Patent ID: 6907741

Claim:
Apparatus for controlling the processing of a product, said apparatus comprising a plurality of containers containing various ingredients; a tag associated with each container, each tag containing data specifying the ingredient in the associated container and at least one parameter for controlling the processing of that ingredient; a formulator; delivery means for selectively delivering the ingredients in the plurality of containers to the formulator; a selection device for selecting among a plurality of products that can be manufactured from the ingredients in said plurality of containers, said selection device including a plurality of selectors each of which may be actuated to cause the selection device to produce a selection signal corresponding a selected product, and a controller including a memory containing a process control program, said controller, in response to the selection signal, controlling the delivery means to deliver from selected ones of the plurality of containers to the formulator the ingredients necessary to produce the selected product and controlling the formulator in accordance with the process control program and the tag data on at least one of the selected ones of the plurality of containers to cause the formulator to produce the selected product.