System and method for integrating a beverage dispensing app for ordering and dispensing a beverage

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11087376-B2
Application number	US-201716341366-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 12, 2017
Priority date	Oct 12, 2016
Publication date	Aug 10, 2021
Grant date	Aug 10, 2021

Abstract

A system and method may present, by a first application being executed by an electronic device, a first user interface that enables a user to select a food item and/or non-food item for purchase at a retail establishment. In response to receiving, by the first application, a request from the user using the first user interface to purchase a beverage at the retail establishment, a second application may be linked with the first application. A data repository inclusive of selectable beverage options available for dispensing by a beverage dispenser at the retail establishment may be accessed. The second application may present a second user interface for selection of a selectable beverage option. A selected beverage instruction code representative of a selected beverage may be generated and communicated to the beverage dispenser at the retail establishment to cause the beverage dispenser to be configured for dispensing the selected beverage.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
presenting, by a first application being executed by an electronic device, a first user interface that enables a user to select a food item and/or non-food item for purchase at a retail establishment;
in response to receiving, by the first application, a request from the user using the first user interface to purchase a beverage at the retail establishment, linking to a second application for execution by the electronic device for selecting beverages for purchase at the retail establishment;
accessing, by the second application, a data repository inclusive of a plurality of selectable beverage options available for dispensing by a beverage dispenser at the retail establishment;
presenting, by the second application, a second user interface to enable the user to select one of the selectable beverage options;
generating a selected beverage instruction code representative of a selected beverage;
communicating, by the second application, the selected beverage instruction code to the beverage dispenser at the retail establishment to cause the beverage dispenser to be configured for dispensing the selected beverage; and
causing the beverage dispenser to dispense the selected beverage based on the selected beverage instruction code.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein communicating includes:
causing the electronic device to establish a communications session with the beverage dispenser; and
communicating, by the electronic device via a communications network, the selected beverage instruction code during the communications session to the beverage dispenser.

3. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising:
presenting, by the second application, a plurality of beverage brands and flavors of the beverage brands for the user to select; and
responsive to the user selecting a beverage brand and flavor of the beverage brand, generating the selected beverage instruction code.

4. The method according to claim 3 , further comprising enabling, by the first or second application, the user to select a beverage size to be dispensed by the dispenser.

5. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
establishing, by the first application, a communications session with a point-of-sale of the retail establishment; and
enabling payment for the food items, non-food items, and/or selected beverage with the point-of-sale.

6. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, by the first application, an order identifier associated with the order; and
communicating, by the second application via the electronic device, the order identifier to the dispenser for display thereat.

7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, by the second application from the first application, a security key associated with the retail establishment to enable the second application to operate at the retail establishment;
in response to the second application receiving the security key from the first application, querying a security key database to determine whether the security key is activated; and
in response to determining that the security key is activated, enabling the user to use the second application to order a beverage, otherwise, preventing the user from ordering a beverage.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein linking includes deep linking to the second application.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein linking to includes linking to the second application over a communication network.

10. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, by the electronic device, whether the second application is installed on the electronic device; and
in response to determining that the second application is not installed on the electronic device:
generating a notification to the user to download the second application;
in response to receiving a confirmation from the user to download the second application, downloading, by the electronic device, the second application, otherwise, not downloading the second application; and
in response to downloading the second application, launching the second application to provide for presenting the second user interface to the user.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second applications are mobile apps, and wherein the electronic device is a mobile electronic device.

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second user interface is further configured to enable the user to generate a blended beverage from a plurality of selectable beverage options available for dispensing by the beverage dispenser, and wherein the second user interface is further configured to enable the user to select a percentage of each of the selected beverage options to be blended.

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein accessing the data repository includes communicating, via a wireless network, to a server configured to store a set of selectable beverage options available to be dispensed at the retail establishment by the beverage dispenser.

14. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
counting, by a processing unit, a number of beverages dispensed for a user;
determining, by the processing unit, that the number of beverages dispensed for the user crosses a threshold level; and
communicating, via a communications network, a reward to the user for a product or service in response to the number of dispensed beverages crossing the threshold level.

15. A system, comprising:
an electronic display;
a non-transitory memory; and
a processing unit in communication with said electronic display and non-transitory member, and configured to:
execute a first application and a second application, that, when executed by said processing unit, causes said processing unit to:
present a user interface that enables a user to select a food item and/or non-food item for purchase at a retail establishment;
in response to receiving a request from the user using the first user interface to purchase a beverage at the retail establishment, link to the second application for execution for selecting beverages for purchase at the retail establishment;
access a data repository inclusive of a plurality of selectable beverage options available for dispensing by a beverage dispenser at the retail establishment;
present a second user interface to enable the user to select one of the selectable beverage options;
generate a selected beverage instruction code representative of a selected beverage;
communicate, by the second application, the selected beverage instruction code to the beverage dispenser at the retail establishment to cause the beverage dispenser to be configured for dispensing the selected beverage; and
cause the beverage dispenser to dispense the selected beverage based on the selected beverage instruction code.

16. The system according to claim 15 , wherein said processing unit, in communicating, is further configured to:
cause a communications session to be established between said processing unit and the beverage dispenser; and
communicate, via a communications network, the selected beverage instruction code during the communications session with the beverage dispenser.

17. The system according to claim 16 , wherein the first and second applications being executed by said processing unit are further configured to cause said processing unit to:
present a plurality of beverage brands and flavors of the beverage brands on said electronic display for the user to select; and
responsive to

Assignees

• Coca Cola Co

Inventors

• Cuppari Scott
• Hilton Steven

Classifications

• G07F9/002

  Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines · CPC title

• G07F9/001

  Interfacing with vending machines using mobile or wearable devices · CPC title

• G06Q30/0238

  at point-of-sale [POS] · CPC title

• G06Q20/18

  involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals · CPC title

• G06Q50/12

  Hotels or restaurants · CPC title