Beverage machine in a network
View Patent ↗A method for preventing shortage at a customer location ( 5,5 ′) of consumable ingredient capsules for use in a machine ( 10,10 ′) for preparing a beverage by receiving a capsule in a capsule extraction unit, circulating a carrier liquid, such as water in particular heated water, through said capsule in the extraction unit and by dispensing a resulting beverage, the beverage preparation machine at the customer location being distant from a capsule supplier ( 40 ) and in data-exchange connection ( 20 ) with a server ( 50 ) of the capsule supplier to form a network ( 1 ), such method comprising: —supplying from the capsule supplier a stock of consumable ingredient capsules to the customer location; —automatically monitoring via the network consumption of the consumable ingredient capsules in the beverage preparation machine; and —whenever the automatic monitoring detects a reaching of a shortage of consumable ingredient capsules at the customer location, generating automatically by the supplier server an instruction: a) to invite the customer to make an order for a shipment of a new stock of capsules, or b) to prepare a shipment of a new stock of capsules for supply to said customer.
1. A system for preventing shortage of consumable ingredient capsules at a customer location distant from a capsule supplier, the system comprising:
a beverage preparation machine receiving a capsule in a capsule extraction unit, circulating a carrier liquid through the capsule in the extraction unit, and dispensing a resulting beverage, the beverage preparation machine comprising an automatic capsule recognition arrangement, wherein a stock of consumable ingredient capsules is supplied from the capsule supplier to the customer location, each supplied capsule stock is individualized by a dedicated identification member located in each capsule of the stock, and the automatic capsule recognition arrangement identifies the corresponding stock of each capsule that is being used; and
a supplier server in data-exchange connection with the beverage preparation machine to form a network, the supplier server automatically monitoring consumption of the consumable ingredient capsules in the beverage preparation machine, the supplier server being programmed to (1) perform the automatic monitoring of the capsule consumption, and (2) whenever the supplier server detects a reaching of a shortage of consumable ingredient capsules at the customer location, generating automatically an instruction:
to invite the customer to make an order for a shipment of a new stock of capsules, or
to prepare a shipment of a new stock of capsules for supply to the customer.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the server automatically generates the instruction once the consumable capsule stock at the customer location is exhausted.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the server automatically generates the instruction sufficiently in advance to permit timely shipment of a new stock of capsules that reach the customer location at an estimated time of exhaustion of the consumable capsule stock at the customer location.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the beverage preparation machine is arranged to automatically monitor the capsule consumption and send a capsule order to the supplier server whenever the automatic monitoring indicates a reaching of a shortage of consumable ingredient capsules at the customer location, the supplier server being arranged to receive the capsule order and to generate a corresponding instruction to prepare a shipment of a new stock of capsules for supply to the customer.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the beverage preparation machine is arranged to communicate automatically the capsule consumption to the supplier server that is arranged to automatically monitor the capsule consumption and to generate the instruction.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the capsule extraction unit is arranged to receive different types of ingredient capsules for preparing different beverages, the network is arranged to differentiate between the consumption of capsules of the different types, and the supplier server is arranged to generate automatically the instruction when a particular type of capsules reaches a level of shortage at the customer location.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the capsule extraction unit is arranged to receive different types of ingredient capsules for preparing different beverages, and the automatic capsule recognition arrangement is arranged to identify the type of the capsules that are being used.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the supplier server is arranged to invite the customer via e-mail, phone, fax or paper mail to make an order.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the supplier server is arranged to receive the order and generate automatically a corresponding instruction to prepare a shipment of a new stock of capsules for supply to the customer.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the order is received electronically by the supplier server, in particular via e-mail.
11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the beverage preparation machine has an automatic capsule feeder for storing a plurality of consumable ingredient capsules and feeding individual capsules to the capsule extraction unit.
12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the beverage preparation machine has a manual capsule insertion arrangement.
13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the network comprises a plurality of beverage preparation machines connected to a single supplier server, and wherein consumption of the consumable ingredient capsules in each beverage preparation machine is automatically monitored via the network.
14. A system for providing consumable ingredient capsules at a customer location, the system comprising:
a beverage preparation machine receiving a capsule in a capsule extraction unit, circulating a carrier liquid through the capsule in the extraction unit, and dispensing a resulting beverage, the beverage preparation machine comprising an automatic capsule recognition arrangement, wherein a stock of consumable ingredient capsules is supplied from the capsule supplier to the customer location, each supplied capsule stock is individualized by a dedicated identification member located in each capsule of the stock, and the automatic capsule recognition arrangement identifies the corresponding stock of each capsule that is being used; and
a supplier server automatically monitoring consumption of the consumable ingredient capsules in the beverage preparation machine, the supplier server being programmed to (1) perform the automatic monitoring of the capsule consumption, and (2) whenever the supplier server detects a reaching of a shortage of consumable ingredient capsules at the customer location, generating automatically an instruction:
to invite the customer to make an order for a shipment of a new stock of capsules, or
to prepare a shipment of a new stock of capsules for supply to the customer.