US 12008509

Here's a concise summary of US Patent 12008509B2:

Title: Actively managed food delivery
Assignee: Zest Labs Inc
Inventors: Peter A. Mehring, Thomas C. Reese, Dean M. Kawaguchi, Sameer Dekate, Russell Shikami
Filing Date: June 8, 2021 (Application number US17/342,315)
Issue Date: June 11, 2024
Abstract: A computer-implemented method involves obtaining ideal delivery conditions for food products, accumulating sensor data from a sensor in a product container, and analyzing this data to identify current conditions. It then generates a food product history, compares it to ideal conditions to analyze the performance of delivery entities, and generates a report of these results.

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Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

Claim 1:
This claim describes a computer-controlled system for managing food delivery. It starts by defining ideal conditions for food products during delivery, noting that these ideal conditions can change over time according to a specific profile for the food. Sensors in the food container collect data during delivery. A computer analyzes this data to understand the container's conditions. If the conditions fall outside the desired range, the computer first sends a command to a person (an "entity currently having the product") to take a corrective action. If that person doesn't respond or act, the computer then sends a second command to an automated environmental control unit within the container to maintain the ideal conditions. The system also builds a history of the food's conditions and compares it to the ideal conditions to evaluate how well the delivery personnel performed. Finally, it generates and outputs a report detailing this performance analysis.

Claim 12:
This claim focuses on a computer-implemented method that receives ongoing status updates about a product container as it's being delivered. This status information specifically includes temperature and light levels within the container, which are derived from sensors. The system determines preferred ranges for these conditions based on a profile specific to the product. This profile also includes instructions for pre-heating or pre-cooling the container before the product is loaded or before delivery begins. The computer checks if the received conditions are within these preferred ranges. If conditions deviate from the preferred range for a first predetermined amount of time, the computer sends a command for a corrective action. If the person handling the product doesn't perform this action, a second command is sent to an environmental control unit on the container to automatically adjust the conditions. Critically, if the conditions remain outside the preferred range for a second, longer predetermined amount of time, the computer alerts the recipient of the product that they should not accept the delivery.

Claim 17:
Similar to Claim 1, this claim outlines a computer-implemented method for actively managing food product delivery. It involves obtaining ideal delivery conditions for a food product. During the delivery, sensor data is continuously collected from a sensor in the food container, analyzed, and used to identify the current conditions. A food product history is generated during delivery based on this condition data. This history is then compared to the ideal delivery conditions during delivery. Based on this comparison, a corrective action is determined during delivery. If the received condition data shows the container's conditions are outside the preferred ranges, the computer sends a command during delivery to perform this corrective action. If the person with the product does not act, a second command is sent to an environmental control unit to automatically adjust the conditions. The system also analyzes the performance of all entities involved in the delivery using the food product history, condition data, and ideal conditions. Finally, it generates and outputs a report based on this performance analysis.

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CAFC 2026 Dockets:
As of the current date, July 2, 2026, a search for "US12008509B2" in CAFC 2026 dockets did not yield any specific results indicating litigation or other docket entries directly associated with this patent number. It is possible no such cases have been filed or made publicly available through the general search methods employed.