Patent Publication Number: US-2023162144-A1

Title: Inventory system and method for measuring the contents of full and partially-filled alcohol beverage containers

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This International application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of Application Ser. No. 63/001,622 filed on Mar. 30, 2020 entitled INVENTORY SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MEASURING THE CONTENTS OF FULL AND PARTIALLY-FILLED ALCOHOL BEVERAGE CONTAINERS and whose entire disclosure is incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This present invention relates to a computer based system used for taking physical inventory of the contents of alcoholic beverage containers. Where alcoholic beverages are not served from single size serving containers, they are dispensed from partially full containers. Failure to keep accurate inventory can result in an inconsistent stock of liquor, resulting in lost sales or lost patronage. Additionally, employee responsibility for correctly dispensing amounts of liquor or theft can also result in not properly tracking inventory. 
     Current methods for tracking inventory of partially full containers is difficult, inaccurate, and time consuming. One common method is having a person look at a bottle and then to estimate the quantity in ten percentage point increments. This method is rarely more accurate than ten percentage points, and is often conducted by the same person to try to maintain consistency. Poor inventory practices hurt businesses, yet the time, labor, and scheduling required to accurately take inventory are troublesome. 
     One attempt to control liquor inventory involves mechanical methods for pouring specific quantities of liquor from a gun, spout, or other mechanical means. While this method controls the amount of liquor dispensed, it is time consuming and doesn&#39;t count inventory. U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,739 (Gerpheide, et al.) shows an inventory and business management system which accounts for the contents of full and partially filled product containers. The apparatus disclosed therein includes a keyboard, interface, carrying case, and wand barcode reader. The data is primarily intended to be stored in the apparatus&#39; memory and utilized as a printed report. Additionally, a product record has to be pre-loaded into the computer memory. The description of this product suggests it is a manually loaded, self-contained inventory system, used for publishing paper inventory reports. It requires connection to an electrical outlet. Other manual operation of the product includes entering the date, using commands to initiate operation, and adding inventory items. In particular, the patent states, “For liquors, a substantial amount of information is entered with respect to each product, as shown at  96 ” with regard to an “update product record” flow diagram in  FIG.  7   . Moreover, the patent discloses with regard to a “set-up operation” flow diagram of  FIG.  5    that “updating the size of each liquor pour or serving size dispensed as shown at  120 . Updating the information shown at [steps]  114 ,  116 ,  118  and  120  entails entering the new information from the keyboard.” 
     Another prior art method for automated liquor inventory is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,986,219 (Carroll, et al.). Utilizing a weight scale and computer, bottles are separated by category and weighed. This seems like a prima facie improvement over the Gerpheide method. Unfortunately, estimates of this style by categorization/weight fail to improve inventory tracking, and are mostly helpful from a financial perspective only. 
     A further prior art method for the inventory of partially full bottles is U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,037 (Grimm, et al.). The method includes the use of barcodes to identify the bottles as well. They do not weigh the bottle however; their method relies on users to estimate the amount of the bottle on a computer generated silhouette. Their abstract cites, “controlling theft and over pouring” as a reason for their invention, yet their inventory system relies on people to manually input data. While the silhouette method probably increases accuracy compared to simply looking at the bottle, the data is still subject to user input error or malicious data entry. 
     However, there remains a need for a system and method that accurately measures the volume of full or partially-filled containers using a standard barcode and weight detection. The present invention solves this problem. 
     All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An apparatus for measuring the volume of a full or a partially-filled container as well as identifying the contents of the container by scanning a universal product code (UPC) label on the container to form container data and communicating the container data to a remote database is disclosed. The apparatus comprises: a load cell for detecting the weight of the container; a barcode scanner for scanning the UPC label on the container; and a processor coupled to the load cell and the barcode scanner for activating the load cell and the barcode scanner to generate the container data, and wherein the processor receives the container data and is configured for wirelessly transmitting the container data to the remote database over global computer networks. 
     A method for measuring the volume of a full or a partially-filled container as well as identifying the contents of the container by scanning a universal product code (UPC) label on the container to form container data and communicating the container data to a remote database while eliminating manual input of the container data is disclosed. The method comprises: providing a load cell upon which the container is positioned for detecting the weight of the container; providing a barcode scanner for scanning the UPC label on the container when the UPC label is positioned opposite a scanning window of said barcode scanner; connecting a processor to the load cell and to the barcode scanner for activating the load cell and the barcode scanner to generate the container data; receiving the container data, by the processor, from the load cell and the barcode scanner; wirelessly transmitting, by the processor, the container data to the remote database over global computer networks. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
         FIG.  1    is a system diagram of the present invention; 
         FIG.  2    is a functional diagram of the operation of the present invention; and 
         FIG.  3    is an isometric view of a bottle positioned on the apparatus of the present invention depicting use of the apparatus. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the figures, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts throughout the several views, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail. Throughout this description, various components may be identified having specific values, these values are provided as exemplary embodiments and should not be limiting of various concepts of the present invention as many comparable sizes and/or values may be implemented. 
     As shown in  FIG.  1   , the apparatus and method of the present invention  20  comprises a processor  22  (e.g., Raspberry Pi Zero W single-board computer having a single core processor with 512 MB of RAM with LAN and Bluetooth capability) with wireless connectivity which is coupled to an omni-directional barcode reader  26  (e.g., Honeywell MS7120-38-3 Barcode Scanner). In addition, a load cell  24  (e.g., a Sparkfun Electronics SEN-13329 10 kg load cell,) is coupled through a load cell amplifier  28  (e.g., Sparkfun Load Cell Amp HX711) to the processor  22 . The output power source  30  (e.g., a 3.7V Lithium-Ion Battery Rechargeable (secondary) 500 mAh) is fed through a power boost charger  32  (e.g., MCP73831 Battery Charger Power Management Evaluation Board) to the processor  22 . As also shown in  FIG.  1   , the processor  22  has wireless connectivity to communicate with a remote database or memory (e.g., server, etc.) in the cloud  27 . An on/off switch  25  is coupled to the processor  22  to initiate the inventive process  20 . The apparatus  20  comprises a housing  34  ( FIG.  3   ) in which all of the electronics are housed. The housing  34  is waterproof to protect the processor  22 , load cell  24 , battery  30  and other related electrical components therein. The apparatus  20  automatically shuts off after a period of idleness to preserve battery  30  life. The barcode scanner  26  is positioned on a top portion of the housing  34  adjacent the load cell  24  so that the barcode scanner  26  can read the Universal Product Code (UPC) label while the load cell  24  is weighing the bottle  10 . Furthermore, the omni-directional barcode scanner  26  can read the UPC regardless of the orientation of the UPC label, e.g., if the UPC label is affixed in horizontal position on the bottle  10  or in a vertical position on the bottle  10 . 
     In operation, as shown in  FIGS.  2 - 3   , the apparatus  20  is turned on with the switch  25  and automatically connects to a preferred wireless Internet configured in advance by the establishment (e.g., dram shop, bar, restaurant, etc.). The apparatus  20  is carried to a convenient location behind the bar, and a partially filled container  10  is placed on the load cell  24  with its associated barcode label  12  facing a scanning window (not shown) of the barcode scanner  28 . As such, the pertinent information of the partially-filled bottle  10  is obtained by barcode scanner  28  by reading the label  12 ; the weight is simultaneously captured by the load cell  24 . This data is passed to the processor  22  and sent via wireless Internet to the cloud-based memory  27 . The bottle  10  is removed and the next bottle  10  is placed on the load cell  24 . In this manner, all partially-filled containers  10  are measured by weight. There is no display or user input required; thus reducing and/or eliminating the accidental or erroneous input of data. 
     The apparatus  20  aids in obtaining inventory and producing financial reports, but it improves upon the previous devices in several ways. First, there are no barcodes to affix. By using the UPC-A format (12 digit number) barcode already in use by retailers and printed on the label  12  by manufacturers, use of the apparatus  20  doesn&#39;t require additional administrative effort. In this manner, each bottle  10  is accounted for, rather than the average as found in the device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,986,219 (Carroll, et al.). Technologically, the battery  30 , omni-directional barcode reader  26 , and wireless processor  22  all contribute to the ease of use. Furthermore, there is no input or output for the user to adulterate or manipulate, thus preventing inaccurate readings. Finally, the electronic format of the data allows data analysis of inventory trends and correlation. 
     While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific examples thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.