KR20140095618A - Apparatus and method for managing customer of beberage capsule - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are customer managing system and method for beverage capsule capable of managing customers and their orders requiring beverages extracted by beverage capsule by applying an optical code on the beverage capsule. The customer managing system for beverage capsule comprises a beverage capsule containing raw materials for extracting beverage and the optical code in which product information is recorded; a beverage extracting device for reading the product information by recognizing the optical code, and transmitting the information of a customer and a product through a wired/wireless network; and a managing server for receiving the information of the customer and product from the beverage extracting device, analyzing the stored information of the customer and product and received information of the customer and product to grasp the remaining amount of the capsule that each customer has, and determining if a customer needs to make a new order.

Description

[0001] APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MANAGING CUSTOMER OF BEBERAGE CAPSULE [0002]

The present invention relates to a system and a method for managing a customer for a beverage capsule, and more particularly to a system and a method for managing a beverage capsule by using an optical code to the beverage capsule, And a customer management system and method for a capsule.

Recently, demand for coffee beans has increased explosively, and a beverage extractor, which can enjoy fresh coffee beans easily at home or office without visiting a coffee shop, is rapidly spreading.

The beverage extractor is a device for extracting a liquid beverage from a powdery raw material stored in a beverage capsule by supplying water at a high pressure to the beverage capsule side by heating the water stored in the water tray.

As is already known, the beverage extractor is largely automated or semi-automated in the operation of the extraction cycle of the device for extracting the powdered raw material into liquid beverage in a one-time package, i.e. disposable beverage capsule.

In this beverage extractor, when the user opens the inlet and manually inserts the disposable beverage capsule and closes the inlet, the extracting device operates to puncture the disposable beverage capsule and supply the hot water and the water pressure so that the liquid beverage is placed (Discrete package), which has been filled with raw materials, is dropped into the collection container.

The above-mentioned beverage extractor and beverage capsule are proposed in Korean Patent No. 10-145425 (a method of extracting a closed cartridge and its apparatus).

However, the above-mentioned Patent No. 10-145425 merely describes the structure and shape of the beverage extractor and the beverage capsule, and increases the convenience of customers purchasing the beverage capsule in the beverage capsule sales market formed by the spread of the beverage extractor And there is no research on how to increase the sales of beverage capsules accordingly.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage capsule for a beverage capsule capable of effectively managing the inventory and order of a customer who drinks the beverage extracted using the beverage capsule by adding an optical code to the beverage capsule, A management system and method are provided.

According to an aspect of the present invention,

A beverage capsule including an optical cord in which product information is recorded on the outside, the beverage capsule including a raw material for extracting a beverage therein;

A beverage extractor for recognizing the optical code and reading the product information, and transmitting the read product information and the customer information of the owning customer by wire or wire; And

And receives the product information and the customer information from the drink extractor, analyzes the received product information, customer information, pre-stored product information, and customer information to determine the remaining amount of the beverage capsule owned by the customer, server

And a customer management system for a beverage capsule.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the optical code may be embodied as a bar code, a QR code, or a dot code printed on the top cover of the beverage capsule.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the beverage extractor includes an optical recognition unit for recognizing the optical pattern; A code information reading unit for reading product information included in the optical pattern recognized by the optical recognition unit; And a communication unit for transmitting the product information read by the code information reading unit and the customer information of the proprietary customer in a wired or wireless manner to a communication network.

One embodiment of the present invention may further include a database for storing the customer information, the type of the beverage capsule owned by the customer, the remaining amount for each beverage capsule type, and the customer's preferred beverage according to the order amount.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the management server may use the previously stored product information, customer information, and product information and customer information received from the beverage extractor to determine the type of beverage capsule currently owned by the customer, And may output an instruction to dispatch the beverage capsule to the customer when the remaining amount of the beverage capsule is equal to or less than a predetermined set amount and automatic order setting for the customer is made in advance.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the management server may use the previously stored product information, customer information, and product information and customer information received from the beverage extractor to determine the type of beverage capsule currently owned by the customer, And if the remaining amount of the beverage capsule is equal to or less than a predetermined set amount, it is possible to confirm whether or not to order the beverage capsule additionally.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the management server includes an instruction to send a message to the customer to notify the event if there is an event, including a new beverage capsule launch, a beverage capsule limited edition launch, and a beverage capsule discount sale Can be output.

According to another aspect of the present invention,

Recognizing an optical code in which product information included in the beverage capsule is recorded and reading the product information when the beverage capsule is inserted into the beverage extractor for extracting beverage;

Transmitting the product information read in the reading step and the customer information of the owner of the beverage extractor to wired and wireless lines; And

Receiving the product information and customer information transmitted in the transmitting step, analyzing the received product information, customer information, pre-stored product information, and customer information to determine the remaining amount of the beverage capsule owned by the customer, Step to judge

And a customer management method for a beverage capsule.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the determining step may include determining a type of the beverage capsule currently possessed by the customer using the pre-stored product information and the customer information and the product information and the customer information received from the beverage extractor, Checking a remaining amount by type; And outputting an instruction to dispatch the beverage capsule to the customer when the remaining amount of the beverage capsule is equal to or less than a predetermined set amount and automatic order setting for the customer has been performed in advance.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the determining step may include determining a type of the beverage capsule currently possessed by the customer using the pre-stored product information and the customer information and the product information and the customer information received from the beverage extractor, Checking a remaining amount by type; And outputting an instruction to transmit to the customer a message confirming whether or not to order additional beverage capsules when the remaining amount of the beverage capsule is equal to or less than a preset set amount.

An embodiment of the present invention further includes outputting an instruction to transmit a message informing the event to the customer when there is an event including a new product launch of a beverage capsule, a release of a beverage capsule limited edition, and a beverage capsule discount sale .

According to the present invention, each time a customer extracts a beverage using the beverage capsule, information on the customer and corresponding product information are automatically managed, thereby automatically grasping the capsule ordering time of the customer and notifying the customer of the capsule ordering time, There is an effect that can be saved.

Accordingly, the present invention prevents the customer's inventory of the beverage capsule from being exhausted, thereby providing convenience to the customer, and positively promoting sales of the beverage capsule, thereby increasing the sales volume of the beverage capsule have.

In addition, according to the present invention, various events for selling beverage capsules can be provided to customers, thereby effectively promoting the beverage capsules, thereby increasing sales volume of the beverage capsules.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view showing a configuration of a beverage capsule and a beverage extractor side of a customer management system for a beverage capsule according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
2 is a view showing a beverage management server side configuration of a customer management system for a beverage capsule according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a perspective view showing an example of a beverage capsule included in a customer management system for a beverage capsule according to one embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for managing a customer for a beverage capsule according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments of the present invention can be modified into various other forms, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. The embodiments of the present invention are provided to more fully describe the present invention to those skilled in the art. In addition, in describing the present invention, the defined terms are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, and they may be changed depending on the intention or custom of the technician working in the field, so that the technical components of the present invention are limited It will not be understood as meaning.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view showing a configuration of a beverage capsule and a beverage extractor side of a customer management system for a beverage capsule according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a beverage management server side configuration of a customer management system for a beverage capsule according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, a customer management system for a beverage capsule according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a beverage capsule 10, a beverage extractor 20, and a management server 30.

The beverage capsule 10 is a capsule containing a raw material of a beverage from which a beverage can be extracted using the beverage extractor 20, and its detailed shape is shown in Fig.

3 is a perspective view showing an example of a beverage capsule included in a customer management system for a beverage capsule according to one embodiment of the present invention.

3, the beverage capsule 10 includes a container 11 provided with an inner space for containing a raw material of a beverage, an upper cover 13 for covering and sealing the inner space of the container 11, And an optical code 131 formed on the upper cover 13. [

The container 11 has an enclosure shape having an upper space opened and at least one through hole is formed in a lower portion thereof so that a liquid beverage extracted from a raw material of the beverage contained in the inner space by the beverage extractor flows to the outside To be discharged. In the inner space formed by the container 10, a powdery raw material which is a raw material of a beverage can be stored. Here, the raw material of the beverage may include raw materials of various beverages such as roasted and ground coffee bean powder, tea or green tea, powdered cacao, and the like.

The upper cover 13 may be formed in close contact with the upper edge of the container 11 to seal the inner space of the container 11. When the beverage capsule 10 is injected into the beverage extractor 20 to extract a liquid beverage, the upper cover 13 is formed with a through-hole through penetration means (not shown) provided in the beverage extractor 20, High-pressure steam and hot water can be supplied to the inner space of the container 11.

An optical code 131 including product information of the beverage capsule 10 may be formed on the upper cover 13. 1, the optical cord 131 is shown as being formed on the upper surface of the upper cover 13. However, the position where the optical code 131 is formed varies depending on the position where the optical code recognition unit provided in the beverage extractor 20 is provided, . Most preferably, when the beverage capsule 10 is inserted into the beverage extractor 20 at the time of extracting beverage, the optical code 131 is formed at the center of the upper cover 13 whose position can always be determined to be constant.

The optical code 131 may include product information about the beverage capsule 10 installed therein by being coded. For example, the product information included in the optical code 131 may include the kind of the raw material contained in the capsule, the production date of the capsule, the production site of the capsule, and the like.

The optical code 131 may be various types of codes or patterns that can be read by optical means. For example, the optical code 131 may be implemented by employing a bar code, a QR code, a dot code, or the like.

The beverage extractor 20 is a mechanism for extracting a liquid beverage by providing high-pressure steam and high-temperature water to the internal space of the beverage capsule 10. In one embodiment of the present invention, the beverage extractor 20 includes a beverage capsule It is possible to recognize the optical code 131 included in the optical cord 10 and read the product information included in the optical code 131 and transmit the read product information and the customer information that is the owner of the beverage extractor 20 to the communication network. This customer information may include the name of the customer, the address, the telephone number, the type of the beverage extractor 20 owned by the customer, whether or not the customer's automatic order is accepted, and the like.

More specifically, the beverage extractor 20 includes an optical recognition unit 21 for recognizing the optical code 131 included in the beverage capsule 10 in an optical manner, The product information of the beverage capsule 10 read by the code information reading unit 22 and the code information reading unit 22 for reading the beverage extractor 20 and the beverage extractor 20 registered in advance with respect to the beverage extractor 20 And a communication unit 23 for transmitting customer information.

The optical recognition unit 21 is an element for recognizing the optical code 131 in an optical manner and may be realized by various recognition means such as an infrared ray transceiver, an ultra-small camera, a laser transceiver and the like depending on the type of the optical code 131 .

The code information reading section 22 can analyze the pattern and the like of the recognized optical code 131 and read the product information contained in the optical code 131. [

The communication unit 23 can transmit the product information read by the code information reading unit 22 and the customer information of the owner of the beverage extractor 20 registered in advance to the beverage extractor 20 in a predetermined manner. The information transmission method of the communication unit 23 can be variously determined according to the type of the applied communication network. For example, the communication unit 23 may be implemented as an Ethernet communication device when transmitting information in a wired manner, or may be a wireless LAN transmitter, a third-generation wireless communication device such as a CDMA or a WCDMA A transmitter, a transmitter supporting fourth-generation wireless communication such as LTE or WiBro, or the like.

The management server 30 is connected to a communication network and receives product information and customer information transmitted through the communication unit 23 of the beverage extractor 20. The product information and the customer information transmitted through the communication network are product information on the beverage capsule 10 in which the customer is currently injected into the beverage extractor 20 to extract the beverage. The management server 30 can analyze the remaining product information, customer information, pre-stored product information, and customer information to determine the remaining amount of the beverage capsule owned by the customer. In addition, the management server 30 can determine that the time for the customer to order additional beverage caps is arrived, if the remaining amount of the beverage capsule owned by the customer is less than the preset amount.

An embodiment of the present invention may further include a database 40 for accumulating and storing product information and customer information received from the beverage extractor 20 by the management server 30. [

Hereinafter, the operation and effect of the customer management system for beverage capsule according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. The description of the operational effects of the customer management system for a beverage capsule according to an embodiment of the present invention will be made through a description of a method for managing a customer for a beverage capsule according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for managing a customer for a beverage capsule according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, a customer management method for a beverage capsule according to an embodiment of the present invention, when a customer who owns the beverage extractor 20 inserts the beverage capsule 10 into the beverage extractor 20 for extracting beverage, The optical recognition unit 21 of the beverage extractor 20 recognizes the optical code 131 included in the beverage capsule 10 and the code information reading unit 22 reads out the product information on the beverage capsule included in the optical code (S41).

Then, the communication unit 23 of the beverage extractor 20 transmits the product information about the read beverage capsule and the customer information about the customer who owns the beverage extractor 20 stored in advance to the management server by using various communication methods The step S42 proceeds.

Then, the management server 30 receives the product information and customer information transmitted from the communication unit 23, analyzes the received product information, customer information, pre-stored product information, and customer information, (S43 to S46) of judging whether or not a new order is to be determined.

More specifically, the step of determining whether a new order is performed in the management server 30 may be implemented as follows.

First, the management server 30 uses the product information and the customer information received from the communication unit 23, and the product information and the customer information previously stored in the database 40, (S43). The remaining amount of the ownership of the beverage capsule of the corresponding type currently owned by the customer can be compared with the preset amount of the preset amount (S43).

Then, the management server 30 judges whether the customer has a set amount of the beverage capsule of the corresponding type owned by the customer, which is less than a preset set amount, whether the customer is the customer who has set the customer to accept the automatic order (S44) If the customer is an authorized customer, the customer can be instructed to deliver a predetermined number of beverage capsules of a predetermined type (S45). The dispatch instruction by the management server 30 can be displayed on the seller's terminal 60, and the seller who has confirmed the dispatch order can proceed to dispatch the corresponding amount of the beverage capsule immediately.

On the other hand, if the management server 30 determines that the customer is a customer who has not accepted the automatic order (S44), since the quantity of the beverage capsule is not enough for the customer, a message is sent to inquire whether to order the beverage capsule To the message server 50 (S46).

The message server 50 is a message transmission server provided by a wireless communication service provider, and can transmit a text message of the content provided from the management server 30 to the corresponding client according to an instruction transmitted from the management server 30.

Meanwhile, in an embodiment of the present invention, the management server 30 may transmit various events to the customer in order to encourage sales of the beverage capsule (S47, S48). The management server 30 can receive an event occurrence from the seller's terminal 60 and can instruct the customer to transmit the contents of the event to the customer in the case of an event (S47) (S48) .

For example, the management server 30 may output an instruction to transmit to the customer a message notifying such event, if there is an event including a new beverage capsule launch, a drink capsule limited edition launch, and a beverage capsule discount sale have.

In particular, the management server 30 receives the customer information and the product information stored in the database 40, and if the event is selectively provided to the customer who has made a lot of sales, the management server 30 determines the target customer, The customer may be instructed to transmit or analyze a drink capsule of a kind that is frequently ordered by the customer to grasp the taste of the customer in a predetermined manner and transmit a message informing the customer of the event if the event is based on the customer's taste.

As described above, the customer management system and method for a beverage capsule according to an embodiment of the present invention manages information about the customer and corresponding product information each time the customer extracts a beverage using the beverage capsule, It is possible to automatically grasp the timing of the customer's capsule order, notify the customer thereof, or allow automatic ordering.

Accordingly, an embodiment of the present invention can prevent the customer's inventory of the beverage capsules from being exhausted, thereby providing convenience to customers, and actively encouraging sales of the beverage capsules, thereby increasing the sales volume of the beverage capsules .

In addition, by providing various events for selling beverage capsules to customers, it is possible to promote the beverage capsules, thereby increasing the sales volume of beverage capsules.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with certain exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the embodiments described, but should be determined by the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereof.

10: beverage capsule 11: container
13: upper cover 20: beverage extractor
21: optical recognition unit 22: code information reading unit
23: communication unit 30: management server
40: Database 50: Message Server
60: Merchant terminal

Claims (12)

A beverage capsule including an optical cord in which product information is recorded on the outside, the beverage capsule including a raw material for extracting a beverage therein;
A beverage extractor for recognizing the optical code and reading the product information, and transmitting the read product information and the customer information of the owning customer by wire or wire; And
And receives the product information and the customer information from the drink extractor, analyzes the received product information, customer information, pre-stored product information, and customer information to determine the remaining amount of the beverage capsule owned by the customer, server
And a customer management system for the beverage capsule. The optical module according to claim 1,
A barcode, a QR code, or a dot code printed on the top cover of the beverage capsule. The beverage extractor according to claim 1,
An optical recognition unit for recognizing the optical pattern;
A code information reading unit for reading product information included in the optical pattern recognized by the optical recognition unit; And
And a communication unit for transmitting the product information read by the code information reading unit and the customer information of the proprietary customer in a wire / wireless manner to a communication network. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a database for storing the customer information, the type of the beverage capsule owned by the customer, the remaining amount for each type of beverage capsule, and the customer's preferred beverage according to the order amount. The management server according to claim 1,
Checking the type of the beverage capsule currently owned by the customer and the remaining amount of each beverage capsule type using the pre-stored product information and customer information, and the product information and the customer information received from the beverage extractor,
And when the remaining amount of the beverage capsule is equal to or less than a predetermined set amount and automatic order setting for the customer is made in advance, an instruction to dispatch the beverage capsule to the customer is output. The management server according to claim 1,
Checking the type of the beverage capsule currently owned by the customer and the remaining amount of each beverage capsule type using the pre-stored product information and customer information, and the product information and the customer information received from the beverage extractor,
When the remaining amount of the beverage capsule is equal to or less than a predetermined set amount, an instruction to transmit to the customer a message for confirming whether the beverage capsule is to be additionally ordered. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6,
When the event including the launch of the new beverage capsule, the launch of the limited edition of the beverage capsule, and the discount sale of the beverage capsule exists, an instruction to transmit the message informing the event to the customer is outputted. Recognizing an optical code in which product information included in the beverage capsule is recorded and reading the product information when the beverage capsule is inserted into the beverage extractor for extracting beverage;
Transmitting the product information read in the reading step and the customer information of the owner of the beverage extractor to wired and wireless lines; And
Receiving the product information and customer information transmitted in the transmitting step, analyzing the received product information, customer information, pre-stored product information, and customer information to determine the remaining amount of the beverage capsule owned by the customer, Step to judge
Wherein the method comprises the steps of: 9. The optical pickup apparatus according to claim 8,
And a bar code, a QR code, or a dot code printed on the top cover of the beverage capsule. 9. The method of claim 8,
Checking the type of the beverage capsule currently owned by the customer and the remaining amount of the beverage capsule type using the pre-stored product information and the customer information, and the product information and the customer information received from the beverage extractor; And
And outputting an instruction to dispatch the beverage capsule to the customer when the remaining amount of the beverage capsule is equal to or less than a predetermined set amount and automatic order setting for the customer is made in advance How to manage. 9. The method of claim 8,
Checking the type of the beverage capsule currently owned by the customer and the remaining amount of the beverage capsule type using the pre-stored product information and the customer information, and the product information and the customer information received from the beverage extractor; And
And outputting an instruction to transmit to the customer a message for confirming whether or not to order additional beverage capsules when the remaining amount of the beverage capsules is equal to or less than a preset set amount. 9. The method of claim 8,
Further comprising the step of outputting an instruction to transmit to said customer a message informing said event when an event including the launch of a new beverage capsule, the launch of a limited edition beverage capsule, and a discount sale of beverage capsule is present. How to manage your customers for.

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