Beverage Temperature Monitoring and Communication Device and Method

Abstract

A device for monitoring temperature of a beverage and for communicating data, the device comprising: a housing portion configured to be oriented adjacent to a drink in a drink sleeve; a thermal sensor coupled to said housing portion and oriented to take temperature readings of the drink in the sleeve; and a wireless transceiver coupled to said thermal sensor and configured to transmit data representative of a temperature condition.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of monitoring and communicating the temperature of a drink, the method comprising the steps of:
 establishing a wireless connection between a sensor unit and a central communication hub;   establishing a Wi-Fi connection between the sensor unit and the central communication hub using the wireless connection;   transmitting a temperature reading of a drink from the sensor unit;   comparing the temperature reading to a stored temperature value;   displaying a notification on a user interface device when said temperature reading satisfies a threshold; and   wherein said sensor unit includes:
 a housing including a housing portion configured to be directed into a drink sleeve and oriented adjacent to a drink in the drink sleeve; 
 a thermal sensor positioned in said housing portion and oriented to take temperature readings of the drink in the drink sleeve. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of receiving the temperature reading from the sensor unit at the user interface device and wherein the comparing step is performed at the user interface device. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the wireless connection is a radio frequency link. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the radio frequency link is a Bluetooth® connection. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising the step of relaying the temperature reading from the sensor unit to the user interface through the central communication hub. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the temperature reading from the sensor unit is transmitted to the communication hub via a WiFi connection. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the temperature reading is transmitted from the communication hub to the user interface through a WiFi connection. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface is integrated with the central communication hub. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor unit comprises a second thermal sensor provided at a different position of said housing portion to take temperature readings of said drink in said sleeve. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising the step of receiving the temperature reading from the sensor unit at the user interface device and wherein the comparing step is performed at the user interface device. 
     
     
         11 . A drink temperature monitoring and communication system, comprising:
 a sensor unit, the sensor unit including:
 a housing including a housing portion configured to be directed into a drink sleeve and oriented adjacent to a drink in the drink sleeve; 
 a thermal sensor positioned in said housing portion and oriented to take temperature readings of the drink in the drink sleeve; and 
 a central communication hub; 
   wherein the sensor unit establishes a WiFi connection to the central communication hub using a wireless connection;   wherein the sensor unit transmits temperature readings of a drink to the central communication hub using the WiFi connection;   wherein the temperature reading is compared with a stored temperature value; and   wherein a notification is displayed on a user interface device when said temperature reading satisfies a threshold.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the temperature reading is compared to the stored temperature at the user interface device. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the wireless connection is a radio frequency link. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the radio frequency link is a Bluetooth® connection. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the temperature reading is transmitted from the sensor unit to the user interface through the central communication hub. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the temperature reading from the sensor unit is transmitted to the communication hub via a WiFi connection. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the temperature reading is transmitted from the communication hub to the user interface through a WiFi connection. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the user interface is integrated with the central communication hub. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the sensor unit comprises a second thermal sensor provided at a different position of said housing portion. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  19 , wherein the temperature reading is compared to the stored temperature at the user interface device.