Patent Application
20230312182
This invention relates to food delivery. More particularly, it relates to a smart bag to prevent unauthorized access to food being delivered to a customer.
A paper bag is a bag made of paper, usually kraft paper. Paper bags can be made either with virgin or recycled fibers to meet customers' demands. Paper bags are commonly used as shopping carrier bags and for packaging of some consumer goods. They carry a wide range of products from groceries, glass bottles, clothing, books, toiletries, electronics, and various other goods and can also function as means of transport in day-to-day activities.
Plastic bags were introduced in the 1970s, and thanks to their lower cost, eventually replaced paper bags as the bag of choice for grocery stores. With the trend towards phasing out lightweight plastic bags, though, some grocers and shoppers have switched back to paper bags.
Standard brown paper bags are made from kraft paper. Tote-style paper carrier bags, such as those often used by department stores or as gift bags, can be made from any kind of paper, and come in any color. There are two different styles of handles for paper carrier bags: flat handles and cord handles. Paper carrier bags made from virgin kraft paper are developed especially for demanding packaging. Paper bags can be made from recycled paper, with some local laws requiring bags to have a minimum percentage of post-consumer recycled content.
Paper shopping bags, brown paper bags, grocery bags, paper bread bags and other light duty bags have a single layer of paper. A variety of constructions and designs are available. Many are printed with the names of stores and brands. Paper bags are not waterproof. Types of paper bag are: laminated, twisted, flat tap. The laminated bag, whilst not totally waterproof, has a laminate that protects the outside to some degree.
With all the possible packaging available there is no smart type of bag available to keep food or the contents of the bag secure and to prevent tampering upon delivery. Contactless delivery is of upmost importance in today's society.
Accordingly, and in light of the foregoing, it would be desirable to have a smart package for example, a bag, that would secure the contents of the bag containing food and/or drink(s) and prevent tampering of this contents. It would also be advantageous to have cup holders associated with the packaging to aid in delivery and to keep spills from occurring.
The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following more detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which:
Referring to
The bag 200 may further comprise a first cup carrier 212 and a second cup carrier 214. In a preferred embodiment, the first cup carrier 212 and the second cup carrier 214 may each retain two (2) beverage cups in an upright orientation with the first cup carrier 212 coupled to the left side panel 206 and the second cup carrier 214 coupled to the right side panel 208. The first cup carrier 212 and the second cup carrier 214 may each fold when the bag 200 is collapsed such that the first cup carrier 212 and the second cup carrier 214 may reside within the folded bag.
The bag 200 may comprise a tracking chip 260. The tracking chip 260 may hold a unique identifier that uniquely identifies the bag 200. The tracking chip 260 may be read wirelessly using scanning hardware. As non-limiting examples, the tracking chip 260 may utilize RFID technology, NFC technology, Bluetooth® (including BLE) technology, or any combination thereof. The unique identifier may be operable to associate the bag 200 with a delivery order and with a metadata regarding the delivery order. As non-limiting examples, the metadata may comprise the contents of the delivery order, an order tracking number, the time that the delivery order was received, the name of a customer, a customer's address, the unique identifier of the bag 200, special delivery instructions, or any combination thereof.
The bag 200 may further comprise a pair of handles 250. The pair of handles 250 may be coupled to the front panel 202 and the rear panel 204 such that the pair of handles 250 to not interfere with the ability to collapse the bag 200.
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The lower ends of the pair of handles 250 may be coupled to the bag 200 and the center loop of the pair of handles 250 may extend above the bag 200 such that the pair of handles 250 may be grasped to carry the bag 200.
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The cup carrier top 220 may comprise a first top portion 222 and a second top portion 224. The first top portion 222 and the second top portion 224 may fold at a hinge line 226 when the individual cup carrier is stowed against the side of the bag 200.
In a preferred embodiment, the individual cup carrier may comprise a first cup aperture 230 and a second cup aperture 232 such that the individual cup carrier may retain one (1) or two (2) beverage cups. The first cup carrier 212 and the second cup carrier 214 may be used simultaneously or individually. The first cup carrier 212 or the second cup carrier 214 may be folded against the side panel to free up space in the bag 200 for food items when only one (1) cup carrier is needed for beverages and more space is needed for food containers.
The cup carrier brace, located beneath the cup carrier top 220 and therefore not visible in
The tracking chip 260 may be imbedded into any portion of the bag 200 where the tracking chip 260 will not interfere with collapsing the bag 200. As a non-limiting example of an alternative location for the tracking chip 260, the tracking chip 260 may be imbedded in or coupled to the bottom of the individual cup carrier.
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To expand the bag 200 for use, the sequence may be reversed by pulling the left side panel 206 and the right side panel 208 apart and unfolding the first cup carrier 212 and the second cup carrier 214.
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The order-taking point of sale terminal 920 may communicate the delivery order and the metadata regarding the delivery order to an order-track server 930 via one (1) or more data networks 960. The order-track server 930 may be executing an order-tracking software application. As non-limiting examples, the metadata may comprise the contents of the delivery order, an order tracking number, the time that the delivery order was received, the name of the customer, the customer's address, the unique identifier of the empty bag 906, special delivery instructions, or any combination thereof.
The empty bag 906 may be passed to an order-filler. The order-filler may have access to an order-filling point of sale terminal 940 that is executing an order-filling software application. The order-filler may wirelessly scan 970 the empty bag 906 using an order-filling chip scanner 942 coupled to the order-filling point of sale terminal 940 to acquire the unique identifier of the empty bag 906. The order-filling point of sale terminal 940 may recall the delivery order and the metadata from the order-track server 930 over the one or more data networks 960 based upon the unique identifier. Using a displayed copy of the delivery order, the order-filler may place the food and beverages into the empty bag 906 to fulfill the delivery order, thus converting the empty bag 906 into a filled bag 908. The order-filler may update the status of the delivery order as stored at the order-track server 930 using the order-filling point of sale terminal 940. The updated status may indicate that the delivery order is filled and ready for delivery. If the filled bag 908 is equipped with a lid and a lid lock, the order-filler may close the lid and may activate the lid lock. The order-filler may pass the filled bag 908 to an area within the restaurant where a delivery driver may find the filled bag 908.
In some embodiments, the order-taking point of sale terminal 920, the order-filling point of sale terminal 940, the order-track server 930, or any combination thereof may be a single device with shared functions. The order-taking chip scanner 922 and the order-filling chip scanner 942 may also be a single device serving dual purposes.
In some embodiments, the order-track server 930 may track the delivery orders for a single restaurant, a local group of restaurants, a regional group of restaurants, a national group of restaurants, or any combination thereof.
The filled bag 908 may transferred to a driver's vehicle 956. The delivery driver may wirelessly scan 970 the filled bag 908 using a driver chip scanner 952 that is integrated into a driver smart device 950 to learn the unique identifier of the filled bag 908. The driver smart device 950 may communicate with the order-track server 930 via cell phone networks 962 to acquire the specifics of the delivery order and the metadata for the filled bag 908 based upon the unique identifier. The metadata may comprise the customer's address.
The driver smart device 950 may acquire data from a map database via the cell phone networks 962 and may compute a route from the driver's present location to the customer's address. The driver smart device 950 may then provide the delivery driver with turn by turn directions to reach the customer's address. The directions may be presented by the driver smart device 950 audibly and/or visually. The driver smart device 950 may determine when the delivery driver misses a turn or makes an incorrect turn and may alert the delivery driver using alert sounds and/or alert visual presentations. Upon reaching the customer's address, the driver smart device 950 may communicate wirelessly with the lid lock to unlock the lid of the filled bag 908 such that the contents of the filled bag 908 may be delivered to the customer.
The exact specifications, materials used, and method of use of the invention 100 may vary upon manufacturing. The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
