US20190285338A1

US20190285338A1 - Portable container with temperature regulator

Info

Publication number: US20190285338A1
Application number: US16/463,111
Authority: US
Inventors: Sandeep Kumar Chintala
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2016-11-22
Filing date: 2017-11-22
Publication date: 2019-09-19
Also published as: WO2018096328A3; WO2018096328A4; EP3545249B1; EP3545249A2; WO2018096328A2

Abstract

A portable container (100, 200) includes an insulative body (102) to hold a food item. The insulative body (102) may include an inner wall and an outer wall. Further, the portable container (100, 200) includes a temperature regulator (110) disposed between the inner wall and the outer wall of the insulative body (102). The portable container (100, 200) also includes a plurality of temperature sensors (202) disposed within the inner wall of the insulative body (102). The plurality of temperature sensors (202) being operably coupled to the temperature regulator (110). Further, the portable container (100, 200) includes a controller (210) communicatively coupled to the temperature regulator (110) to regulate the temperature of the food item based on a user input.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present subject matter relates, in general, to portable containers, and, particularly but not exclusively, to a portable container with a temperature regulator.

BACKGROUND

Portable containers are usually used to carry food items, such as solid as well as liquid items, during journeys. Examples of the food items may include, but is not limited to, water, beverages, and snacks. Such portable containers come handy when a person has to carry any food item during a journey. Many portable containers employ insulating members to maintain the temperature of the food item. The insulating members keeps the food item isolated from ambient conditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The following detailed description references the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a portable container, according to an example implementation of the present subject matter; and

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a portable container, according to an example implementation of the present subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally, people carry food items while travelling either for recreational purposes or when their jobs demands travelling. The food items may include any solid food item, such as snacks, baby food as well as liquid items, such as soups, beverages, and water. For example, people carry food items for being consumed either while travelling or at a later point in time. While portable containers enable people to carry food items, such containers do not facilitate in maintaining a temperature of the food item being carried. For example, if a person is carrying a hot beverage while travelling, the hot beverage may cool after certain time.
In order to maintain the temperature of the food items for a longer period of time, portable containers are provided with insulating members. For example, a vacuum flask includes an insulating member that lengthens the time over which the food item in the container remains hotter or cooler. Such insulating members keep the food item isolated from the outside temperature and maintain the temperature of the food item in the container. However, the insulating member is unable to maintain the temperature of the food item for a long time, especially in extreme weather conditions. In situations, where the users are carrying the food items in long journeys, the thermal insulating flasks may not serve the intended purpose.
Moreover, conventional portable containers with insulating members may not enable a user to set a temperature of the food item being carried in the portable container. This may be inconvenient to the users as the insulating members prevent a user from getting to know a current temperature of the food item. As a result, the user may burn their tongue due to hot food item or may experience bad taste due to extreme cold food item.
Various implementations of the present subject matter describe a portable container for a food item. The food item may include solid items as well as liquid items, including beverages. The portable container of the present subject matter includes a temperature regulator as well as a plurality of temperature sensors. The plurality of temperature sensors may detect the temperature of the food item within the portable container. The portable container may further include a charging unit that may be capable of being charged wirelessly.
In an implementation, the temperature regulator is embedded within the portable container to regulate a temperature of the food item inside the portable container to a desired temperature. A user may select a desired temperature for being maintained within the portable container. Once selected, the temperature sensors may continuously sense the temperature of the food item to determine whether the desired temperature is maintained or not. If the temperature of the food item varies from the desired temperature, the charging unit may turn ON the temperature regulator till the desired temperature is achieved.
In addition, the portable container may include a wireless transceiver to communicate with an electronic device, such as a mobile phone. The wireless transceiver may be configured to share information pertaining to the food item, with the electronic device. The information so shared may be accessed through an application on the electronic device. The application enables the user to change settings of the portable container, such as a temperature to which the food item is to be heated or cooled.
Accordingly, the present subject matter provides a compact and portable container for carrying a food item. In addition, the temperature regulator of the container facilitates in regulating a temperature of the food item on-the-go. The present subject matter further enables a user to communicate with the portable container through an application loaded on an electronic device.
The present subject matter is further described with reference to the accompanying figures. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals are used in the figures and the following description to refer to the same or similar parts. It should be noted that the description and figures merely illustrate principles of the present subject matter. It is thus understood that various arrangements may be devised that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, encompass the principles of the present subject matter. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and examples of the present subject matter, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a portable container 100, according to an example implementation of the present subject matter. The portable container 100 may be employed for maintaining a desired temperature of the food item. In an example, the food item may be a liquid item, such as a beverage or water. Examples of the beverage may include, but are not limited to, coffee, tea, milk, lemonade, and hot chocolate. In another example, the food item may be a solid item, such as baby food and rice.
In an implementation, the portable container 100 includes an insulative body 102 to hold a food item, such as beverages or snacks or baby food. In an implementation, the insulative body 102 may be double walled, i.e., made of two walls (not shown). For example, the insulative body 102 may include an inner wall and an outer wall. The inner wall may be made of a stainless steel material. In an example, the outer wall may be made of thermal insulation materials such as a plastic material. The outer wall thereby protects a user from any accidental burns. It may be noted that the inner wall and the outer wall may be made of any other suitable material.
Further, the portable container 100 includes a lid 104. The lid 104 covers the insulative body 102 of the portable container 100 to prevent the food item, such as a liquid item, from spilling. In an implementation, the lid 104 may be removably coupled to a top portion 106 of the insulative body 102. In an example, the lid 104 may be screwed at a neck portion (not shown) of the insulative body 102. In an example, the portable container 100 may include a handle 108 that may facilitate in easy handling of the portable container 100.
In an implementation, the portable container 100 may include a temperature regulator 110, such as a thermostat, disposed between the inner wall and the outer wall of the insulative body 102. For instance, the temperature regulator 110 may be placed along a length of the portable container 100, as shown in FIG. 1. Though the temperature regulator 110 is depicted to be placed along the length of the portable container 100, it may be understood that the temperature regulator 110 may be disposed on any suitable portion of the portable container 100. The temperature regulator 110 may facilitate in maintaining a desired temperature of the food item within the portable container 100. Example of the temperature regulator 110, may include, but is not limited to Nichrome.
Further, the portable container 100 may include a plurality of temperature sensors (hereinafter referred to as temperature sensors) disposed within the inner wall of the insulative body 102. In an example, the temperature sensors may be operably coupled to the temperature regulator 110. The temperature sensors may sense the temperature of the food item within the insulative body 102 based on which the temperature of the food item may be regulated. In an example, the portable container 100 may include additional sensors for detecting different aspects related to the food item within the portable container 200. For example, the sensors may detect a weight of a food item within the portable container 200.
The portable container 100 may further include a charging unit 112 to charge the portable container 100. In an implementation, the charging unit 112 may be charged wirelessly, such as through induction, magnetic resonance, ultrasound, or radio waves. For instance, the charging unit 112 may be a wireless coil. In an example, the charging unit 112 may be positioned at a bottom portion 114 of the portable container 100. The portable container 100 may also include one or more power storage elements 116 coupled to the charging unit 112. In an example, the power storage element 116 may be a battery, such as a Lithium Ion battery.
Further, the portable container 100 may include a display area 118 for displaying information pertaining to the food item within the portable container 100. For instance, in various non-limiting examples, the display area 118 may display a desired temperature that may be set by a user. The display area 118 may also display a current temperature of the food item in the portable container 100. The current temperature may be understood as an average temperature of two temperatures that may be sensed at a top portion 106 and a bottom portion 114 respectively, of the portable container 100. The display area 118 may also display a weight of the food item within the portable container 100.
The portable container 100 may further include a plurality of buttons 120. For example, the portable container 100 may include a power button 120-1 for turning ON or OFF the temperature regulator 110. The portable container 100 may also include a mode button 120-2 for selecting a preset temperature for regulating the temperature of the food item. The preset temperatures may be provided for various temperatures of the food item, such as a normal temperature, warm, hot, and so on. In addition, the portable container 100 may include control buttons 120-3 for controlling or adjusting a temperature of the food item within the portable container 100. In an example, temperature of the food item is controlled based on a hysteresis temperature. The hysteresis temperature prevents the temperature regulator 110 from turning ON and OFF when temperature of the food item inside the portable container 100 is within a pre-defined range from the desired temperature.
In an implementation, the portable container 100 may include one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) 122 mounted on a rim of the insulative body 102. The LEDs 122 change color based on the temperature of the inner wall of the portable container 100 as well as the food item within the container 100. The LEDs 122 indicate a temperature of the food item inside the portable container 100. In an example, the temperature sensors may be connected to the LEDs 122. The temperature sensors may sense the temperature of the food item within the insulative body 102 and accordingly, the LEDs 122 may change their color to indicate the temperature of the food item.
In an implementation, the portable container 100 may include a controller (not shown) communicatively coupled to the temperature regulator 110 to regulate the temperature of the food item based on a user input. In an example, the user may input a desired temperature of the food item through the buttons 120. The controller may obtain a current temperature of the food item from the temperature sensors. The current temperature of the food item is an average of the temperatures sensed at the top portion 106 and the bottom portion 114 of the portable container 100. Based on the current temperature, the controller may regulate the temperature of the food item.
It may be noted that the present subject matter is described in conjunction with a portable container, however, the present subject matter may be employed in various other fields. For example, the methods and systems for regulating temperature may be implemented in stay hot lunch boxes, stay hot dinner sets, babies bottle warmers, medical applications, coffee houses, airlines, beverage suppliers, and the like.
FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the portable container 200, according to an example implementation of the present subject matter. The portable container 200 is similar to the portable container 100 of FIG. 1. The portable container 200 may communicate with an electronic device, such as a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a tablet, a smartphone, a Personal Digital Assistant, and the like. In an example, the portable container 200 may communicate with the electronic device through a communication network (not shown). The network may be a wireless network, wired network, or a combination thereof. The network can be implemented as one of the different types of networks, such as intranet, telecom network, electrical network, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), the Internet, and such.
In an example, the portable container 200 includes an insulative body, such as the insulative body 102. The insulative body 102 may hold the food item therewithin. Further, the portable container 100 may include a plurality of temperature sensors 202 disposed on the insulative body 102. In an example, the portable container 200 may include two temperature sensors. One disposed near the top portion and another at the bottom portion of the insulative body 102. The temperature sensors 202 may facilitate in determination of a current temperature of the food item within the portable container 200. The current temperature may be understood as an average of the temperatures sensed at the top portion and the bottom portion of the insulative body 102.
In an implementation, the portable container 200 may include one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs), such as the LEDs 122 mounted on a rim of the insulative body 102. The LEDs 122 change color based on the temperature of the inner wall of the portable container 200 as well as the food item within the container 100. The LEDs 122 indicate a temperature of the food item inside the portable container 200. In an example, the temperature sensors 202 may be connected to the LEDs 122. The temperature sensors 202 may sense the temperature of the food item within the insulative body 102 and accordingly, the LEDs 122 may change their color to indicate the temperature of the food item.
For example, the LEDs 122 at a rim of the insulative body 102 may transform from being colorless to orange or red depending on the temperature of the inner wall 104-1 and the food item. For instance, when the portable container 200 is powered OFF, the LEDs 122 will be colorless. In another example, the LEDs 122 will have blue color when the food item is cold, and so on. In an example, when the temperature is 21 degrees Celsius, the LEDs 122 at the rim may be colorless, at 40 degrees Celsius, the LEDs 122 may be dark orange, and so on.
Further, the portable container 200 may include the temperature regulator 110 disposed between the inner wall and the outer wall of the insulative body. The temperature regulator 110 may facilitate in regulating the temperature of the food item based on the user input. In an example, the temperature regulator 110 may include heating elements as well as cooling elements. In an example, four heating elements were used in parallel to accommodate lower 3.7V nominal voltage of the portable container 200. The resistance of each heating element came around 3.20 which yielded a total parallel resistance of about 800 mΩ when all four heating elements were conducting. The heating elements employed in the present subject matter are created by center-taping a 10×5 cm strip of a heating pad to yield 2 elements in parallel per strip. In addition, each of the heating elements is provided with a separate driver so the instantaneous power for heating can be set in about 4 W increments.
In an example, the heating elements may include thermistors. Each thermistor may connect to a 2-pin female header. In an example, the thermistor is a US Sensor PT103J2. Further, a heating coil of the heating element may be a modified Abracon AWCCA53N53H50C01 B. In an example, the cooling elements of the temperature regulator 110 may provide thermoelectric cooling to the food item thereby facilitating in maintaining the desired temperature. Examples of the cooling elements may include, but are not limited to, Peltier tiles or sheets. The Peltier tiles operate according to the Peltier effect.
Further, the portable container 200 includes a charging unit, such as the charging unit 112, for powering the portable container 200. The charging unit 112 may be capable of being charged wirelessly. In an example, the charging unit 112 may include a wireless coil and a wireless power receiver. In an implementation, the portable container 200 of the present subject matter is also provided with a capability to adjust the current drawn from the charging unit 112 to accommodate power available from an induction charger or a Qi charger. In an example, the charging unit 112 is capable of receiving upto 15 W of power from the Qi charger.
The portable container 200 may also include a power storage element 116 coupled to the charging unit 112. In an example, the power storage element 116 may be a battery, such as a Lithium Ion battery. The portable container 200 of the present subject matter utilizes a 1S2P configuration for a two cell Li-Ion battery.
In one implementation, the portable container 200 includes a processor(s) 204, memory 206 coupled to the processor(s) 204, and interface(s) 208. The processor(s) 204 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any systems that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the processor(s) 204 may be configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 206. Further, the processor 204 may be configured to manage different processes or activities of the portable container 200. For example, the processor 204 may receive a desired temperature of the food item as provided by the user. In an example, the user may use the mode buttons to provide the desired temperature. In another example, the processor 204 may obtain the desired temperature from the memory 206.
The memory 206 may include any computer-readable medium known in the art including, for example, volatile memory, such as static random access memory (SRAM), and dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and/or non-volatile memory, such as read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM, flash memories, hard disks, optical disks, and magnetic tapes. The memory 206 may be configured to store information, such as the temperature settings done by the user. In an example, the user may store the temperature settings or any other preferred setting on the cloud. In an implementation, the portable container 200 may facilitate the user to access the preferred settings or to store additional settings or to modify existing settings on the cloud through the communication network.
Further, the interface(s) 208 may include a variety of software and hardware interfaces, for example, interfaces for peripheral system(s), such as a product board, a mouse, an external memory, and a printer. Additionally, the interface(s) 208 may enable the portable container 200 to communicate with other devices. In an example, a display, such as the display area 118 may be a part of the interface(s) 208.
The portable container 200 also includes a controller 210 and data 212. In an example, the controller 210 may be implemented as a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller for accurately regulating the temperature of the food item. The controller 210 includes, for example, an authentication engine 214, a monitoring engine 216, a temperature regulation engine 218, and other engine(s) 220. The other engine(s) 220 may include programs or coded instructions that supplement applications or functions performed by the portable container 200. The data 212 may include temperature data 222, user data 224, and other data 226. Further, the other data 226, amongst other things, may serve as a repository for storing data, which is processed, received, or generated as a result of the execution of one or more modules in the controller 210.
Although the data 212 is shown internal to the portable container 200, the data 212 can also be implemented external to the portable container 200, where the data 212 may be stored within a database communicatively coupled to the portable container 200.
In an implementation, the authentication engine 214 may be configured to authenticate a user before providing access to the portable container 200. In an example, to authenticate a user, the authentication engine 214 may employ a biometric based authentication technique. In another example, the authentication engine 214 may employ any other authentication mechanism to authenticate a user. Accordingly, the authentication engine 214 may authenticate the user based on the biometrics, such as voice, fingerprints, etc. received from the user. In the present implementation, the portable container 200 may include a biometric scanner (not shown). The biometric scanner may receive credentials from the user, such as a fingerprint, a voice sample, etc. Upon receiving the credentials from the user, the authentication engine 214 may compare the credentials of the user with the credentials stored in a profile of the user. The profile may be retrieved from the memory 206 of the portable container 200 or from a cloud based storage.
The profile may include information pertaining to preferences of the user with respect to the food items. The profile of the user may be accessed every time the user is authenticated by the controller 210. Further, the profile of the user may include a journal or record of events pertaining to the desired temperature set for different food items by the user. In an example, the authentication engine 214 may retrieve the user preferences based on the type of food item held by the portable container 200.
Once the user is authenticated, the monitoring engine 216 may perform a check on initial parameters associated with the portable container 200. In an implementation, the initial parameters may include a charging status and a power level of the charging unit 112. In an example, monitoring engine 216 may ascertain whether the portable container 200 is being powered through the charging unit 112 or not. If the portable container 200 is being charged via the charging unit 112, the monitoring engine 216 may enable switching ON the portable container 200. If the portable container 200 is not being charged through the charging unit 112, it indicates that the power storage element 116 is powering the portable container 200.
At this stage, the monitoring engine 216 may determine a power level of the power storage element 116. Specifically, the monitoring engine 216 may check whether the power level of the power storage element 116 is above a pre-defined threshold value or not. In an example, the pre-defined threshold level of the power storage element 116 is 6.3 Volts. If the power level of the power storage element 116 is above the pre-defined threshold value, the monitoring engine 216 may switch ON the portable container 200. If the power level of the power storage element 116 is below the pre-defined threshold value, the monitoring engine 216 may not switch ON the portable container 200. Further, the monitoring engine 216 may display a notification on the display area 118 indicating that the food item cannot be heated.
In an example, the monitoring engine 216 may also monitor a temperature of the power storage element 116 and turn OFF power supply to the portable container 200 when a temperature of the power storage element 116 rises above a pre-defined threshold range. For example, while charging the power storage element 116, if the temperature of the power storage element 116 goes above a safe threshold range, the monitoring engine 216 may cut off supply to the power storage element 116. In an example, the monitoring engine 216 may be implemented as a Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) thermistor. The NTC thermistor suspends charging of the power storage element 116 when it detects that the temperature of the power storage element 116 has risen above about 45 degrees Celsius. In case the temperature of the power storage element 116 goes beyond 60 degrees Celsius, the NTC thermistor may disable the portable container 200.
In an implementation, once the portable container 200 is switched ON and the user has been authenticated, the temperature regulation engine 218 receives an input from the user. In an example, the input may be indicative of a desired temperature of the food item that the user may wish to set. In an example, the user may provide the input to the portable container 200 through the buttons, such as the buttons 120 or through a voice command. The controller 210 may, based on the inputs provided by the user and through machine learning, build a profile for the user. In an example, the profile as created may be accessed during the authentication process.
The temperature regulation engine 218 may then obtain a current temperature of the food item within the portable container 200. In an example, the current temperature may be obtained from the temperature sensors 202. As mentioned above, the current temperature of the food item is an average of the temperatures sensed at the top portion and the bottom portion of the portable container 200. The temperature regulation engine 218 may compare the desired temperature with the current temperature of the food item. Based on the comparison, the temperature regulation engine 218 may regulate power supply to the portable container 200.
In an example, if the current temperature is more than the desired temperature, the temperature regulation engine 218 may turn OFF the power supply to the temperature regulator 110. Turning OFF of the power supply may also be indicated by blinking of a blue LED for every second. In another example, if the current temperature is less than the desired temperature, the temperature regulation engine 218 may turn ON the power supply to the temperature regulator 110. Turning ON the power supply is indicated by a continuously ON blue LED.
In an implementation, the controller 210 may take into account a hysteresis temperature to avoid rapid turning ON and OFF of the temperature regulator 110 when the food item inside the portable container 200 is within a predefined range from the desired temperature. Upon turning ON, the power button 120-1 becomes green in color and the temperature regulator 110 is turned ON. For example, the temperature regulator 110 may heat the inner wall of the portable container 200 which may cause the food item to heat. Further, the temperature regulation engine 218 may continuously monitor the current temperature of the food item within the portable container 100. Accordingly, the portable container 200 of the present subject matter facilitates in maintaining a temperature of the food item within the container 200 as desired by the user.
In another implementation, the temperature regulation engine 218 may employ machine learning techniques to identify a type of food item within the portable container 200. For example, the temperature regulation engine 218 may determine the type of the food item based on a density or other properties associated with the food item. In an example, the portable container 200 may include sensing devices to measure intensity of light passing through the food item as well as the intensity of the light being reflected from the food item. When light from one or more light sources is received by the food item, the sensing devices may measure the intensity of the light and share the same with the temperature regulation engine 218. The sensing devices may also detect a wavelength at which the light is being emitted.
Based on the information, such as density received from the sensing devices, the temperature regulation engine 218 may employ artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to determine the type of food item within the portable container 200. In an example, the temperature regulation engine 218 may compare the intensity measurements with stored values in a database for a variety of known substances. Although the identification of the type of the food item is performed based on measurement of intensity of light, other techniques may also be employed for determining the type of the food item. Further, the portable container 200 may store the properties of the food item in the memory 206 or in the cloud storage. These properties may later be referred for analysis, such as to compute the calories consumed by the user.
Based on the identification of the type of the food item, a quantity of the food item within the portable container 200 may be determined by the temperature regulation engine 218. Once the quantity of the food item is determined, the temperature regulation engine 218 may automatically set the desired temperature of the food item. In an example, the temperature regulation engine 218 may set the desired temperature of the food item based on an historical behavior of the user. As mentioned earlier, the historical behavior, i.e., desired temperatures and corresponding food items may be stored within the profile of the user.
In an example, to determine the quantity of the food item, the temperature regulation engine 218 detects an initial weight of the food item within the portable container 200. The initial weight may be stored in a journal maintained by the portable container 200 for a specific user. Thereafter, the temperature regulation engine 218 may identify, at pre-defined intervals, a current weight of the food item within the portable container 200. A comparison of the initial weight and the current weight of the food item provides a quantity of the food item within the portable container 200.
Further, the temperature regulation engine 218 may determine a plurality of constituents of the food item within the portable container 200 to determine a quality of the food item. In an example, the temperature regulation engine 218 may employ an Independent Component Analysis (ICA) technique to determine the constituents of the food item.
In an implementation, the portable container 200 may include a wireless transceiver 230. For example, the wireless transceiver 230 may be a Wi-Fi unit, a Bluetooth®, or a Near Field Communication (NFC) unit. The wireless transceiver 230 may enable the portable container 200 to communicate with an electronic device, such as a mobile phone. In an example, the electronic devices communicate with the portable container 200 through an application. The application may be accessible by different operating systems, such as Android, iOS.
Once a user has downloaded the application onto the electronic device, the user may set up a connection with the portable container 200. To set up the connection, the electronic device and the portable container 100 may share Short Term Keys (STKs), to encrypt a link between the two devices. Once the user has paired with the portable container 200, the portable container 200 only receives instructions from the paired user device.
In an example, instructions received from the paired user device may include receiving status of the food items, such as temperature of the food item and charging status of the charging unit 112, from the portable container 200. In an example, the application may also enable the user to check or define the desired temperature, the hysteresis temperature, heating status, battery voltage, and the like. In an example, the application may allow the user to check the temperature of each temperature sensor 202 separately. For instance, Temperature 1 indicates the temperature of 1^sttemperature sensor and Temperature 2 indicates the temperature of 2^ndtemperature sensor. Further, the application may allow the user to check the heating or cooling status of the portable container 200. For example, 0 indicates that the food item is not heating, 1 indicates that the food item is heating, and 2 indicates that the charging unit 112 is charging.
Based on the settings made by the user, the application may communicate with the portable container 200 via the wireless transceiver 230. The user settings may be stored in the portable container 200 as the user data 224. In an example, when the user communicates the temperature settings with the portable container 200, the controller 210 of the portable container 200 may communicate with the electronic device to indicate whether or not such settings may be implemented or not. For instance, if the portable container 200 is on charging mode or the power level of the charging unit 112 is below the pre-defined threshold value, the controller 210 may send a notification to the electronic device indicating the food item cannot be heated to the set temperature.
In an example, the application may also store information pertaining to the calories contained in the food item that is being put in the portable container 200. For example, the application may retrieve information from a database that may include information pertaining to nutritional value of different food items. Based on the type, the quantity, and the constituents of the food item, the application may communicate with the database to retrieve information pertaining to the nutritional value of the food item within the portable container 200.
In an implementation, the portable container 200 may include sensors 232 for monitoring physiological parameters of a user while the user is holding the portable container 200. For example, the sensors 232 may monitor a heartbeat, a pulse rate, a blood pressure, and so on of the user who is holding the portable container 200.
Although implementations for methods and systems for regulating temperature of a food item in a portable container have been described in a language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as exemplary implementation for regulating temperature of a food item in a portable container.

Claims

I/We claim:

1. A portable container (100, 200) comprising:

an insulative body (102) to hold a food item, wherein the insulative body (102) comprises an inner wall and an outer wall;

a temperature regulator (110) disposed between the inner wall and the outer wall of the insulative body (102);

a plurality of temperature sensors (202) disposed within the inner wall of the insulative body (102), the plurality of temperature sensors (202) being operably coupled to the temperature regulator (110); and

a controller (210) communicatively coupled to the temperature regulator (110) to regulate the temperature of the food item based on a user input.

2. The portable container (100, 200) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a spill-proof lid (104) removably coupled to a top portion (106) of the insulative body (102).

3. The portable container (100, 200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller (210) comprises an authentication engine (214) to allow an authenticated user to operate the portable container (100).

4. The portable container (100, 200) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the authentication engine (214) comprises a biometric authentication mechanism.

5. The portable container (100, 200) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a charging unit (112) to charge the portable container (100, 200).

6. The portable container (100, 200) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the charging unit (112) comprises a wireless coil.

7. The portable container (100, 200) as claimed in claim 5, comprising a power storage element (116) coupled to the charging unit (112).

8. The portable container as (100, 200) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the controller (210) comprises a monitoring engine (216) to monitor a temperature of the power storage element (116) and turn OFF power supply to the portable container (100, 200) when a temperature of the power storage element (116) rises above a pre-defined threshold range.

9. The portable container (100, 200) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the monitoring engine (216) is to,

ascertain that the portable container (100, 200) is being powered through the power storage element (116);

upon ascertaining, determine a power level of the power storage element (116); and

based on the determining that the power level of the power storage element (116) is above a pre-defined threshold, switch ON the portable container (100).

10. The portable container (100, 200) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a temperature regulation engine (218) to:

identify a type of food item within the portable container (100, 200);

based on the identification, determine a quantity of the food item within the portable container (100, 200); and

based on the determining, automatically set the desired temperature of the food item.

11. The portable container (100, 200) as claimed in claim 10, wherein to determine the quantity of the food item, the temperature regulation engine (218) is to,

detect an initial weight of the food item within the portable container (100, 200);

store the initial weight in a journal maintained by the portable container (100, 200) for a specific user;

identify, at pre-defined intervals, a current weight of the food item within the portable container (100, 200); and

compare the initial weight and the current weight of the food item to determine a quantity of the food item within the portable container (100, 200).

12. The portable container (100, 200) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the temperature regulation engine (218) is to determine a plurality of constituents of the food item within the portable container (100, 200) to determine a quality of the food item.

13. The portable container (100, 200) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a wireless transceiver (230) to communicate with an electronic device.

14. The portable container (100, 200) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a plurality of sensors (232) to monitor physiological parameters of a user while the user is holding the portable container (100, 200).