Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02605668 2007-10-23
BEVERAGE QUALITY AND COMMUNICATIONS
CONTROL FOR A BEVERAGE FORMING AND DISPENSING SYSTEM
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to beverage forming and dispensing systems. More
particularly, the present invention relates to beverage forming and dispensing
systems for effectively preparing a beverage mixture from concentrate, and
even
more particularly to beverage forming and dispensing systems for effectively
monitoring and controlling the quality of a post-mix product and for
communicating
current product quality and operating data to a remote location.
2. Description of the Related Art
Beverages formed from concentrates are enjoyed around the world. An important
advantage of forming a beverage from a concentrate is that only the
concentrate need
be shipped to the dispensing site; any available water supply at the site can
be used
to form the bulk of the final mixed product. A typical application of forming
a
beverage from a concentrate is a post-mix beverage dispensing system, commonly
referred to as a fountain system, that mixes a syrup concentrate with
carbonated
water to form a beverage.
Iniproving the quality of fountain beverages to meet the goal of a "bottle
quality"
carbonated beverage delivered by on-premise fountain equipment has been a
long,
ongoing process. Fountain equipment must consistently carbonate water to
proper
COz volumes, cool product to the desired serving temperature and dispense
water
and syrup at a precise ratio to deliver the consumer's drink with the desired
quality.
All this critical functionality must be delivered from a piece of equipment a
fraction
of the size and cost of the traditional bottle-plant equipment and with none
of the
rigorous plant maintenance procedures performed on a daily basis.
Nevertheless,
this quality goal has driven many design initiatives with varying degrees of
success.
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CA 02605668 2007-10-23 In the past, a new or novel mechanical, electro-
mechanical or electronic control
mechanism was designed to provide some improvement to basic functional
elements
of all or a portion of the carbonated fountain beverage process. There will
be, no
doubt, continued improvement and invention in the ongoing search for better
fountain drink quality. Each of the past fountain proposals has always
demonstrated
some level of performance improvement in the element of beverage quality that
was
addressed. However, the actual level of improvement in the practical world was
always less than expected due to the proposal's design application to each
successive generation of fountain equipment. One main limiting factor for
continued, consistent drink quality performance improvements has been the
increasing complexity of the machine design and the level of maintenance of
each
piece of fountain equipment once placed in daily operation. Typically,
perfortnance
is initially improved when the machine is newly installed. Then, its
performance
deteriorates over time as the equipment's required maintenance procedures are
sporadically performed. Ultimately, the equipment condition deteriorates to a
level
with one of two probable outcomes. Either the unit provides a noticeably poor
quality drink or the unit completely fails. Neither condition delivers the
desired
"bottle quality" beverage and both outcomes conclude by requiring an unplanned
service action to restore normal operation.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved beverage dispensing system that
monitors and controls the concentrate, water, and COZ supplies to improve
beverage
quality and that communicates a low quality or faulty operation to a remote
location.
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CA 02605668 2007-10-23
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect of the present invention, a beverage dispensing apparatus
comprises
a carbonator, a water supply providing water to the carbonator, a temperature
gauge, a COz supply, a pressure gauge and a controller. The temperature gauge
measures the temperature of the water supplied to the carbonator. The CO2
supply provides CO2) under a pressure to the carbonator and the pressure gauge
measures the pressure of the CO2supplied to the carbonator. The controller
communicates with the temperature gauge and the pressure gauge and controls
the
CO2 supply. The carbonator mixes the water and the C02 to form carbonated
water and the controller adjusts the pressure of the CO2 supplied to the
carbonator
based on the measured CO2 pressure and water tetnperature.
Also disclosed herein is a system for controlling the concentrate, water, and
CO2
supplies in a beverage forming and dispensing system to control the quality of
a
dispensed beverage.
A system for communicating low quality or faulty operating conditions of a
beverage forming and dispensing system to a remote location is also disclosed.
In one aspect, a beverage dispensing systeiii comprises a beverage dispenser
for
forming and dispensing a beverage and a processor. The beverage dispenser
operates under various parameters including a first parameter that is
indicative of
the quality of the beverage to be dispensed and a second parameter that is
indicative as to when routine maintenance is to be scheduled. The processor
monitors the various parameters under which the beverage dispenser operates.
The processor determines whether the first parameter is outside of a
predetermined range and if the first parameter is outside the predetermined
range,
the processor sends a signal regarding a request for iinmediate repair
service.
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In another aspect, a beverage dispensing method comprises the step of forming
and dispensing a beverage with a beverage dispenser. The beverage dispenser
operates under various parameters including a. first parameter that is
indicative of
the quality of the beverage to be dispensed and a second parameter that is
indicative as to when routine maintenance is to be scheduled. The method
further
includes the steps of monitoring the various parameters under which the
beverage
dispenser operates, determining whether the first parameter is outside of a
predetermined range, and sending a signal regarding a request for immediate
repair service if the first parameter is outside the predetermined range.
In a further aspect, a beverage dispensing network comprises a plurality of
beverage dispensers for forming atid dispensing beverages, a processor and a
central processing station. Each beverage dispenser operates under
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various parameters including a first parameter that is indicative of the
quality of
the beverage to be dispensed and a second parameter that is indicative as to
when
routine maintenance is to be scheduled. The processor monitors the various
parameters under which at least one of the plurality of beverage dispensers
operates. The processor determines whether the first parameter is outside of a
predeternlined range and if the first parameter is outside the predetermined
range,
the processor sends a signal regarding a request for immediate repair service.
The
central processing station communicates with the processor and receives the
signal to effect the immediate repair service.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure I is a schematic diagram of the control arrangement of the beverage
dispensing system of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a first embodiment of a beverage dispenser
usable with the system of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the control arrangement of the beverage
dispenser of the first embodiment.
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Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of a beverage dispenser
usable with the system of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention provides a different approach to improve the level of
beverage
quality delivered by fountain equipment from that used in past proposals. As
mentioned before, there will undoubtedly be continued improvements in fountain
beverage quality delivered by further design refinements and future invention
of new
control concepts. Rather than trying to directly control the beverage quality
with
some new novel invention, one aspect of the present invention is directed to
an
equipment and beverage quality monitoring system. The system constantly
monitors each piece of fountain equipment's operating quality and provides
either
feedback data to an equipment controller to adjust its operating parameters or
conununicates the need for service actions before beverage quality
deteriorates to
unacceptable levels that are noticeable by the consumer. It is a fountain
beverage
quality assurance system that provides feedback to imbedded control systems
and
conununicates quality delivery performance to a service provider. The service
provider can then plan appropriate service actions to restore beverage quality
within
acceptable limits.
The design of the present invention is completely flexible to work with
today's
equipment and technology while continuing to work with tomorrow's equipment
designs with their unique technological solutions. The invention can define
fountain
beverage quality parameters for any piece of equipment and communicate present
equipment perforniance within those defined quality parameters. In the
fountain
beverage industry, many generations of equipment will be present at any given
time,
all with their unique quality parameters and design technologies. The present
invention allows all of those different units to co-exist and communicate at
the same
time to the same reporting system. In this way, the invention will allow all
fountain
equipment to provide the best possible beverage quality that the technology
inherent
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in its design will allow. Or to put it another way, by maintaining equipment
operations within its quality design parameters, the best possible beverage
quality
will be consistently delivered to the consumer.
Figure I depicts a schematic diagram of the control arrangement of the
beverage
forming and dispensing system 10 according to the present invention. The
system
includes a local beverage dispenser or fountain 20. Dispenser 20 includes
various
beverage forming, monitoring and dispensing components, to be discussed later.
Dispenser 20 communicates by way of communication lines 30 with a central
service center 40. Communication lines 30 can be conventional telephone lines,
for
example. Service center 40 includes a local connection 42, a private network
44, a
central database 46, and service center control section 48. Service center 40
con-imunicates with a local service provider 50 by way of communication lines
30,
which can be the same as or different from the communication- lines between
dispenser 20 and service center 40.
Service center control section 48 includes an unshown server including server
software for receiving information from central database 46, processing
various
infonnation, storing information in the database and transmitting information
to
local service provider 50. Generally, various operating parameters monitored
by
dispenser 20 are encoded and transmitted to central sen"ice center 40. The
transmitted information is stored in central database 46 and forwarded to
control
section 48. The information is processed and the software program determines
whether immediate repair is required at the particular dispenser 20 or whether
and
,when routine maintenance is recommended. In making such determination, the
maintenance history and stored parameters of the particular dispenser stored
in
database 46 can be accessed. If immediate or routine maintenance is necessary,
service center control section 48 transmits an appropriate message to local
service
provider 50, which can dispatch an appropriate repairperson.
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Any quality parameters that are deemed important to beverage quality for a
particular dispenser can be monitored by the dispenser and transmitted to
central
service center 40. In addition to the flexible definition of the quality
parameters, the
communications design is fundamental to the effectiveness of the invention. It
allows for data, i.e., parameters determined by each controller's unique
application,
to communicate across any technology means independent of the data format
required for that communications means. In practical application, several
units of
the same design could communicate to the central service center using all
means
available by today's technology as well as any communications means developed
in
the future (e.g., wire telephony, wide-area cellular telephony, satellite
communications, RF (radio frequency) carrier, microwave carrier, spread-
spectrum
power-line carrier, I-R (infrared) carrier, Ethernet LAN, USB LAN, Fire-Wire&
LAN). There will be no need to redesign or reprogram the established equipment
network every time a new communications technology is added to the system.
For each communications technology and for each controller application, a
combination of hardware and software programming allows the data content to be
preserved in the manner defined by a parameter definition file. This parameter
definition file allows the fountain equipment designer to concentrate on
developing
effective quality measurement parameters, establishing their proper
operational
limits and not have to be concemed with the communications translations.
Further
freeing the designer, a communications mode is chosen for how effectively it
meets
the requirements of any given fountain equipment design application, not
because it
is required to carry the system's message data. For example, a fountain unit
located
in a typical convenience store may choose a wired telephony solution for its
easily
available connections, while a remote refreshment kiosk at a sport or park
venue
may choose a cellular solution due to limited access to a wired telephony
provider.
The efficient design of the parameter definition file allows for variable
lengths of
parameter lists as well as variable lengths of the data for each parameter.
This
concept allows the embedded code to remain very small and compact, thus not
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CA 02605668 2007-10-23
requiring high-powered, computer processors to encode data. Code design not
developed in this manner would place a potentially cost limiting effect on the
utility
of the system. As a result of this feature, small, simple devices by their
very
application result in siniple parameter definition files, while the more
complicated
functionality of a larger device can be accommodated in a more robust
parameter
definition file. In either case, the parameter definition file scales up or
down to
match the performance needs and capabilities of the devices as required.
For example, the first digits of each parameter definition file would
represent the machine ID and the remaining digits could represent any machine
parameters. Once the first digits are read and the service center control
section 48
identifies which machine has sent the parameter definition file, the remaining
digits
of the file can be interpreted. For a particular machine, the parameter
definition file
could include a series of binary digits beginning with the machine ID and then
followed by a date/time stamp, water pressure, water temperature and an end of
message stamp. A different machine could include a series of different binary
data
beginning with the machine ID, syrup temperature, water pressure, water
temperature and end of message. The number of digits representing the water
pressure in the first parameter defmition file need not necessarily be the
same as the
number of digits representing the water temperature in the second parameter
definition file.
The following description provides an example of how the present invention is
applied to fountain beverage equipment or dispensers. A first embodiment of a
dispenser, to which the present invention is applicable, is shown in Figure 2
and
includes one or more dispensing valves 202. Typical carbonation systems in
this
type of dispenser include a reserve holding tank 204 which is pressurized by
CO2
gas from COZ supply 206. The CO2 gas is maintained at a constant pressure by a
mechanical pressure regulator 208, for example. A reserve tank water level
monitoring sensor 210 is used to control a pump and motor 212 to force water
under
pressure and within a design velocity range through an orifice to atomize the
water
as it enters tank 204. Within the tank the atomized water combines with the
CO2 gas
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to create carbonated water. The atomized carbonated water collects in the tank
to
maintain the water level between a set of minimum and maximum reserve quantity
levels defined by sensor 210.
In order to prechill the water before it is supplied to tank 204, a cold plate
214 is
provided. Cold plate 214 can comprise an aluminum block with intemal passages
216, 218, 220 for fluids. The aluminum block typically sits at the bottom of
an ice
chest filled with ice to act as a heat sink. Water pumped by pump and motor
212 is
forced through the passages 216 in cold plate 214 to chill it to the desired
prechill
temperature, for example, 33 -38 F, before it is supplied to tank 204. If
desired,
carbonated water dispensed from tank 204 can be sent through separate passages
218
in cold plate 214 before the carbonated water reaches mixing and dispensing
valve
202.
Typically, the carbonated water is mixed with soft drink syrup at the
dispensing
valve 202. The syrup can be supplied from a reservoir 222 such as a "bag-in-
box".
The syrup is pumped by syrup p,ump 224 preferably through chilling passages
220 in
cold plate 214 and to valve 202. When the valve is actuated, water in tank 204
and
syrup from reservoir 222 are supplied through passages in the cold plate
simultaneously and supplied to dispensing valve 202 where the components are
mixed and dispensed.
One of the many critical elements to delivering a fountain beverage with
"bottle
quality" is the proper carbonation level of the drink, typically measured in
CO2
volumes. Proper carbonation of water within the fountain equipment is
dependent
upon many factors. First-order parameters are water temperature and COZ gas
pressure. Present carbonation designs have other parameters such as water
atomization and reserve capacity that can also influence the final COz volumes
delivered by the carbonation system. That is, the COZ gas absorption levels
vary
dependent upon the water temperature and COZ gas pressure, as well as
atomization
efficiency and total absorption time, which will vary corresponding to the
quantity
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of water reserve maintained in the tank. A carbonation system that cannot
control
these basic parameters cannot deliver consistent carbonation quality (COZ
volumes).
Even the latest improvements in carbonation equipment today will fail to
deliver
improved carbonation quality if the cooling device used to stabilize the water
temperature is not maintained and in good working order, if the COZ gas
pressure is
improperly maintained due to regulator performance or COZ gas supply status,
or if
the water pump performance has deteriorated over time to a level to be unable
to
deliver the required water velocity to properly atomize incoming water and
properly
maintain the tank reserve.
The application of the present invention to most current designs does not
require
upgrades to the controlling methods used to generate and maintain proper COz
volumes. However, key performance parameters for the system to deliver proper
carbonation levels must be identified. Sensors to monitor these key parameters
must
be added to the control system as well as software performance modules. With
these
sensors and added soitware, the unit's local controller can monitor its own
carbonation performanee and report through a conimunication means (e.g.,
telephone) its present operational status and whether it has detected a
parameter out
of normal operating range, potentially requiring a service call to repair the
problem.
The present invention allows for remote service personnel dispatched from a
central
service monitoring station to review the data and decide what action, if any,
needs to
be taken. The detection and service communications will occur long before the
consumer has noticed any deleterious effect on the carbonation levels of the
beverage served.
The foregoing upgrades incorporated into the fountain beverage equipment are
shown in Figure 2 and the control thereof is shown in Figure 3. Both
operational
and maintenance parameters were defined. To monitor operational factors that '
directly affect carbonation quality, dispenser 20 is provided with a
temperature
sensor 230 downstream of cold plate 214 to continuously sample pre-chill
output
water temperature and a pressure sensor 232 is provided in the COZ supply line
to
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continuously sample CO2 gas pressure supplied to the carbonator tank 204.
These
parameters were continuously sanipled to assure they remain within defined
operating limits.
To monitor maintenance factors that affect carbonation quality, incoming water
pressures, water pump flow rate and pump-motor actual usage are sampled and
recorded to indicate when periodic maintenance is required to keep quality
performance within quality limits. To this end, dispenser 20 is provided with
a
pressure sensor 234 and a flow sensor 236 in the water supply line upstream of
pump 212, and is further provided with a module 238 connected to the power
supply
of pump and motor 212. It should be noted that this allows for the further
advantage
of maintenance intervals to be based on actual usage and conditions of the
equipment and not artificially or arbitrarily set intervals. Combinations of
these
sensor inputs can also be used to detect potential operating problems before
they
cause beverage quality to be reduced below acceptable limits.
As shown in Figure 3, the various sensors and module can communicate with a
unit
controller 240, which can be any available microprocessor. In, addition, water
level
monitoring sensor 210 communicates with controller 240 to determine when the
water reserve is within the desired levels and to correspondingly actuate pump
and
motor 212 via module 238. Controller 240 preferably includes a modem or some
other communications device to communicate through communication lines 30. A
key switch 242 and a unit ID data module 244 unique to each particular
dispenser
are provided in dispenser 20 and conununicate with controller 240. Power
supply
to the dispensing unit can be any standard source. For example, any standard
household electrical source 250 can power the system, with 120/240 V being
supplied to pump motor 212 and 24 V being supplied to controller 240 and the
dispensing section via transformers 252,254.
The control system of each dispenser 20 provides for two classes of actions to
be
taken for the defined paranieters. First, it monitors for specific parameter
limits or
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equipment operating conditions that affect beverage quality and reports this
information immediately to service center 40 as a "Sudden-Service" message.
Second, it periodically samples and records selected data parameters to be
reported
to the service center at off-peak hours as "Operational & Event Data" or "OED"
messages. The sampled data parameters are then scanned by service monitoring
programs at service center 40 to schedule preventative maintenance service
calls
based on actual equipment usage. In this manner, the data scanning programs
can be
updated to match the most current service maintenance schedules.
A description of an example of communications for Sudden-Service message types
will now be described. Using sensors 230, 232, 236, controller 240
respectively
monitors absolute temperature, pressure, and flow rate for excursions beyond
predefined acceptable limits. When these parameter limits are exceeded, the
system
always records the date, time and nature of the excursion. If the nature of
the
excursion requires inunediate service attention to return the unit to
acceptable
quality limits, controller 240 takes the following actions:
1. constructs a "Sudden-Service" message with machine ID from module 244 and
nature of the excursion identified based on the pre-defined message data
format
stored in its internal programniing;
2. connects to the service center network senTer to transfer the Sudden-
Service
message; and
3. receives confinnation that the message was received by the service center
server,
then disconnects from the service center network.
On the receiving end of the service center 40, the message is automatically
read by
the network server software program after the whole message is received,
acknowledged and the communication session has been terminated with the
dispensing unit 20. The following actions are taken based on the service
center
software:
1. using the machine ID information, the program determines how to decode the
data sent by the dispensing unit at the customer's site;
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2. the niessage data is "translated" to a text message using the predefined
process
for the equipment that the service center's program has access to in the
parameter definition file;
3. the machine ID information is also used to provide current customer address
data
to complete the Sudden-Service message generation process;
4. the finished Sudden-Service message is then sent to a service center call
manager's attention at local service provider 50 via e-mail marked as urgent;
and
5. the service center call manager processes and assigns the Sudden-Service
message for follow-up per established service procedures.
A description of communications for Operational & Event Data (OED) message
types will now be described. When controller 240 determines that an OED
reporting
interval occurs, such as by monitoring usage of module 238 of pump and motor
212,
the controller takes the following actions:
1. constructs an OED message with Machine ID and the data formatted as defined
in the parameter definition file;
2. connects to the service center network server at service center 40 to
transfer the
OED message; and
3. receives confirmation that the message was received by the network server,
then
disconnects from the service center network.
When an OED message is received by the service center network server the
following steps are taken to process the incoming message:
1. using the Machine ID information, the program determines how to decode the
data sent by the dispenser 20 at the customer's site;
2. the message data is "translated" to a database format using the predefined
process for the equipment that the service center's program has access to in
the
parameter definition file;
3. the data is then added to the unit's database file for the specific
dispenser unit
identified by the Machine ID;
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4. the service center server then processes the updated data file by executing
predefined service maintenance scanning programs on the newly received data;
and
5. any service action items identified by the scanning programs will generate
additional messaging steps which use the Machine ID infomlation to identify
the customer location, specify the required service action and construct an e-
mail
notification that will be sent to the service center call manager at local
service
provider 50. The call manager will then process the service notification per
established operating procedures.
In a second embodiment, another dispenser unit 20' usable with the beverage
dispensing system of the present invention will be described with reference to
Figure
4. The dispenser of the second embodiment utilizes internal feedback to adjust
the
operating parameters when possible. Components in the second embodiment that
are the same as or similar components in the first embodiment will be
identified with
the same reference numerals.
Controller 240, such as a processor or a circuit, controls the flow rate of
syrup
concentrate pumped from a concentrate supply 232 by concentrate pump 224 and
controls the flow rate of water supplied from the water supply, for example, a
domestic water supply. Controller 240 also controls a CO2 supply 206 to
carbonator
tank 204.
A first flow sensor (FS) 260 measures the output of concentrate pump 224 on
the
warm side of the concentrate supply line. Measuring on the warm side negates
the
effects of viscosity on flow measurement. A second flow sensor 262 measures
the
flow rate of carbonated water supply from carbonator tank 204. Flow sensors
260
and 262, as well as other flow sensors in the system, are preferably turbine
type flow
sensors that utilize a hall effect arrangement to generate a pulsed signal
proportional
to the flow rate and that operate at approximately 12,500 pulses per gallon.
Flow
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sensors 260 and 262 provide flow rate outputs to controller 240, which
controls a
first valve 264 to control the pumped concentrate and a second valve 266 to
control
the supplied carbonated water, thereby delivering the concentrate and
carbonated
water to a dispenser valve 268 at a predetermined ratio.
Valves 264 and 266 are preferably pulsing type solenoid valves. Fluid valves
264
and 266 preferably operate at about 80 psi, with a mininium flow rate of about
0.75
ounces/second. Dispenser valve 268 is preferably a "dumb" valve, which
operates
only in an on/off arrangement, i.e., it does not control fluid flow rate other
than that
resulting from solenoid seat size. The "dumb" valve provides an onloff means
for
fluid flow and a means to mix the beverage.
A temperature sensor 270, for example, a thermistor, measures the temperature
of
non-carbonated water supplied to carbonator tank 204, and pressure sensor 232,
for
example, a pressure transducer, measures the pressure of COZ supplied to
carbonator
tank 204 from COZ supply 206. Outputs from temperature sensor 270 and pressure
sensor 232 are transmitted to controller 240, -which controls a valve 272 in
the CO2
supply line to maintain the carbonator pressure at a predetermined level,
thereby
maintaining proper carbonation levels. Gas valve 272 is preferably a pulsing
type
solenoid valve operating at a midrange pressure of about 150 psi, with a leak
rate of
zero. Controller 240 preferably controls valve 272 by using a look up table to
determine the optimum COZ pressure, based on the water temperature.
Preferably, controller 240 monitors the steady state water temperature
detected by
temperature sensor 270 and adjusts solenoid valve 272 to maintain a pressure
in
carbonator tank 204 at about 100 psi by increasing or decreasing the COz
pressure
provided to carbonator tank 204.
Preferably, the temperature sensor 270 is accurate within the range of about
35 F to
about 100 F, with a midrange of about 75 F, and the pressure sensor 232
operates
with a midrange of about 100 psi, with an accuracy of 2%.
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An additional flow sensor 274 in the non-carbonated water line communicates
with
controller 240 to signal an error when the flow of inlet water to carbonator
tank 204
drops below a predetermined level,
The present invention is not limited to pulse type solenoid valves or turbine
type
flow sensors. Rather, any flow control valve that controls the flow of the
water,
concentrate, or COz is acceptable, and any flow sensor that detects the flow
rate of
the concentrate or water is acceptable. Furthermore, temperature sensors other
than
a thermistor are sufficient to detect the temperature of the non-carbonated
water, and
any means for sensing the pressure of the CO2 supply is sufficient_
To incorporate dispenser 20' into the beverage dispensing system shown in
Figure 1,
a communications module 280, such as a processor or a circuit, is provided.
Communications module 280 communicates with controller 240 and utilizes data
from the controller to monitor and store operating data and quality data. The
quality
data can include the concentrate/carbonated water mixing ratio and the
carbonation
level. Communications module 280 also has means, such as a modem or a two-way
paging system, for communicating the operating and quality data to central
service
center 40.
It is also preferable for a single communications module to accommodate
multiple
dispensers, allowing a plurality of fountain dispensers to connect to the
communications module.
It is preferable to use the present invention with computer hardware that
performs
the controlling and communication functions. As will be appreciated by those
skilled in the art, the systems, methods, and procedures described herein can
be
embodied in a programmable computer, computer executable software, or digital
or
analog circuitry. The software can be stored on computer readable media, for
example, on a floppy disk, RAM, ROM, a hard disk, removable media, flash
memory, memory sticks, optical media, magneto-optical media, CD-ROMs, etc.
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The digital circuitry can include integrated circuits, gate arrays, building
block logic,
field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), etc.
Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described
above
in detail, it will be understood that this description is merely for purposes
of
illustration. Various modifications of, and equivalent steps corresponding to,
the
disclosed aspects of the preferred embodiments, in addition to those described
above, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the
spirit of
the present invention defined in the following claims, the scope of which is
to be
accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass such modifications and
equivalent structures.
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