of the receptacle and the frozen liquid contents,a size of at least one of the receptacle and the frozen liquid contents,a shape of the receptacle,a color of the receptacle,an external pattern on the receptacle,an external marking on the receptacle,a hardness value of the frozen liquid contents,a volume of fill of the receptacle, anda volume of headspace of the receptacle, and wherein selectively performing at least one of heating, supplying a dilution liquid, and applying motion is further based on the further identified at least one characteristic. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein selectively heating at least one of the receptacle when held in the chamber and the frozen contents within the receptacle when held in the chamber without adding liquid to an interior of the receptacle further comprises controlling at least one of: an amount of heat supplied,a schedule of reoccurringly applying heat, anda time during the melted food or beverage production process at which the heat is supplied. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein selectively heating at least one of the receptacle when held in the chamber and the frozen contents within the receptacle when held in the chamber without adding liquid to an interior of the receptacle comprises heating using at least one of: a heater in contact with the chamber walls,an electric heater,a heated gas generator,a heated liquid bath,an electromagnetic radiation generator,a thermoelectric heater,a chemical heater, anda heated perforator disposed in the receptacle. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein selectively supplying a dilution liquid to the interior of the receptacle comprises selectively performing at least one of: regulating the temperature of the dilution liquid supplied to the interior of the receptacle,carbonating the dilution liquid supplied to the interior of the receptacle,pressurizing the dilution liquid supplied to the interior of the receptacle,controlling a total volume of the dilution liquid supplied to the interior of the receptacle during the melted food or beverage production process,controlling the flow rate of the dilution liquid supplied to the interior of the receptacle; andsupplying the dilution liquid to the interior of the receptacle at a predetermined time during the melted food or beverage production process. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein selectively regulating the temperature of the dilution liquid comprises identifying the temperature of the dilution liquid and at least one of selectively heating and cooling the dilution liquid. 8. The method of claim 6, wherein selectively regulating the temperature of the dilution liquid comprises flowing the dilution liquid through a heating channel before supplying the dilution liquid to the interior of the receptacle. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein selectively applying motion to at least one of the receptacle and the frozen liquid contents comprises controlling at least one of: a duration of the motion,a rate of the motion,a frequency of the motion, anda type of the motion. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein selectively applying motion to at least one of the receptacle and the frozen contents comprises applying a motion that is at least one of: rotating,reciprocating,vibrating,rocking, andshaking. 11. The method of claim 1, wherein perforating the receptacle comprises selectively perforating the receptacle based on the identified characteristic. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein selectively perforating the receptacle based on the identified characteristic further comprises selecting at least one of: a location on the receptacle to receive the perforation,a time during the melted food or beverage production process at which to perforate the receptacle,a size of the perforation, anda count of a number of perforations made in the receptacle. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein perforating the receptacle comprises puncturing the receptacle with a perforator. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein perforating the receptacle comprises at least one of: selecting a size of the perforation,selectively perforating the receptacle a plurality of times,selecting a depth the perforator extends into the enclosed inner volume of the receptacle, andselectively retracting the perforator. 15. The method of claim 1, wherein dispensing the melted food or beverage liquid product from the receptacle comprises dispensing the melted food or beverage product into a container, and the method further comprises selectively dispensing a bypass liquid into the container without the bypass liquid passing through the receptacle. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the selective dispensing of the bypass liquid is based on the identified characteristic. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the selective dispensing of the bypass liquid comprises selectively performing at least one of: controlling a temperature of the bypass liquid,carbonating the bypass liquid,pressurizing the bypass liquid,controlling a total volume of bypass liquid supplied to the container during the melted food or beverage production process,controlling a flow rate of the bypass liquid, anddispensing the bypass liquid to the container at a predetermined time during the melted food or beverage production process. 18. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving input from a user, wherein selectively performing at least one of heating, supplying the dilution liquid, and applying motion is further based on the input from the user. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the user input is at least one of: a desired food or liquid product temperature,a desired food or liquid product volume,a desired food or liquid product potency, anda desired food or liquid product texture. 20. The method of claim 18 wherein receiving input from the user comprises receiving the input from a human machine interface (HMI) on the dispenser. 21. The method of claim 18 wherein receiving input from the user comprises receiving the input wirelessly from at least one of: a computer system,a smartphone, anda remote control device. 22. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectively performing at least one of heating, supplying the dilution liquid, and applying motion comprises indicating the selected action being performed. 23. A method of producing a melted food or beverage liquid product from a receptacle containing frozen liquid contents, comprising the steps of: receiving a receptacle in a dispenser, the receptacle defining an enclosed inner volume containing a frozen liquid contents;identifying at least one of a thermodynamic characteristic and a mass of at least one of the receptacle and the frozen liquid contents wherein the thermodynamic characteristic is identified using at least one of an optical sensor, a thermal sensor, and an electromagnetic sensor, and wherein the mass is identified using at least one of a mass sensor, an optical sensor, and an electromagnetic sensor;removing the frozen liquid contents from the receptacle into a chamber;melting at least a portion of the frozen liquid contents to generate a melted food or beverage liquid product by selectively performing at least one of: heating the frozen contents without combining a liquid with the frozen liquid contents,combining a dilution liquid with the frozen liquid contents, andapplying motion to the frozen liquid contents,wherein the selectively performing at least one of heating, combining a dilution liquid, and applying motion is based on the identified characteristic; anddispensing the melted food or beverage liquid product. 24. The method of claim 23, wherein selectively heating the frozen contents without combining a liquid with the frozen liquid contents comprises heating using at least one of: a heater in contact with walls of the chamber,an electric heater,a heated gas generator,a heated liquid bath in contact with an external surface of the chamber,an electromagnetic radiation generator,a thermoelectric heater, anda chemical heater. 25. The method of claim 23, further comprising at least one of crushing or macerating the frozen liquid contents. 26. The method of claim 23, wherein removing the frozen liquid contents from the receptacle into the chamber comprises: perforating the receptacle; andpressing the frozen liquid contents through the perforation.