Abstract:
A device for monitoring the dispensing of a soft serve product from a soft serve product dispensing machine has a housing with an open pocket formed in its side wall so that the monitoring device may be mounted on a handle of the product dispensing machine. The device includes electronic circuitry, including an accelerometer, that senses the position of the handle of the product dispensing machine. When the handle is sensed to be in a product dispense position, a timing circuit within the device monitors the time during which a soft serve product is dispensed by the machine. Knowing the flow rate of soft serve product from the dispensing machine, the monitoring device will cause a light emitting diode to illuminate to signal the user of the device to re-position the handle of the product dispensing device in the non-dispensing position.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is related to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/128,276, which was filed on Mar. 4, 2015, and is entitled “Method and Apparatus for Monitoring the Dispensing of a Soft Serve Product”, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference and on which priority is hereby claimed. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0003]    This invention relates generally to devices that indicate to the user the amount of soft serve ice cream that is being dispensed from a soft serve machine during each serving. 
         [0004]    2. Description of The Prior Art. 
         [0005]    Soft serve ice cream machines are devices that are filled with a liquid food product. The liquid is passed over a cylindrical refrigerated surface. An auger scrapes the frozen product off the surface and extrudes the semi-frozen product out a dispensing port. 
         [0006]    Operators hold the container under the dispensing port and move the frozen product around to produce a swirled finished product. The product is generally sold in several sizes, small, medium and large, in edible (ice cream cone) containers. The selling price is determined by the amount of product contained in each size. 
         [0007]    Currently, operators use visual inspection to fill the edible containers with the prescribed amount of product for each size. After training, the operators will typically over-portion the product causing lower profit margin. There are no devices that attach to the soft serve product dispensing machines that help the user dispense the specified amount of soft serve product. 
         [0008]    Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a device that is attached to the dispensing handle of the machine and while the machine is dispensing product indicates to the user the amount of soft serve product that is being dispensed and indicates when the user should stop dispensing ice cream. 
         [0009]    The soft serve product dispensing machines do not dispense at a constant flow rate. The rate of product flow changes based on the time between servings. When the machine is idle for a period of time, the product thaws and the flow rate is faster. If there is a short period of time between servings, the ice cream is thicker and the flow rate is slower. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a device that monitors the time between servings and compensates for the flow rate changes. 
         [0010]    Soft serve product dispensing machines have handles that are pulled down to start the flow of product. In some model soft serve product dispensing machines, the handle “dispense-off ” position is in approximately a vertical position. In other model ice cream machines, the handle “dispense-off” position is approximately horizontal. If a soft serve product monitoring device is mounted on the handle, then the device user interface should be presented and visible to the user in an unobstructed fashion. For soft serve product dispensing machines that have the handle in the vertical position for the “dispense-off” position, a soft serve product dispensing monitoring device should be mounted under the handle so that, when the handle is pulled; the device user interface of the monitoring device is presented and visible to the user. When the handle is horizontal, the soft serve product dispensing monitoring device should preferably be mounted on the top of the handle so that when the handle is pulled, the user interface of the monitoring device is presented and visible to the user. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a soft serve product dispensing monitoring device which can be configured to be mounted on the top or bottom of the handle of the dispensing machine so that the user interface of the device is presented in an unobstructed way to the user. 
         [0011]    When the handle of the dispensing machine is pulled, a soft serve product dispensing monitoring device attached to the handle needs to sense that the handle is now in the dispensing position or any position in between. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide such a device with an accelerometer to detect the position of the handle. 
         [0012]    The soft serve machine contains compressors to keep the fluid in a refrigerated state to prevent bacteria growth and spoiling. When the compressors turn on, the soft serve product dispensing machine and handle vibrate. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a soft serve product monitoring device that has mechanical and software filtering to prevent the device from turning on and detecting a false dispense. 
         [0013]    When the soft serve product is flowing into the container, the user requires an indication that the flow has started and that the amount dispensed for a particular size has been achieved and, therefore, should stop dispensing product. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a user interface on a soft serve product monitoring device that shows that ice cream dispensing has started and indicates to the user when the amount of ice cream has been dispensed for a particular size. 
         [0014]    The product flow rates of soft serve product dispensing machines can be mechanically adjusted. Some users prefer the flow rate to be fast to get better serve rates. Some users prefer the flow rate to be slower to get a better product presentation. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a way to calibrate the compensated flow rate for the different flow rates in a soft serve product monitoring device. 
         [0015]    The dispense handles of many soft serve product dispensing machines are removable for cleaning. If a soft serve product monitoring device is mounted on the handle, powering the device with a wired external power source makes the removal from and re-mounting of the handle difficult. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a soft serve product monitoring device with components and algorithms that minimize power consumption of the device and that will allow the device to run on battery power for a maximum period of time. 
       OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for monitoring the dispensing of a soft serve product and which includes a compensating algorithm that monitors the time between dispenses of the soft serve product and automatically adjusts when the “done” indicator lights. 
         [0017]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a soft serve ice cream dispensing monitor which will allow the user to configure the monitor so that it may be mounted on a handle of an ice cream dispensing machine in a vertical disposition or a horizontal disposition. 
         [0018]    It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a soft serve ice cream dispensing monitor which contains an accelerometer that monitors the position of a handle on a soft serve ice cream dispensing machine to detect that a user of the machine has started and stopped the dispensing of the soft serve ice cream. 
         [0019]    It is a further object of the present of the invention to provide a soft serve ice cream dispensing monitor which includes an accelerometer and a filter for the accelerometer, which filters the accelerometer output signal to more accurately determine the position of the handle of a soft serve ice cream dispenser so as to alert the user not to start dispensing the soft serve ice cream when the compressor of the machine turns on. 
         [0020]    It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for monitoring the dispensing of a soft serve product, which apparatus includes a user interface that indicates to the user when the dispensing of a product has started and when the desired amount of the product has been dispensed. 
         [0021]    It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method of adjusting or calibrating flow compensating constants in a soft serve product dispensing monitor so that the monitor would match the flow rate of a particular soft serve product dispensing machine. 
         [0022]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide a soft serve ice cream dispensing monitor that has low power-consuming components and includes algorithms which will minimize the power of the monitor such that the monitor may run on battery power for an extended period of time. 
         [0023]    In accordance with the present invention a device that monitors the dispensing of soft serve ice cream mounts on the handle of a soft serve ice cream dispensing machine, and when the handle of the machine is pulled down, indicates to the user of the machine when the proper amount of soft serve ice cream has been dispensed by the machine. 
         [0024]    These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0025]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a soft serve product monitor constructed in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0026]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of the electrical circuit of the soft serve product monitor of the present invention. 
           [0027]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the soft serve product monitor of the present invention in the reset firmware loop. 
           [0028]      FIG. 4  is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the soft serve product monitor of the present invention in the wake and dispense firmware loop. 
           [0029]      FIG. 5  is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the soft serve product monitor of the present invention in the firmware calibration mode. 
           [0030]      FIG. 6  is a pictorial illustration of the user interface of the soft serve product monitor of the present invention. 
           [0031]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  are pictorial illustrations of the user interface of the soft serve product monitor of the present invention in an upright and an inverted disposition. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Top Level Description of Method and Apparatus for the Soft Serve Display Device 
       [0032]      FIG. 1  shows the soft serve dispensing monitor hardware block diagram. The microcontroller circuit  1  contains a computer  1   c , timer  1   b  and memory  1   a  and firmware stored in the memory that performs the following functions: 
         [0033]    1—Reads the accelerometer  5  to determine the position of the handle of the soft serve product dispensing machine (the device of the present invention is preferably designed to be mounted on the handle); 
         [0034]    2—Turns on and off the LEDs on the user interface  4  to show the amount of ice cream product dispensed; 
         [0035]    3—Monitors the calibration switch  3  to perform a calibration function; 
         [0036]    4—Contains in memory  1   a  the flow rate over time firmware tables to look up flow rate and calculate the amount of product dispensed; 
         [0037]    5—Contains timers  1   b  to measure the time between dispenses to calculate dispense amounts; 
         [0038]    6—Turns off the LEDs of the user interface  4  and controls the power down of the system to maximize the life of the battery  6 ; and 
         [0039]    7—Monitors the interrupt line  7  of the accelerometer  5  while the device is in a “sleep” mode in order to minimize power consumption. 
         [0040]    The battery  6  provides power to the device. When the reset switch  2  is pressed, the microcontroller  1  resets. The calibration switch  3  is used to place the device into a calibration mode in which the device will enter a calibration factor (“Cal Factor”) to change the flow rate table stored in memory  1   a  for the machine that the device is attached to. 
       Top Level Summary of Operation 
       [0041]      FIG. 6  shows the preferred user interface overlay  60  of the device mounted on an exposed side of the housing of the device which is visible to the user. The user mounts the device onto the ice cream machine dispensing handle  80  at the round edge  63 . The handle  80  will be in the non-dispensing position at a 60 degree angle. After mounting and with the handle  80  in the non-dispensing position, the user presses the reset switch  2  on the rear side of the device housing, opposite the side having the user interface overlay  60 . Referencing  FIG. 1 , this causes the microcontroller  1  to read the accelerometer  6  and save the home (non-dispensing) position of the handle to memory  1   a.    
         [0042]    When the user pulls on the handle  80 , the left. LED indicator  61  (when viewing  FIG. 6 ), which is preferably yellow, will light, indicating to the user that a dispense of product has started. As the ice cream is flowing into the product container (e.g., a cone or cup), the user observes the indicators moving left to right, showing the amount dispensed. When the green indicator  62  of the desired size (S=small; M=medium; L=large; and XL=extra large) is reached, the user moves the handle  80  back to the non-dispensing position. After a few seconds, the device goes into a power save mode by turning off all of the LEDs and powering down the circuit of the device to a sleep mode. 
       Detailed Description of the Apparatus for the Soft Serve Display 
       [0043]      FIG. 2  shows the electrical circuit schematic of the soft serve product monitor of the present invention. U 1  is a microcontroller that in the preferred embodiment allows low power operation and even lower power sleep modes, direct drive of the LEDs, an I 2 C communication bus for communication with the accelerometer, program flash memory for storing programs, an EE PROM memory for storing calibration values and a RAM memory for storing temporary variables. 
         [0044]    The accelerometer U 2  measures and reports the amount of gravity that is pulling on the device in the x-y, y-z or x-z planes. The accelerometer is mounted on a printed circuit board that is disposed in parallel with the front face of the user interface. The soft serve product monitoring device is mounted to the handle  80  of the soft serve product dispensing machine. When the accelerometer is moved to a different position, the changes in gravity sensed by the accelerometer on the x, y or z axis, or multiple axes, are signaled to the microcontroller U 1 . 
         [0045]    After the user mounts the soft serve monitoring device on the handle  80  of the dispensing machine and presses the reset switch SW 1 , the microcontroller U 1  resets. Initialization commands are sent to the accelerometer U 2  by the microcontroller U 1 . These commands set the sensitivity, frequency of measurement and interrupt generation movement sensitivity. The accelerometer U 2  will generate an interrupt and signal the microcontroller to wake up because dispensing has started. 
         [0046]    When the microcontroller U 1  is idle for a period of time, the microcontroller goes into the sleep mode to conserve power. 
         [0047]    When the microcontroller U 1  receives an interrupt signal from the accelerometer U 2 , the microcontroller U 1  turns on the first yellow LED light, indicating the device is in the dispensing mode. The microcontroller U 1  starts a dispense timer. The microcontroller calculates the ounces dispensed using the formula: 
         [0000]      FLOW RATE LOOK UP oz/ms*TIME DISPENSED ms=OUNCES DISPENSED 
         [0048]    The microcontroller U 1  compares the OUNCES DISPENSED to the LED-to-ounces table stored in memory and turns on the appropriate LED indicator LD 1  through LD 8  that shows the user how much product has been dispensed. 
         [0049]    The FLOW RATE LOOK UP is a table stored in memory that is generated by direct measurements of a typical soft serve product dispensing machine. The flow rate in oz/ms goes down when the time between dispenses is small and goes up when the time between dispenses is large. 
         [0050]    When the dispense of product is complete, the microcontroller U 1  starts a “time between dispense” timer and then enters a sleep mode. When the microcontroller U 1  wakes again, the time between dispense is captured and used during dispense to look up the current flow rate from the FLOW RATE table. 
         [0051]    Y 1  is the crystal oscillator that is used by the microcontroller U 1  to generate the master clock. J 1  is a connector that is used to reprogram the microcontroller U 1 . 
       Detailed Description of the Firmware Block Diagram 
       [0052]      FIGS. 3, 4 and 5  show the firmware block diagrams for the monitor of the present invention.  FIG. 3  shows the “reset firmware loop” block diagram. The reset function (Block  30 ) is performed when the reset switch  2  is pressed. The system then performs an initialization of variables as shown in Block  31 , which is performed by the microcontroller  1  storing the variables in memory  1   a . The accelerometer&#39;s position is read at Block  32 , and the reading is saved as the off position as shown in Block  33 . The system then performs an LED test (Block  34 ) by sequencing each LED from left to right. The system then performs a sleep function by shutting down the microcontroller (Block  35 ). 
         [0053]      FIG. 4  shows the “wake and dispense” firmware loop. Block  40  shows the start of the “wake” process. When the accelerometer  5  detects movement, the accelerometer generates an interrupt signal. This signal causes the microcontroller  1  to wake and begin processing. Block  41  shows the microcontroller reading signals from the accelerometer. At Block  42 , a comparison is made to check if the handle  80  of the product dispensing machine is in the dispense position. Block  43  recalls the time between dispenses which is used to compensate for flow rate. At Block  44 , a dispense timer is started. At Block  45 , the total dispense is calculated by the formula: 
         [0000]      FLOW RATE LOOK UP oz/ms*TIME DISPENSED ms=OUNCES DISPENSED 
         [0054]    At Block  46 , select LEDs are lit based on the ounces dispensed, as shown, for example in the table below:
       0-3 ounces Yellow Cup/Cone LED   3-4.3 ounces Green Cup/Cone LED
 
The ounces and sizes can be customized for various end users.
       
 
         [0057]      FIG. 5  shows the firmware block diagram of the calibration mode. The calibration mode is entered by pressing and holding calibration switch  3  (Block  50 ). When the switch is released, the user interface shows one LED flashing, indicating the unit is in calibration during which the “Cal Factor” is set (Block  51 ). When the calibration switch  3  is pressed, at Block  52 , a timer is started at Block  53 . The timer is incremented at Block  54 , and when the switch is released, the timer is compared at Block  55 . If the switch was held for less then two seconds, the “Cal Factor” is incremented at Block  56  and operational flow is looped back to Block  51 . At Block  56 , if the “Cal Factor” number goes above  8 , for example, it is reset to  1 . 
         [0058]    At Block  55 , if the calibration switch  3  is held for two or more seconds, then the “Cal Factor” is stored in memory (Block  57 ), and the device ends the calibration mode routine (Block  58 ). 
       Detailed Description of the Dual Mounting User Interface 
       [0059]      FIG. 7A  shows the user interface mounted on the top of the handle  80  in an upright disposition  70  and  FIG. 7B  shows the interface mounted in an inverted disposition  75  on the bottom of the handle  80 . In order to accommodate the two mounting options ( 70 ,  75 ), it is shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B  how the same components and firmware are used to create the two mounting options. In a top mounting option  70 , the yellow LEDs are placed in the light gray positions shown in  FIG. 7A , starting with LED  71 . The green LEDs are placed in the black LED positions shown in  FIG. 7A , starting at LED  72 . 
         [0060]    In the bottom or inverted mounting option  75  shown in  FIG. 7B , the LEDs are placed in reverse order. The yellow LEDs are placed in the light gray positions shown in  FIG. 7B , starting at LED  76 . The green LEDs shown in  FIG. 7B , are placed in the black LED positions shown in  FIG. 7B , starting at LED  77 . 
         [0061]    During reset, the accelerometer detects the home mounting position and reverses the operation of the LEDs for all functions. 
         [0062]    Although illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.