This present invention relates to a computer based system used for taking physical inventory of the contents of alcoholic beverage containers. Where alcoholic beverages are not served from single size serving containers, they are dispensed from partially full containers. Failure to keep accurate inventory can result in an inconsistent stock of liquor, resulting in lost sales or lost patronage. Additionally, employee responsibility for correctly dispensing amounts of liquor or theft can also result in not properly tracking inventory.
Current methods for tracking inventory of partially full containers is difficult, inaccurate, and time consuming. One common method is having a person look at a bottle and then to estimate the quantity in ten percentage point increments. This method is rarely more accurate than ten percentage points, and is often conducted by the same person to try to maintain consistency. Poor inventory practices hurt businesses, yet the time, labor, and scheduling required to accurately take inventory are troublesome.
One attempt to control liquor inventory involves mechanical methods for pouring specific quantities of liquor from a gun, spout, or other mechanical means. While this method controls the amount of liquor dispensed, it is time consuming and doesn't count inventory. U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,739 (Gerpheide, et al.) shows an inventory and business management system which accounts for the contents of full and partially filled product containers. The apparatus disclosed therein includes a keyboard, interface, carrying case, and wand barcode reader. The data is primarily intended to be stored in the apparatus' memory and utilized as a printed report. Additionally, a product record has to be pre-loaded into the computer memory. The description of this product suggests it is a manually loaded, self-contained inventory system, used for publishing paper inventory reports. It requires connection to an electrical outlet. Other manual operation of the product includes entering the date, using commands to initiate operation, and adding inventory items. In particular, the patent states, “For liquors, a substantial amount of information is entered with respect to each product, as shown at 96” with regard to an “update product record” flow diagram in
Another prior art method for automated liquor inventory is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,986,219 (Carroll, et al.). Utilizing a weight scale and computer, bottles are separated by category and weighed. This seems like a prima facie improvement over the Gerpheide method. Unfortunately, estimates of this style by categorization/weight fail to improve inventory tracking, and are mostly helpful from a financial perspective only.
A further prior art method for the inventory of partially full bottles is U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,037 (Grimm, et al.). The method includes the use of barcodes to identify the bottles as well. They do not weigh the bottle however; their method relies on users to estimate the amount of the bottle on a computer generated silhouette. Their abstract cites, “controlling theft and over pouring” as a reason for their invention, yet their inventory system relies on people to manually input data. While the silhouette method probably increases accuracy compared to simply looking at the bottle, the data is still subject to user input error or malicious data entry.
However, there remains a need for a system and method that accurately measures the volume of full or partially-filled containers using a standard barcode and weight detection. The present invention solves this problem.
All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
An apparatus for measuring the volume of a full or a partially-filled container as well as identifying the contents of the container by scanning a universal product code (UPC) label on the container to form container data and communicating the container data to a remote database is disclosed. The apparatus comprises: a load cell for detecting the weight of the container; a barcode scanner for scanning the UPC label on the container; and a processor coupled to the load cell and the barcode scanner for activating the load cell and the barcode scanner to generate the container data, and wherein the processor receives the container data and is configured for wirelessly transmitting the container data to the remote database over global computer networks.
A method for measuring the volume of a full or a partially-filled container as well as identifying the contents of the container by scanning a universal product code (UPC) label on the container to form container data and communicating the container data to a remote database while eliminating manual input of the container data is disclosed. The method comprises: providing a load cell upon which the container is positioned for detecting the weight of the container; providing a barcode scanner for scanning the UPC label on the container when the UPC label is positioned opposite a scanning window of said barcode scanner; connecting a processor to the load cell and to the barcode scanner for activating the load cell and the barcode scanner to generate the container data; receiving the container data, by the processor, from the load cell and the barcode scanner; wirelessly transmitting, by the processor, the container data to the remote database over global computer networks.
Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
Referring now to the figures, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts throughout the several views, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail. Throughout this description, various components may be identified having specific values, these values are provided as exemplary embodiments and should not be limiting of various concepts of the present invention as many comparable sizes and/or values may be implemented.
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The apparatus 20 aids in obtaining inventory and producing financial reports, but it improves upon the previous devices in several ways. First, there are no barcodes to affix. By using the UPC-A format (12 digit number) barcode already in use by retailers and printed on the label 12 by manufacturers, use of the apparatus 20 doesn't require additional administrative effort. In this manner, each bottle 10 is accounted for, rather than the average as found in the device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,986,219 (Carroll, et al.). Technologically, the battery 30, omni-directional barcode reader 26, and wireless processor 22 all contribute to the ease of use. Furthermore, there is no input or output for the user to adulterate or manipulate, thus preventing inaccurate readings. Finally, the electronic format of the data allows data analysis of inventory trends and correlation.
While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific examples thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.
This International application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of Application Ser. No. 63/001,622 filed on Mar. 30, 2020 entitled INVENTORY SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MEASURING THE CONTENTS OF FULL AND PARTIALLY-FILLED ALCOHOL BEVERAGE CONTAINERS and whose entire disclosure is incorporated by reference herein.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2021/024175 | 3/25/2021 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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63001622 | Mar 2020 | US |