Personalized dispenser

Abstract

A dispenser for dispensing personalized amounts of dietary supplement comprises: a plurality of replaceable cartridges, each cartridge containing a dietary supplement solution and at least two cartridges containing different dietary supplement solutions; a discharge port of the dispenser; a control system for controllably discharging a predetermined dose of a dietary supplement solution from the at least one cartridge to the discharge opening as needed; and means for preventing the dietary supplement particles from settling within each of the cartridges.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of dispensers, and more particularly to a dispenser for dispensing liquid with customized composition. Background Art

[0002] Water dispensers are known to provide water that tastes better than regular tap water by purifying and filtering existing water to remove contaminants, and are also able to instantly dispense hot or cold water at a personalized temperature.

[0003] Drinking water typically contains many minerals and other inorganic chemicals that can provide a large portion of the body's nutritional requirements. For example, drinking water can provide up to 20% of the total daily intake of calcium and magnesium required. Most people's food intake can make up for the nutrients that drinking water cannot provide. However, if some people's normal diet does not include certain foods, or their bodies have trouble absorbing or processing some of these nutrients, nutritional deficiencies can occur. Nutritional deficiencies can refer to deficiencies in one or more vitamins, minerals, fiber, amino acids, herbs, and enzymes.

[0004] Therefore, many people take dietary supplements without prescription to supplement nutritional deficiencies. Since nutritional deficiencies are individual, many members of a family often require different dietary supplements, which often leads to confusion due to the large variety of vitamins in capsule form used at home, each of which is packed in a relatively large vitamin container, and the limited space in the medicine cabinet.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a dispenser for dispensing a quantity of a liquid comprising a customized composition of one or more desired dietary supplements.

[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide a compact dispenser that is capable of producing customized and repeatable doses of dietary supplements for one or more users as needed.

[0007] As the specification proceeds, other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent. Utility Model Content

[0008] A dispenser for dispensing personalized amounts of dietary supplements includes: a plurality of replaceable cartridges, each cartridge containing a dietary supplement solution and at least two cartridges containing different dietary supplement solutions; a discharge port of the dispenser; a control system for controllably discharging a predetermined dose of the dietary supplement solution from at least one cartridge to the discharge port as needed; and a device for preventing dietary supplement particles from settling within each cartridge.

[0009] The dispenser preferably also includes a respective syringe member associated with each box for discharging a predetermined dose of the dietary supplement solution into the discharge port, and the syringe member is in data communication with the control system.Each box is equipped with a substantially vertically oriented cylindrical cartridge prefilled with a specific dietary supplement solution.

[0010] In one aspect, each cartridge for causing a predetermined dose of the dietary supplement solution to be discharged into the discharge port is driven by a pneumatic device, and the pneumatic device is controlled by an electric faucet.

[0011] In one aspect, a corresponding syringe component includes a piston sealingly engaged with a barrel, a plunger connected to the piston, and an electromechanical actuator located on the barrel for causing displacement of the plunger.

[0012] On the one hand, the electromechanical actuator is a stepper motor in data communication with a control system, and the plunger is a plunger rod extending downward from a drive shaft of the stepper motor, the plunger being connected to the piston via a drive shaft, and the corresponding syringe component further comprising a cylinder surrounding the plunger rod and threadedly engaged with the plunger rod, thereby facilitating limited and determinable rotational displacement of the plunger rod and correspondingly expelling a predetermined dose of the dietary supplement solution in response to the rotation of the plunger rod.

[0013] In one aspect, the means for preventing dietary supplement particles from settling within each cartridge comprises an agitation device.

[0014] In one aspect, the stirring device includes a rotatable dietary supplement addition unit provided with a plurality of cartridges such that centrifugal forces acting on all cartridges during rotation of the dietary supplement addition unit cause the dietary supplement solution to be sufficiently stirred to prevent sedimentation of dietary supplement particles.

[0015] In one aspect, a dietary supplement addition unit includes a circular base rotatable about a central vertical axis; a motor drivingly engaged with the base; a plurality of cartridges secured to the base and circumferentially spaced from one another; and a respective syringe member associated with each cartridge.

[0016] In one aspect, the bottom end of the cartridge has a lower conical surface that tapers to a hollow tip, with a conduit extending radially inward from the hollow tip to a discharge port so that a predetermined dose of dietary supplement solution is urged to flow through the cartridge, conduit, and discharge port.

[0017] In one aspect, the device for preventing dietary supplement particles from settling within each cartridge further comprises a metal ball loosely located on top of the hollow tip and a permanent magnet fixedly contained within the housing of the dispenser, the permanent magnet being adapted to magnetically couple with the metal ball of the cartridge when the cartridge is momentarily rotated into a given region of the housing, causing the metal ball to disengage from the hollow barrel tip and be rotatably displaced within the barrel by a stirring action.

[0018] In one aspect, the dispenser is a water dispenser, and the dispenser further comprises a water delivery device for delivering the drinking water source to the discharge outlet in a timely manner so that the water source is combined with a predetermined dose of the dietary supplement.

[0019] In one aspect, the dispenser further includes means for submitting a request to the control system for a desired dietary supplement delivery operation by which a predetermined dose of the combination of each dietary supplement solution is discharged to the discharge outlet.

[0020] In one aspect, the means for submitting requests to the control system is a touch screen.

[0021] In one aspect, means for submitting a request to a control system includes a communication means configured to receive the request via a signal sent from a dedicated application running on a processor of a computerized device.

[0022] In one aspect, the dietary supplement particles that are prevented from settling within each cartridge are powders that are maintained as a dispersed suspension within the dietary supplement solution. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] In the attached picture:

[0024] Figure 1 is a top perspective view of an embodiment of a personalized water dispenser;

[0025] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A side view of a water dispenser;

[0026] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A top view of a water dispenser;

[0027] Figure 4 When the housing and dietary supplement adding unit housing are made transparent to schematically show the water delivery and temperature control devices Figure 1 A side perspective view of a water dispenser;

[0028] Figure 5 is with Figure 1 A perspective view of a water dispenser for use in conjunction with a dietary supplement addition unit with its housing removed.

[0029] Figure 6 yes Figure 5 A side view of one of the boxes of the dietary supplement adding unit when it is separated from the syringe component.

[0030] Figure 7 yes Figure 6 A top view of a box;

[0031] Figure 8 yes Figure 5The dietary supplements added along with the unit Figure 5 The cross-sectional view of the AA surface;

[0032] Fig. 9 is with Figure 5 A bottom view of one embodiment of a base for use in conjunction with a dietary supplement addition unit;

[0033] Fig.10 yes Fig. 9 A top perspective view of the base;

[0034] Fig.11 is with Figure 5 A bottom view of another embodiment of a base for use in conjunction with a dietary supplement addition unit, showing the addition device housed within a water dispenser housing and without a housing;

[0035] Fig.12 When each box is Fig.11 A top view of the dietary supplement adding unit when the base is connected;

[0036] Fig.13 is along Fig.12 A cross-sectional view of a dietary supplement adding unit on the BB side;

[0037] Fig.14 is with Figure 1 A block diagram of one embodiment of a control system for use in conjunction with a water dispenser to control and monitor the flow of a dietary supplement;

[0038] Fig.15 is a transparent perspective view of a personalized water dispenser according to another embodiment of the utility model;

[0039] Fig.16A An embodiment of the present invention is shown. Fig.15 A perspective view of a dietary supplement adding unit of a water dispenser;

[0040] Fig. 16B Shows Fig.16A A bottom view of a dietary supplement adding unit;

[0041] Fig. 16C Shows Fig.16A A top view of a dietary supplement adding unit;

[0042] Fig.16D Shows Fig.16A A cross-sectional view of a dietary supplement addition unit;

[0043] Fig.16E Another perspective view of the dietary supplement adding unit of FIG. 16 is shown, wherein the vitamin capsule is withdrawn from the dietary supplement adding unit;

[0044] Fig.17A Shows Fig.16E A transparent perspective view of a small container of vitamins; and

[0045] Fig. 17B Shows Fig.17A side view of small container of vitamins. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] The personalized water dispenser includes a plurality of replaceable cartridges, each cartridge containing a different dietary supplement solution. Predetermined doses of dietary supplements accurately determined by a control system are discharged from one or more cartridges and can be mixed with a water source (usually tap water) that is suitable for temperature regulation and filtration by the water dispenser.

[0047] Since the amount of dietary supplement required for an effective dose is often not properly contained within the limited volume of a capsule, many dietary supplements are provided in powder form. To prevent the dietary supplement powder from settling out of suspension and then hardening, thereby reducing the amount of dietary supplement discharged into the drinking container, in one embodiment, the dietary supplement solution is stirred while in a relatively small cartridge, thereby maintaining a substantially dispersed suspension.

[0048] Figure 1-3 A personalized water dispenser 10 according to one embodiment is shown. The water dispenser 10 has a dietary supplement addition unit 15 that can ensure reliable dispensing of a dietary supplement solution of a customized composition and dosage unique to a specific user. As will be described below, the water dispenser 10 can be combined with a dedicated application to establish a user-specific dietary supplement addition profile to provide a dietary supplement solution.

[0049] The water dispenser 10 includes a housing 5, for example, having a linear configuration, in which a water delivery and temperature control device, a dietary supplement addition unit 15, and a touch screen 21 through which various settings can be input are housed. The housing 11 of the dietary supplement addition unit 15 is shown as cylindrical and is fixed to the wall of a complementary opening formed in the housing 5 so that the upper circular plate 17 of the housing protrudes vertically above the upper surface 8 of the housing 5, but other housing configurations are also within the scope of the present invention. The touch screen 21 through which all commands for the dietary supplement delivery operation are input is fixed to the periphery of the upper housing portion and protrudes radially from the periphery of the upper housing portion. The dietary supplement addition unit 15 includes a plurality of replaceable boxes, for example ten boxes, so that each box contains one of the following dietary supplements: vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, folic acid, calcium, iron and zinc. Each box can be replaced by a door 18, which is pivotally connected to the housing 11, that is, when the door is closed, the door is flush with the housing 11.

[0050] A drip tray 12 connected to the front vertical wall 7 of the housing 5 defines a suitable location for a cup 9 adapted to receive a desired dose of a dietary supplement solution gravity-delivered from a discharge port 14 extending downwardly from the bottom of the housing. The dietary supplement solution dispensed is typically a combination of a water delivery device that discharges a cup of purified and filtered water and a dietary supplement addition unit that discharges a dose of a custom composition, but the dietary supplement solution may be dispensed without being combined with a water source.

[0051] Alternatively, the drinking container suitable for receiving the dispensed dietary supplement solution is a bottle. The drip tray 12 can be conveniently folded to accommodate the greater height of the bottle relative to the cup.

[0052] Figure 4 An exemplary arrangement of water delivery and temperature control devices housed within the housing 5 of the water dispenser 10 is shown.

[0053] The water source is collected in the water reservoir 4 after being introduced from the mains into the water dispenser and filtered and purified by the filter 3. After a water request is submitted, usually in conjunction with a dietary supplement delivery operation, the control valve 6 is opened and a predetermined volume of filtered water flows from the water reservoir 4 to the evaporator 2 for proper cooling. The cooled water flows upward from the control valve 6 through the angled conduit 1 and then laterally downward to an outlet located at the longitudinal axis of the dietary supplement addition unit 15 so that it can mix with the dietary supplement discharged from one or more cartridges.

[0054] As is well known to those skilled in the art, the low temperature liquid refrigerant flowing in the refrigeration cycle absorbs heat from the water flowing through the evaporator 2, and the heated refrigerant vapor from the evaporator 2 is delivered to the compressor 13. The high pressure refrigerant from the compressor 13 is condensed by the condenser 16.

[0055] The temperature control means may also include a heating element, which is operably connected to another conduit from the water reservoir 4, generally through another control valve, and bypasses the evaporator 2. The heated water flows to an outlet located at the longitudinal axis of the dietary supplement addition unit 15 so that it can mix with the dietary supplement discharged from the one or more cartridges and be dispensed to the bottle 19 when the drip tray is folded.

[0056] Also housed within the housing 5 is a control circuit 32 in data communication with the screen 21, which typically includes a processor and is used to implement the desired dietary supplement delivery operations.

[0057] Figure 5The structure of the dietary supplement adding unit 15 when the housing is removed according to one embodiment is shown. The dietary supplement adding unit 15 includes a rotatable turntable to ensure that the dietary supplement provided by each cartridge will be substantially evenly stirred, as will be explained.

[0058] It should be understood that a dietary supplement addition unit having a plurality of precisely dispensable cartridges may not be provided with a rotatable turntable.

[0059] The dietary supplement addition unit 15 includes a circular base 31, which can be rotated around a central vertical axis by a motor 29, the periphery of the base is driven and engaged with the motor 29 through a special hole formed in the shell of the dietary supplement addition unit, and the motor 29 is located in the housing of the water dispenser. The drive motor 29 can run continuously or intermittently, and only runs after a request for dietary supplements. A plurality of circumferentially spaced boxes 34 are positioned on the top of the base 31, each box having a corresponding barrel 42, which is substantially vertically oriented and pre-filled with a specific dietary supplement solution. All barrels 42 of the dietary supplement addition unit 15 have a uniform capacity, for example 30 milliliters (mL). The radial outer wall of each box 34 is slightly curved so that the outer wall 46 ( Figure 7 ) together define a circular shape, which is similar to the shape of the base 31. Positioned on top of each barrel 42 and cooperating with the barrel is a corresponding syringe member 37, each syringe member including a piston sealingly engaged with the barrel and an electromechanical actuator 39 for causing displacement of the plunger.

[0060] like Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, each box 34 has a radially outward, vertically elongated region 33, which has a trapezoidal cross section and in which an open-ended cylindrical barrel 42 is mounted. Each side of the trapezoidal region 33 (including an inner wall 41, an outer wall 46 and an obliquely extending side wall 49) is attached to the barrel 42 by a vertical connection. The two side walls 49 continue to extend along the radially inward stabilization region 36 of the box, which is integrally formed with the region 33 and is significantly shorter than the region 33 and terminates in a short common truncated surface 44, which appears as a vertex when viewed from above. The region 36 is covered by a triangular surface 45. The box 34 also has a bottom surface 47, and a conduit 48 extends downward from the bottom surface 47 close to the truncated surface 44.

[0061] Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the dietary supplement adding unit 15 .

[0062] The syringe member 37 includes a vertically oriented plunger rod 53 having an internal thread that can be threadedly engaged with the external thread of the surrounding cylinder 54 to ensure precise plunger rod movement and precise dispensing of the corresponding dietary supplement. In the present embodiment, the electromechanical actuator 39 is a stepper motor capable of rotating the plunger rod 53 so as to be used only for a predetermined portion of the rotation, or only for a limited number of rotations. The upper end of the plunger rod 53 is connected to the drive shaft 56 of the stepper motor 39, and the lower end is connected to the elastomeric piston 38, which is sealingly and rotatably displaced within the cylindrical barrel 42, so that when the piston 38 is pushed downward in response to the rotation of the plunger rod to displace the dietary supplement solution collected in the barrel, a predetermined dose of dietary supplement will be accurately dispensed. Both the stepper motor 39 and the cylinder 54 are preferably fixedly connected to the housing of the dietary supplement addition unit, such as to the upper plate 17 ( Figure 1 ).

[0063] The barrel 42 has a lower conical surface 43 that tapers to a hollow tip at the bottom end of the barrel. Attached to one of the conical surfaces 43 is an integral foot 51 that curves radially inwardly within the stable region of the box 34 while being slightly spaced apart on the triangular box bottom surface 47 until projecting radially inwardly from the box bottom surface 47 and the base 31 thereunder. A conduit 48 in fluid communication with the hollow barrel tip extends under the foot 51 and is held by the foot 51 until the radially inner end of the conduit 48 is located near the truncated surface 44. A metal ball 57 is loosely located on top of the hollow tip.

[0064] Fig. 9 The circular base 31 shown in FIG. 1 has a central cutout 52 in which a plurality of conduits can be positioned, one for each cartridge, from which the dietary supplement can be discharged from the corresponding cartridge to the discharge port 14 ( Figure 2 ). A pair of circumferentially spaced radial slits 56a and 56b are formed at a periphery 58 of the base 31 at a portion of the radius of the base 31 to increase the flexibility of the base when the cartridge is coupled to the base.

[0065] Fig.10A top view of the base 31 is shown showing means for facilitating coupling of each cartridge to the base 31. A pair of radially extending baffles 55a and 55b circumferentially spaced from each other extend from the cutout 52 to the periphery 58 of the base 31, defining a triangular region R in which a corresponding cartridge is positionable and coupleable. For the region R, a coupling element 59 is recessed in the surface 35 of the base 31 and extends radially from the cutout 52 to the periphery 58 to bisect the angle defined by the baffles 58a and 58b and the angle defined by the radial slits 56a and 56b, which are also formed in the region R. The triangular cartridge bottom surface is formed with radially extending projections adapted to be frictionally received in corresponding recesses 59 when the corresponding cartridge is coupled to the base 31.

[0066] Alternatively, the triangular box bottom surface may be formed with a radially extending recess, and the base surface 35 may be formed with a radially extending protrusion adapted to be received in the recess.

[0067] exist Figure 11-13 In the embodiment shown, Fig.10 The base 61 similar to the base 31 may be additionally configured with a snap 64. For each triangular area, the snap 64 protrudes vertically from the base periphery 58. A central portion 66 and a plurality of circumferentially spaced spokes extending radially from the central portion 66 are inserted into the cutout 52 and frictionally engaged or integrally formed with the base surface 35. Each spoke 67 may be aligned with a corresponding spacer.

[0068] The center portion 66 may be configured with an upwardly protruding obstacle 69 that is slightly larger in diameter and taller in height than the central vertically protruding center portion element 68. With this geometry, the box 34 is forced into one-way engagement with the base 61. That is, when the truncated surface 44 of the box 34 is positioned to contact the obstacle 69 and the two side walls 49 contact the partitions 58a and 58b of the selected area R, respectively ( Fig.10 ), the outer wall 46 of the box 34 is forced into engagement with the buckle 64. The base surface 35 flexes when the base surface contacts the box bottom surface 47 through the cooperation of the slits 56a and 56b, and the outer wall 46 is then locked in place by the buckle 64. When all boxes 34 are coupled to the base 61, each corresponding conduit 48 is in abutting relationship with a pair of spokes 67 to facilitate the discharge of dietary supplements through the cutout opening 52.

[0069] Additionally or alternatively, a limit switch or other type of sensor may be used to detect contact between the cassette bottom surface 47 and the base 61 and indicate that the cassette has been coupled to the base.

[0070] Fig.11Also shown is a permanent magnet 65 fixedly accommodated in the housing of the water dispenser. The permanent magnet 65 is adapted to magnetically couple with the metal ball 57 of the box 34 when the box 34 is momentarily rotated to a given area of ​​the housing, causing the metal ball to disengage from the hollow barrel tip and rotatably displace in the corresponding barrel 42. Therefore, the dietary supplement solution is gently stirred by the centrifugal force acting on all barrels during the rotation of the dietary supplement adding unit 15, and a stronger stirring action is also caused in a given barrel by the rotatable displacement of the metal ball 57, thereby reducing or completely eliminating the sedimentation of the powder in the dietary supplement solution. Therefore, the hardening of the settled powder can also be prevented, which would reduce the flow of the dietary supplement through the hollow barrel tip when the corresponding syringe member is operated.

[0071] Also like Fig.12 and Fig.13 Shown in the figure is a barcode reader 72, which is, for example, a scanner suitable for reading a barcode label 74 (e.g., a QR code). The barcode label 74 is adhesively attached to or otherwise fixed to the box inner wall 41. The barcode reader 72 is positioned within the interior of the dietary supplement addition unit 15 and is read from the housing 5 ( Figure 1 ) is positioned above the cartridge stabilizing area by one or more arms (not shown) extending at an angle so as to remain stationary and not interfere with any syringe components 37 when rotational displacement occurs. When the cartridge is momentarily rotated to approach scanning, the bar code reader 72 is spaced close enough to the bar code label 74 of the cartridge 34 to read the associated data associated with the bar code label 74. The associated data includes at least a cartridge identifier and the type and composition of the dietary supplement contained in the cartridge.

[0072] Alternatively, each cassette may be identified by a corresponding radio frequency (RF) tag (eg, an RF tag attached to the inner wall of the cassette). The RF tag transmits cassette-specific digital data modulated with a return signal to a reader in response to being interrogated.

[0073] According to one embodiment Fig.14 The control system 75 shown is used to control and monitor the flow of dietary supplements through the dietary supplement addition unit, and to communicate data with a remote user, for example, via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

[0074] Alternatively, the bar code reader previously described may be in data communication with processor 77 to identify each cartridge.

[0075] When the user inputs a request for a dietary supplement delivery operation using the touch screen 21, a corresponding signal is transmitted from the touch screen 21 to the processor 77, the request being, for example, to dispense a single selected dietary supplement in a predetermined dose immediately or at a later predetermined time, or to dispense a plurality of different dietary supplements simultaneously. In response, the processor 77 commands the drive motor 29 to start so that the base and all dietary supplement solutions will be fully stirred. As the base rotates, the processor 77 also commands the start of the stepper motor 39 of the injector member, which is adapted to inject the selected dietary supplement through the conduit of the corresponding cartridge so as to discharge it into the drinking container. The selected stepper motor is started for the predetermined time required to inject the predetermined dose of the selected dietary supplement.

[0076] During the dietary supplement delivery operation, the processor 77 updates the current device-specific inventory of dietary supplements. Since the maximum volume of dietary supplements that have been pre-filled in the cartridge of the cartridge is known and the volume of the dispensed dose of dietary supplement has been determined, the inventory is updated with the current remaining volume of the most recently dispensed dietary supplement. If multiple dietary supplements are dispensed during the delivery operation, the inventory is similarly updated with the current remaining volume of all most recently dispensed dietary supplements.

[0077] By updating the current device-specific inventory of dietary supplements, the processor 77 is able to determine when the supply of a certain dietary supplement has been depleted or is about to be depleted, and notify the user accordingly via a message displayed on the touch screen 21. Upon receiving the depletion notification, the user inputs a request to replace the given cartridge of the depleted dietary supplement via the touch screen 21. In response, the processor 77 commands the drive motor 29 to operate for a predetermined duration until the given cartridge of the depleted dietary supplement is positioned adjacent to the door 18 ( Figure 1 ). When a given box is positioned near the door 18, the processor 77 commands the stepper motor 39 associated with the given box to operate in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction that causes the dietary supplement to be discharged, so that the piston will be displaced upward and released from the barrel of the given box. Since the movement of the given box is no longer limited by the piston, the given box can be removed from the dietary supplement addition unit and subsequently replaced. The stroke of the plunger rod upward until the piston is removed from the box is recorded. Therefore, after the user updates the processor 77 to a new pre-filled box that has been connected to the base, the stepper motor 39 associated with the given box is commanded to operate in the first rotational direction so that the plunger rod will be displaced downward in a predetermined stroke sufficient to seal the piston with the barrel of the replaced box at the start discharge position.

[0078] In addition to inputting a request for a dietary supplement delivery operation or a box replacement operation using a touch screen, a request can also be conveniently input by means of a dedicated application 82 running on a processor of a computerized device 84 (e.g., a mobile phone, such as a smart phone). Various options can be selected through the user interface of the application, such as the type and dosage of dietary supplements to be dispensed and the time of day when the delivery operation needs to be performed. In addition, it is also possible to request that the selected dietary supplement be dispensed with cold or warm water. For example, a first desired combination of dietary supplements can be dispensed at a first time, and a second desired combination of dietary supplements can be dispensed at a second time during the same 24-hour period. The request can be remotely transmitted from the computerized device 84 to the communication device 73 of a given water dispenser, for example via a cellular network. One combination of dietary supplements can be a supplement that promotes sleep, and another combination can be an energy enhancer.

[0079] The daily regimen of dietary supplements consumed by the user may be recommended by a nutritionist and subsequently converted into a profile through built-in instructions provided by the application 82. After the application 82 interacts with the processor 77 of a given water dispenser (whether a water dispenser that the user visits regularly or any other water dispenser selected by the user), one or more dietary supplement delivery operations initiated by the application-derived commands will be executed, whether on a daily basis or through any other regular schedule.

[0080] It should be appreciated that one or more dietary supplement delivery operations performed based on a nutritionist's recommendation on a daily basis or on any other regular schedule may be initiated via a touch screen command on a daily basis or on any other regular schedule.

[0081] Alternatively, the daily regimen of dietary supplements consumed by the user can be determined by a smart watch 88 or other suitable device worn by the user. The smart watch 88 in data communication with the selected water dispenser or the communication device of the remote server 89 can perform bio-monitoring, such as by detecting various health indicators of the user over a long period of time and sending data representations of the health indicators through signals. Exemplary health indicators include blood pressure, heart rate, and the chemical composition of sweat drops to help determine the metabolism and nutritional level of the user's body. For example, a suitable algorithm provided by the server 89 is configured to analyze the received health indicator data and conveniently output a recommended schedule for dietary supplement intake.

[0082] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the remote server 89 receives medical data associated with the user, analyzes the received data, and sends the analysis to the application to provide an assessment of one or more dietary supplement delivery operations. For example, the remote server 89 can receive data on blood test results, so that dietary supplement delivery operations can be customized based on these results. The remote server, application, and dispenser work together as an "ecosystem" that can dispense dietary supplement solutions with customized compositions and dosages that are unique to a particular user (e.g., based on the user's actual medical condition, daily activities, or any other available data source).

[0083] Fig.15 A personalized water dispenser 20 according to another embodiment is shown. The water dispenser 20 has a dietary supplement addition unit 215 that can ensure reliable dispensing of a dietary supplement solution of a customized composition and dosage unique to a specific user. The water dispenser 20 can establish a user-specific dietary supplement addition profile in conjunction with a dedicated application to provide a dietary supplement solution in a similar manner as described above with respect to the water dispenser 10.

[0084] The dietary supplement addition unit 215 can be controlled to dispense a customized composition and dosage of dietary supplement solution by a variety of means, such as electronic means, electromechanical means, pneumatic mechanisms, or any other suitable means. In this embodiment, the dispensing of the customized composition and dosage of dietary supplement solution involves pneumatic means.

[0085] The water dispenser 20 may include a compressor 213, a water tank 221, a water filter 203, an ultraviolet (UV) lamp 222, a folding tray 212 for a cup 209, and any other elements found in commercially available countertop water dispensers (such as The Strauss WaterBars water dispenser that combines filtration and UV purification filtration processes). In addition to these elements, the water dispenser 20 also includes a pneumatic inlet 231 suitable for controlling the vitamin capsule 230 (see Fig.16E , 17A and 17B) an electric faucet 224, a display unit 210, and a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader 225 (for example, which can read the bar code of the vitamin container 230).

[0086] Figures 16A-16E The dietary supplement adding unit 215 of the water dispenser 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown. The dietary supplement adding unit 215 includes ten vitamin small containers 230; each small container has the same structure, but each small container may contain different contents. Figures 17A-17BThe structure of the vitamin container 230 is further shown in detail. Each container 230 includes a vitamin container 235, a pneumatic inlet 231 in fluid communication with a tube 232, a secondary magnet 234, and a liquid outlet 233, wherein the tube 232 terminates at an inlet at the upper portion of the vitamin container 230.

[0087] The secondary magnet 234 is loosely located at the bottom of the vitamin container 235, and the permanent main magnet 226 is fixedly accommodated in the magnet chamber 223 of the dietary supplement adding unit 215 and is suitable for magnetic coupling with the secondary magnet 234 that is instantaneously rotated to a given area of ​​the vitamin container 235, so that the secondary magnet 234 can be rotatably displaced in the vitamin container 235 through the stirring action.

[0088] Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described by way of example, it is obvious that the present invention may be implemented through many modifications, variations and adaptations, and may be implemented using many equivalents or alternative solutions within the scope of those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A personalized dispenser, characterized in that: The personalized dispenser comprises: a) a plurality of replaceable cartridges, each of said cartridges comprising a dietary supplement solution, and at least two of said cartridges comprising different dietary supplement solutions; b) a discharge port of the personalized dispenser; c) a control system for controllably discharging a predetermined dose of dietary supplement solution from at least one of the cartridges to the discharge port as needed; and d) means for preventing dietary supplement particles from settling within each of said cartridges.

2. The personalized dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that: The personalized dispenser further includes a respective syringe member associated with each of the cartridges for expelling the predetermined dose of dietary supplement solution into the discharge port, and the syringe member is in data communication with the control system.

3. The personalized dispenser according to claim 2, characterized in that: Each of the cartridges is equipped with a substantially vertically oriented cylindrical barrel prefilled with a dietary supplement solution, and the respective syringe member includes a piston sealingly engaged with the barrel, a plunger connected to the piston, and an electromechanical actuator located on the barrel for causing displacement of the plunger.

4. The personalized dispenser according to claim 3, characterized in that: The electromechanical actuator is a stepper motor in data communication with the control system, and the plunger is a plunger rod extending downwardly from a drive shaft of the stepper motor, the plunger being connected to the piston via the drive shaft, and the corresponding syringe component further comprising a cylinder surrounding the plunger rod and threadedly engaged with the plunger rod to facilitate limited and determinable rotational displacement of the plunger rod and corresponding expulsion of the predetermined dose of the dietary supplement solution in response to the rotation of the plunger rod.

5. The personalized dispenser according to claim 2, characterized in that: The means for preventing dietary supplement particles from settling within each of the cartridges may include a stirring device.

6. The personalized dispenser according to claim 5, characterized in that: The stirring device includes a rotatable dietary supplement adding unit provided with a plurality of the cartridges, so that the centrifugal force acting on all of the cartridges during rotation of the dietary supplement adding unit causes the dietary supplement solution to be sufficiently stirred to prevent sedimentation of the dietary supplement particles.

7. The personalized dispenser according to claim 6, characterized in that: The dietary supplement adding unit comprises: i. A circular base rotatable around a central vertical axis; ii. A motor drivingly engaged with the base; iii. the plurality of boxes being fixed to the base and circumferentially spaced from each other; and iv. said respective syringe member associated with each said cassette.

8. The personalized dispenser according to claim 3, characterized in that: The bottom end of the cartridge has a lower conical surface that tapers to a hollow tip from which a conduit extends radially inward to the discharge port so that the predetermined dose of dietary supplement solution is urged to flow through the cartridge, conduit, and discharge port.

9. The personalized dispenser according to claim 8, characterized in that it is used The means for preventing dietary supplement particles from settling within each of the boxes also includes a metal ball loosely located on top of the hollow tip and a permanent magnet fixedly contained within the housing of the personalized dispenser, the permanent magnet being adapted to magnetically couple with the metal ball of the box when the box is momentarily rotated to a given area of ​​the housing, causing the metal ball to detach from the hollow barrel tip and be rotatably displaced within the barrel by a stirring action.

10. The personalized dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that: The personalized dispenser is a water dispenser, and the personalized dispenser further comprises a water delivery device for delivering a source of drinking water to the outlet in time so that the source of water is combined with the predetermined dose of dietary supplement.

11. The personalized dispenser according to claim 10, characterized in that: The personalized dispenser also includes a temperature control device for regulating the temperature of the water source.

12. The personalized dispenser according to claim 10, characterized in that: The personalized dispenser also includes means for submitting a request to the control system for a desired dietary supplement delivery operation by which a predetermined dose of each combination of dietary supplement solutions is discharged into the discharge outlet.

13. The personalized dispenser according to claim 12, characterized in that: The means for submitting a request to the control system is a touch screen.

14. The personalized dispenser according to claim 12, characterized in that: The means for submitting a request to the control system comprises a communication means configured to receive the request via a signal sent from a dedicated application running on a processor of a computerized device.

15. The personalized dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that: The dietary supplement particles that are prevented from settling within each of the cartridges are powders that remain as a dispersed suspension within the dietary supplement solution.

16. The personalized dispenser according to claim 2, characterized in that: Each of the cartridges is actuated by a pneumatic device for causing the predetermined dose of dietary supplement solution to be discharged into the discharge port.

17. The personalized dispenser according to claim 16, characterized in that: The pneumatic device is controlled by an electric faucet.

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