Beverage supply apparatus and control method therefor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11027962-B2
Application number	US-201716603333-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 1, 2017
Priority date	Apr 25, 2017
Publication date	Jun 8, 2021
Grant date	Jun 8, 2021

Abstract

The present invention relates to a beverage supply apparatus comprising a sensing unit, a microphone, an artificial intelligence unit and a control unit. The control unit: activates the microphone when an object is detected; recognizes first sound data of a user when the first sound data is sensed via the activated microphone; acquires information associated with the user on the basis of the first sound data; stores the acquired information associated with the user; and determines a menu corresponding to the object on the basis of the information associated with the user and the first sound data.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for supplying beverage, the apparatus comprising:
a sensing unit;
a microphone;
an artificial intelligence unit, and
a controller capable of:
activating the microphone when an object detected,
recognizing a first sound data of a user when the first sound data is sensed through the activated microphone,
obtaining information of the user based on the first sound data,
storing the obtained information of the user,
determining a menu corresponding to the object based on the user's information and the first sound data, and controlling a water supply unit to supply the determined menu to the object,
wherein the artificial intelligence unit is further configured to:
store the user's information and information on the menu by learning the first sound data,
when both a linguistic expression and a non-linguistic expression are included in the first sound data, determine the user's information by considering both of the linguistic expression and the non-linguistic expression, and
store the user's information and the information on the menu,

wherein the non-linguistic expression includes a yawning sound.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further capable of:
converting the first sound data into a text, and
determining the menu corresponding to the object based on the text.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an audio output unit, wherein when the menu corresponding to the object is determined, the controller is further capable of outputting the information on the menu as an audio signal through the audio output unit.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a display unit, wherein when the menu corresponding to the object is determined, the controller is further capable of outputting the information on the menu as a visual signal through the display unit.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein when a second sound data of the user is sensed through the activated microphone, the controller is further capable of changing the menu corresponding to the object based on the second sound data.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein when the second sound data is sensed, the artificial intelligence unit is capable of storing the user's information and information on the menu by learning the first sound data and the second sound data.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further capable of determining at least one of a type, amount or temperature of the supplied menu based on the user's information and the first sound data.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a memory, wherein one of the controller and the artificial intelligence unit is capable of storing information on at least one of the first sound data, the users information and the menu to the memory.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a weight detecting unit, wherein the controller is further capable of measuring a weight of the object through the weight detecting unit and determining an amount of the menu based on the measured weight of the object.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a camera, wherein controller is further capable of obtaining the user's information through the camera.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a wireless communication unit performing communication with an external server or an external device, wherein when sensing the first sound data, the controller is further capable of obtaining information of the user corresponding to the first sound data through the external server or the external device.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the controller is further capable of analyzing a difficulty level of the first sound data, wherein when the analyzed difficulty level is a first difficulty level, the controller is further capable of determining the menu based on information stored in the apparatus for supplying the beverage, and wherein when the analyzed difficulty level is a second difficulty level, the controller is further capable of determining the menu through the external server or the external device.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further capable of determining the menu corresponding to the object by considering time information.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the user's information includes age information and sex information.

15. A method of controlling a beverage supply apparatus, the method comprising:
detecting an object;
activating a microphone;
sensing a first sound data of a user;
recognizing the first sound data;
obtaining information of the user based on the first sound data;
storing the obtained information of the user;
determining a menu corresponding to the object based on the user's information and t first sound data;
storing the user s information and information on the menu by learning the first sound data; controlling a water supply unit to supply the determined menu to the object;
when both a linguistic expression non-linguistic expression are included in the first sound data, determining the user's information by considering both of the linguistic expression and the non-linguistic expression; and
storing the user's information and the information on the menu,
wherein the non-linguistic expression includes a yawning sound.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Jeong Gyuhyeok

Classifications

• G06N3/09

  Supervised learning · CPC title

• G06F3/167

  Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback · CPC title

• G06N5/046 Primary

  Forward inferencing; Production systems · CPC title

• G06N20/00

  Machine learning · CPC title

• B67D1/0015 Primary

  the beverage being prepared by mixing at least two liquid components · CPC title