Abstract:
A scale for determining a quantity of material in a container such as a keg. The may include a support member configured to be placed under a portion of the container, a display to indicate the quantity of material in the container, and a weight sensor positioned underneath the support member to determine the quantity of material in the container and to provide a signal to the display.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The invention relates generally to the measurement and display of the amount of material in a container, and more particularly, to a device for measuring and displaying the amount of beer in a keg.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART  
       [0002]     Kegs are barrels that hold fluid such as beer under pressure. Due to the pressure within the keg, these barrels are generally made of a metallic material such as an aluminum material. Since kegs are a staple of bars, restaurants, and other establishments, there is often a need to know the amount of beer in a keg to determine when to replace an empty keg with a full keg. Unlike other containers that are transparent, kegs are opaque. Thus, a simple visual inspection to determine the amount of fluid in a keg is not possible. Furthermore, with a full keg weighing over 150 lbs, it is not practical to constantly lift the keg to determine the amount of beer in the keg.  
         [0003]     Scales that hold an entire keg have been proposed, however, these scales are impractical and unsatisfactory because they require a large amount of space and the lifting of the heavy keg. Lifting such heavy objects requires bulky equipment or an extremely strong person. Furthermore, it can cause extreme strain on a person lifting the heavy keg.  
         [0004]     Therefore, there is a need for a keg scale that is small and easy to use and that does not require the lifting of the entire keg to determine the amount of beer in the keg. The invention fulfills this need as well as others.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     One embodiment of the invention includes a scale for determining a quantity of material in a container. The scale may include a support member configured to be placed under a portion of the container, a display to indicate the quantity of material in the container, and a weight sensor positioned underneath the support member to determine the quantity of material in the container and to provide a signal to the display.  
         [0006]     One embodiment of the invention includes a scale for determining a quantity of material within a keg. The scale may include a housing defining a cavity, a lever arm positioned within the cavity and having a first end attached to the housing and a second end moveable between a first position and a second position wherein when the keg that is full of fluid is first placed on the scale, the lever arm is in the first position and as the fluid is gradually consumed from the keg, the lever arm gradually moves from the first position to the second position, a spring having a first end attached to the housing and a second end attached to the second end of the lever arm, a plate positioned on top of the lever arm with a protrusion at a bottom surface of the plate to move the lever arm depending on the quantity of material in the keg, a pad positioned on top of the plate to contact a rim of the keg and to move the plate depending on the quantity of material in the keg wherein a surface area of the pad is smaller than a surface area of a bottom surface of the keg, a first raised portion and a second raised portion on opposite ends of the pad, a display having an empty indicator and a full indicator; attached to at least one of the lever arm or spring to display the amount of material in the keg, and a display pin within the display attached to at least one of the lever arm or spring capable of moving between the full indicator and the empty indicator in response to the lever arm moving from the first position to the second position. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a keg positioned on a keg scale according to one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the keg and the keg scale of  FIG. 1  according to one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0009]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of a keg scale having a housing with mechanical components contained therein that are used to determine the amount (e.g., weight) of fluid in the keg according to one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0010]      FIG. 4  is a top view of the keg scale of  FIG. 3  illustrating the display, the pad, the first raised portion and the second raised portion according to one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 5  is a front view of the display illustrating the movable indicator, an empty indicator and a full indicator according to one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of a keg scale having a housing with electronic components contained therein that are used to determine the amount (e.g., weight) of fluid in the keg according to one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 7  is a top view of the keg scale of  FIG. 6  illustrating the display, the pad, the first raised portion and the second raised portion according to one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 8  is a front view of the display illustrating an LED and a calibration device according to one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 9  is a front view of the display illustrating an indicator, an empty indicator, a full indicator and a calibration device according to one embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 10  is a simplified block diagram of a keg scale system where the keg scale wirelessly transmits a weight signal to the display, which is located at a remote location relative to the keg scale, according to one embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0017]     Methods and systems that implement the embodiments of the various features of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the invention is not limited to only the uses provided below but can be expanded where the use of the invention is appropriate. Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” is intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least an embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “an embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Throughout the drawings, reference numbers are re-used to indicate correspondence between referenced elements.  
         [0018]     Referring now more particularly to the drawings,  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a keg  120  positioned on a keg scale  100  and  FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the keg  120  and the keg scale  100  of  FIG. 1 . Typically, the keg  120  is formed in the shape of a cylinder and has a side surface  122 , a top surface  124 , a bottom surface  125  and a rim  130  extending downward from the bottom surface  125 . In one embodiment, the rim  130  extends around the entire circumference of the keg  120 . The fluid (e.g., beer) is held within the side, top and bottom surfaces  122 ,  124  and  125  of the keg  120 . The fluid is generally maintained under a pressure.  
         [0019]     The keg scale  100  may have a display  105 , a pad  115 , and a housing  110  that includes a first raised portion  145  and a second raised portion  150 . The display  105  may be located on the first raised portion  145  to indicate the amount of fluid in the keg  120 . The pad  115  may be positioned between the first raised portion  145  and the second raised portion  150 . The first raised portion  145  has a height that is greater than the second raised portion  150 . The lower height of the second raised portion  150  allows the keg  120  to lifted only a small distance while the keg scale  100  is pushed under the rim  130 . The higher height of the first raised portion  145  helps to prevent the keg scale  100  from being pushed completely under the keg  120 . The larger first raised portion  145  also allows the user to use his foot to slide the keg scale  100  into position while at the same time lifting or tilting the keg  120 . This allows a single user to lift the keg  120  and push the keg scale  100  into position.  
         [0020]     To measure the amount of fluid in the keg  120 , the rim  130  of the keg  120  is lifted and positioned to contact or rest on the pad  115  of the keg scale  100 . The entire keg  120  does not have to be lifted but can be tilted to be positioned on the pad  115 . As shown, the entire keg  120  does not rest on the pad  115 ; rather, only a portion of the rim  130  rests on the pad  115 . Depending on the amount of fluid in the keg  120 , the pad  115  is pushed down a certain distance and the amount of fluid in the keg  120  is indicated on the display  105 . The first raised portion  145  and the second raised portion  150  also help to prevent the rim  130  of the keg  120  from slipping off the pad  115 . Typically, the pad  115  is positioned along a horizontal plane and the first and second raised portions  145  and  150  are positioned along vertical planes that are substantially perpendicular to the horizontal plane.  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of a keg scale  200  having a housing  210  with mechanical components contained therein that are used to determine the amount (e.g., weight) of fluid in the keg  120 . The housing  210  defines a cavity  212  that contains a plate  216 , a lever arm  235 , a connector  237  and a spring  240 . The rim  230  of the keg  120  rests on top of the pad  215  with the first raised portion  245  and the second raised portion  250  preventing the rim  230  from slipping off the pad  215 . The pad  215  translates the resulting force from the rim  230  onto the plate  216  with the plate  216  pushing down on the lever arm  235 .  
         [0022]     The lever arm  235  is connected on one end to the housing  210  and on the other end to the spring  240 . The spring  240  is connected on one end to the housing  210  and on the other end to the lever arm  235 . The spring  240  is interchangeable and calibrateable. This allows the user to gauge the amount of beer in the keg  220  more accurately because the spring  240  can be specifically designed for the keg  220  or can be calibrated to the specific weight of the keg  220  when it is full or empty. When the keg  220  contains fluid, the plate  216  pushes down on the lever arm  235 , through the initial placement of the rim  230  on the pad  215 , causing the lever arm  235  and spring  240  to move to a first position. As beer in the keg  120  is gradually consumed, the lever arm  235  and spring  240  gradually move from the first position toward a second position. In one embodiment, the first position is a full position and the second position is an empty position. The connector  237  is connected from the display  205  to the spring  240  and/or the lever arm  235 . The connector  237  is connected at one end to a movable indicator  255  that moves as the connector  237  moves (see also  FIG. 5 ).  
         [0023]      FIG. 4  is a top view of the keg scale of  FIG. 3  illustrating the display  205 , the pad  215 , the first raised portion  245  and the second raised portion  250 . As shown, the pad  215  is positioned between the first raised portion  245  and the second raised portion  250 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 5  is a front view of the display  205  illustrating the movable indicator  255 , an empty indicator  256  and a full indicator  257 . The movable indicator  255  is attached or linked to the connector  237 . As the beer is gradually consumed and the lever arm  235  and the spring  240  move from the first position to the second position, the movable indicator  255  moves from the full indicator  257  to the empty indicator  256 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of a keg scale  300  having a housing  310  with electronic components contained therein that are used to determine the amount (e.g., weight) of fluid in the keg  120 . The keg scale  300  has a display  305 , a pad  315 , a first raised portion  345  and a second raised portion  350 . The housing  310  has a cavity  312 , which contains a load cell  335  and a connector  337 .  
         [0026]     The rim  330  of the keg  120  containing beer rests on top of the pad  315  with the first raised portion  345  and the second raised portion  350  preventing the rim  330  from slipping off the pad  315 . The pad  315  translates the resulting force from the rim  330  onto the load cell  335 . The load cell  335  can be programmed to determine the amount of fluid within the keg  120 . The load cell  335  is connected to the display  305  by the connector  337 . The display  305  has a visual representation (e.g., a LED, an indicator, etc.) of the amount of beer in the keg  120  and at least one calibration device  358  (e.g. a button, a switch, etc.) to calibrate the keg scale  300  (e.g., the load cell  335 ).  
         [0027]      FIG. 7  is a top view of the keg scale  300  of  FIG. 6  illustrating the display  305 , the pad  315 , the first raised portion  345  and the second raised portion  350 . As shown, the pad  315  is positioned between the first raised portion  345  and the second raised portion  350 .  
         [0028]      FIG. 8  is a front view of the display  305  illustrating an LED  355  and a calibration device  358 . The LED  355  shows the percentage of fluid in the keg  120  and the calibration device  358  is used to calibrate the keg scale  300 . In one embodiment, the calibration device  358  can be programmed to know the weight of the keg  120  when empty and when full. This will allow the calibration device  358  to display on the LED  355  the correct amount of fluid in the keg  120  as the fluid is consumed.  
         [0029]      FIG. 9  is a front view of the display  305  illustrating an indicator  355 , an empty indicator  356 , a full indicator  357  and a calibration device  358 . The indicator  355  will be at the full indicator  357  when the keg is full of beer, at the empty indicator  356  when the keg is empty, and proportionally between the full indicator  357  and the empty indicator  356  depending on the amount of beer in the keg  120 . The calibration device  358  allows calibration of the keg scale  300 .  
         [0030]      FIG. 10  is a front view of a wireless keg scale system  410  for transmitting weight information  470  on the amount of beer in the keg  120  from location A to location B and/or location C. The wireless keg scale system  410  may include the keg  120 , a keg scale  400 , a transmitter  405 , a fluid line  415 , a receiver  460 , a monitor  465 , a beer dispenser  420 , a handle  425 , a receiver  428  and a display  430 . The keg scale  400  is similar to the keg scale  300 . The keg scale  400  includes the transmitter  405  that generally replaces the display  305 . The keg  120  may be located in location A (e.g., a freezer compartment with many other kegs to stay cool). Each transmitter  405  transmits a different weight signal to its respective receivers  428  and  460 . One receiver  460  may be located at a monitoring station (location B), which monitors all the kegs to make sure they each contain beer. A restaurant manager may keep track of all the kegs and when one of the kegs is close to being empty, may instruct a stock person to replace the empty key with a full keg. This allows a bar with many different brands of beers to keep track of the content in each keg and efficiently prepare for the replacement of kegs as they become empty. Also, the restaurant can easily track how fast each keg of beer is being consumed and the beers that are most consumed. The monitor  465  can display each brand of beer and the amount of beer remaining for each brand.  
         [0031]     The transmitter  405  can also send a weight signal to the receiver  428  at location C (e.g., a bar). The receiver  428  and the display  430  can be located adjacent to its corresponding beer dispenser  420  and handle  425 . This allows the bartender to know when the particular beer is about to be empty. The handle  425  is used to open and close the flow of beer through the beer dispenser  420 . The fluid line  415  carries the beer from the keg  120  to the beer dispenser  420 .  
         [0032]     Although different embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, many other changes, combinations, omissions, modifications, and substitutions, in addition to those set forth in the above paragraphs may be made by a person having ordinary skill in the arts without necessarily departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. Furthermore, the use of the present invention is not limited to only kegs and beers, but can be expanded accordingly by a person having ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, this invention is not intended to be limited by the preferred embodiments or indicated uses, but is to be defined by reference to the appended claims.