US 10423918B2

US patent 10423918B2, titled "Actively managed food delivery," was issued on September 24, 2019, from an application filed on March 21, 2019. The current assignee is Zest Labs Inc. The inventors are Peter A. Mehring, Thomas C. Reese, Dean M. Kawaguchi, Sameer Dekate, and Russell Shikami.

The abstract describes a computer-implemented method involving:

1. Receiving status information about product containers, including their internal conditions.
2. Determining preferred ranges for these conditions based on the food products stored inside, where these ranges can change over time according to a product-specific profile.
3. Determining if the received conditions are within the preferred ranges.
4. Sending a first command if conditions are outside the preferred range.

Here's a plain-language overview of the independent claims:

Independent Claim 1 (Method Claim):
This claim details a computer-implemented method for actively managing food delivery. It involves a computer performing the following steps:

• Receiving status information from one or more product containers (e.g., smart delivery bags), which includes conditions such as temperature, humidity, whether the container is open or closed, power status, shock/vibration, atmospheric composition, or light detection.
• Determining ideal (preferred) ranges for these conditions based on the specific food products in the containers. These preferred ranges are dynamic, changing over time by a predefined amount per unit time, as specified in a product profile.
• Checking if the received conditions from the containers are within these determined preferred ranges.
• If any condition is found to be outside its preferred range, the computer sends a first command to the product containers to automatically adjust the settings of an integrated environmental control unit (e.g., heater, cooler, vent) to bring the environmental parameter back to an ideal state defined by the profile.
• Analyzing the food product's history, which includes past status information.
• Using this history to create a prioritized delivery schedule for the containers. This prioritization ensures that food prepared earlier (having the "longest time since preparation") is delivered before food prepared later, assuming both are still within quality parameters.
• Sending this prioritized delivery scheme to the individual (e.g., driver) responsible for transporting the containers.
• Evaluating the food product history and/or current conditions to assess the food's safety and desirability.
• Based on this evaluation, determining if any food products are unsafe (e.g., rotten, expired) or undesirable.
• If food is deemed unsafe or undesirable, sending a second command to prevent the delivery of those specific food products.

Independent Claim 8 (Computer Program Product Claim):
This claim covers a computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. This product contains executable computer code that, when run, performs all the steps of the method described in Independent Claim 1.

Independent Claim 13 (System Claim):
This claim describes a system comprising a processor and associated logic. This logic is configured to cause the processor to execute all the steps of the method outlined in Independent Claim 1.

A search of the CAFC 2026 dockets for patent number 10423918B2 did not return any specific results for patent 10423918B2.

The legal status of the patent is listed as Active.

Regarding prior art, the patent lists keywords such as "product," "food," "product containers," "containers," and "computer," with a prior art date of March 30, 2015.

The patent has also been cited by 10 other publications, including US11037093B2 and US11070895B2.
The patent is part of a patent family with 6 applications.