Patent Publication Number: US-2023139954-A1

Title: Contactless dispensing valve system

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present application and the resultant patent relate generally to beverage dispensing systems and more particularly relate to a contactless dispensing valve system for automatically detecting and filing containers with beverages and the like. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Generally described, conventional beverage dispensing systems may initiate a dispense or a pour in response to a consumer pushing an activation button or pushing a cup against an activation lever. In either scenario, the consumer or the consumer&#39;s cup must come into physical contact with the beverage dispenser. For the purpose of good hygiene, many consumers may prefer to avoid as much physical contact as practical while still being able to carry on with daily activities. The consumer thus may seek to limit the number of physical contact points. 
     There is thus a desire for an improved beverage dispensing system that may initiate a dispense or a pour without physical contact therewith. Such an improved beverage dispensing system may initiate such a dispense or a pour for any conventionally sized container. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present application and the resultant patent thus provide a beverage dispenser for dispensing a beverage in a contactless fashion. The beverage dispenser may include a number of adjacent dispensing valves with each of the dispensing valves including a nozzle and a contactless dispensing valve system. The contactless dispensing valve system includes one or more proximity sensors positioned under the nozzle of each of the adjacent dispensing valves. 
     The present application and the resultant patent further provide a method of contactless dispensing of a beverage into a container positioned about a nozzle of a multi-nozzle beverage dispenser. The method may include the steps of positioning a number of sensors perpendicularly to the nozzle, continually sensing a distance from the sensors to the container, determining if the distance is within a threshold value, and if so, dispensing the beverage into the container. 
     These and other features and improvements of the present application and the resultant patent will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the shown drawings and the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic diagram of a beverage dispenser as may be described herein. 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic diagram of a dispensing valve of the beverage dispenser of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    is a side view of a portion of a beverage dispenser with a contactless dispensing valve system as may be described herein. 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic diagram of the contactless dispensing valve system of  FIG.  3   . 
         FIGS.  5 A- 5 C  show embodiments of a proximity sensor of the contactless dispensing valve system on  FIG.  3   . 
         FIG.  6    is a flow chart showing exemplary operating steps for the contactless dispensing valve system of  FIG.  3   . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals refer to like elements throughout the several views,  FIG.  1    shows a schematic diagram of a beverage dispenser  100  as may be described herein. Generally described, the beverage dispenser  100  may mix a number of fluids such as one or more syrups  110  and one or more diluents  120  to form any number of different beverages  130 . Other types of fluids such as flavor additives and other types of ingredients also may be used herein. Any number of fluids may be mixed herein in any volume or order. The dispensed beverages  130  may be chilled, heated, or at any temperature. The dispensed beverages  130  may flow into a consumer&#39;s cup  135  or other type of container. 
     The syrups  110  or other ingredients may be stored in a number of ingredient containers  140 . The ingredient containers  140  may be conventional five gallon bag-in-box containers or other type of container. The ingredient containers  140  may be positioned within, adjacent to, or remote from the beverage dispenser  100 . Different types of containers also may be used herein. 
     The beverage dispenser  100  may have one or more syrup circuits  150  in communication with each ingredient contain  140 . Likewise, the beverage dispenser  100  may have one or more diluent circuits  160  in communication one or more diluent sources  170 . Any number of syrup circuits  150  and diluent circuits  160  may be used herein. Flavoring or additive circuits and the like also may be used. 
     Each syrup circuit  150  may extend from one of the ingredient containers  140  to a nozzle  175  of a dispensing valve  180  via a syrup line  190 . Likewise, each diluent circuit  160  may extend from one of the diluent sources  170  to the nozzle  175  of the dispensing valve  180  via a diluent line  200 . The syrup lines  190  and the diluent lines  200  may be made from, for example, food grade thermoplastics and the like. Any number of the dispensing valves  180  may be used herein. Each dispensing valve  180  may be positioned on, for example, a backboard  210  of a dispensing tower  220 . Other positions and other types of equipment may be used herein. 
     Each syrup circuit  150  may have a syrup pump  230  thereon. By way of example, the syrup pump  230  may be a conventional carbon dioxide, powered on demand pump  240  and the like. The carbon dioxide, powered on demand pump  240  may be powered by a flow of pressurized carbon dioxide from a carbon dioxide source  250  via a carbon dioxide line  260 . The carbon dioxide source  250  may be any type of conventional pressurized container and the like. Other types of syrup pumps  230  and fluid movement devices may be used herein. 
     The syrup pump  230  may pump the syrup through the syrup line  190  to the dispensing valve  180 . The dispensing valve  180  may have a syrup flow controller  270  and a syrup solenoid valve  280  therein. The syrup flow controller  270  may be a mechanical device with a fixed flow rate therethrough. The flow rate may be adjusted manually as desired. The syrup solenoid valve  280  may be an on/off type device. The syrup solenoid valve  280  may include an on/off switch  290 . The on/off switch  290  may be operated by an activation lever  300  attached to the dispensing valve  180 . A consumer thus can operate the syrup circuit  150  of the dispensing valve  180  by pushing his or her cup against the actuation lever  300  to begin a flow therethrough. 
     Likewise, each diluent circuit  150  may have a diluent pump  310  thereon. By way of example, the diluent pump  310  may be a positive displacement pump  320  and the like. The positive displacement pump  320  may be a vibration pump, a solenoid pump, a gear pump, an annular pump, a peristaltic pump, a syringe pump, a piezo pump, or any other type of positive displacement device that is designed to pump a fixed displacement of fluid for each pump cycle. Other types of diluent pumps  310  and fluid movement devices may be used herein. The diluent pump  310  may pump the diluent through the diluent line  200  to the dispensing valve  180 . The dispensing valve  180  may have a diluent flow controller  330  and a diluent solenoid valve  340  therein. The diluent flow controller  330  and the diluent solenoid valve  340  may be similar to the syrup flow devices described above. Given such, the consumer thus can operate the diluent circuit  160  of the dispensing valve  180  by pushing his or her cup against the actuation lever  300  to begin a flow therethrough. 
     The beverage dispenser  100  also may include an ice chamber  350 . The ice chamber  350  may be of conventional design and may have any suitable size, shape, or configuration. The ice chamber  350  may be filled with a volume of ice and water and/or the ice chamber  350  may have a number of cooling coils (not shown) therein so as to promote the growth of an ice bank therein. The syrup lines  190  and the diluent lines  200  may extend therethrough so as to chill the fluids flowing therethrough. Other components and other configurations may be used herein. 
     The beverage dispenser  100  may have a carbonator  360  positioned in or near the ice chamber  350 . The carbonator  360  may be of conventional design. The carbonator  360  may take a flow of diluent from the diluent line  200  and a flow of carbon dioxide from the carbon dioxide source  250  via a carbonator carbon dioxide line  370 . The diluent and the carbon dioxide mix with in the carbonator  360  to create carbonated water. The carbonated water then may flow to the dispensing valve  190 . The beverage dispenser  100  also may have a carbonated water recirculation circuit  380  with a recirculation pump  390  so as to recirculate the diluent so as to maintain the diluent at an appropriate chilled temperature. Although the diluent circuit  160  shown is a carbonated water circuit, one or more plain water circuits also may be used that bypass the carbonator  360 . Depending on the distance between the dispensing valve  180  and the ice chamber  350 , the syrup lines  190  and the diluent lines  200  may run through an extended insulated “python”  395  so as to maintain the fluids therein at the appropriate temperature. Other components and other configurations may be used herein. 
       FIGS.  3  and  4    show a contactless dispensing valve system  400  that may be used with the beverage dispenser  100 . Instead of using the lever  300 , the contactless dispensing valve system  400  may include one or more proximity sensors  410  and a control circuit  420  in communication with the syrup solenoid valve  280  and the diluent solenoid valve  340  via the on/off switch  290 . The proximity sensors  410  may include an ultrasonic sensor  430  ( FIG.  5 A ), an infrared sensor  440  ( FIG.  5 B ), a capacitance proximity sensor  450  ( FIG.  5 C ), or similar types of sensors. Different types of sensors may be used together. In this example, three proximity sensors  410  are shown, a first proximity sensor  411 , a second proximity sensor  412 , and a third proximity sensor  413 . Any number of the proximity sensors  410  may be used. The proximity sensors  410  may be positioned on the backboard  210  or in similar positions that may be substantially perpendicular to the flow of the beverage  130  from the nozzle  175 . A middle position along the backboard  210  may be preferred in the proximity sensors  410  may miss detecting the cup  135  if the proximity sensors  410  are positioned too high or too low with respect to the nozzle  175 . In this example, the on/off switch  290  may be in the form of a MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor) switch  425 . The MOSFET switch  425  is a semiconductor device used for switching and amplifying electronic signals. Alternatively, a TRIAC (Triode AC Switch) also may be used. A Triac is a high-speed solid-state device that can switch and control AC power in both directions of a sinusoidal waveform. Other types of on/off switches may be used herein. Other components and other configurations may be used herein. 
     The control circuit  420  includes a microcontroller  460 . The micro-controller  460  may be any type of programmable logic device. The microcontroller  460  may be local or remote. Multiple microcontrollers  460  may be used herein. The microcontroller  460  may execute computer-executable program instructions. The computer executable program instructions may include any number of module application programs required to operate the contactless dispensing valve system  100 . Examples include, but are not limited to, a MOTOROLA, MICROCHIP, RABBIT, ZILOG, or other manufacturers or brands, as may be required and/or desired in a particular embodiment. The microcontroller  460  may be powered via an AC power source  470  via a buck power converter  480  and the like. Other component and other configurations may be used herein. 
     Each of the different proximity sensors  410  have different advantages and drawbacks. The advantages of the ultrasonic sensor  430  include the ability to function in a harsh environment with high accuracy. The drawbacks include a relatively large size, high cost, and low time-of-flight accuracy at extremely close distances. The advantages of the infrared sensor  440  or infrared time of flight sensor include a low relative cost, high accuracy, and small relative sensor size. The drawbacks include possible interference issues and the ability to function in harsh environments. For example, droplets of soda that get on the lens of the sensor could cause the sensor to malfunction. The advantages of the capacitance proximity sensor  450  include the ability to function in a harsh environment, cost, and low potential for interference with adjacent sensors. The drawbacks include calibration in production, a relatively large sensor size, and the lower accuracy of distance measurements when compared to time-of-flight sensors. 
       FIG.  6    is a flow chart of exemplary steps in the operation of the contactless valve system  100 . At step  500 , the contactless dispensing valve system  100  is powered on and setup is initialized at step  510 . At step  520 , the contactless dispensing valve system  100  enters the main operation loop. At step  530 , ambient light is measured by one of the proximity sensors  410  (either the ultrasonic sensor  430  or the capacitance sensor  450 ). The ambient light measurements prevent false positives caused by, for example, turning on the lights in a restaurant. At step  540 , the distance (D) from the proximity sensors  410  to the cup  135  is continuously measured. At step  550 , the running average of the distance is calculated. At step  560 , a threshold value is calculated. The distance reading averages are used to discard a distance reading greater than the threshold value. At step  570 , a determination is made of whether a cup  135  is present. If a determination is made that no cup is present, at step  580  the MOSFET switch  425  remains closed. If a determination is made that a cup is present, at step  590  the MOSFET switch  425  is opened. Opening the MOSFET switch  425  in turn opens the syrup solenoid valve  280  and the diluent solenoid valve  340  such that the beverage  130  flows into the cup  135 . At step  600 , a determination is reach as to whether a total pouring time has reached a “jackpot” level or a maximum fill level. If so, the MOSFET switch  425  is closed at step  610 . If not, the main loop continues at step  620  until the jackpot level is reached. As described above, a TRIAC also may be used herein. 
     Similarly, the contactless valve system  100  may accommodate cups  135  of differing heights. If the cup  135  is tapered from top to bottom, the taper may be used to determine the fill height H. Specifically, if the distance D to the cup  135  is less than a threshold value at a lower end of the cup  135  and the distance D to the cup is greater than the threshold value at an upper end of the cup  135 , a typical fill time between these levels may be used as the jackpot level. These method step are exemplary only. Other and different method steps may be used herein in any order. 
     Interference between adjacent dispensing valves  180  may be avoided by adjusting the parameters of the proximity sensors  410 . Each of the proximity sensors  410  may have a field of view of no more than about thirty degrees. Moreover, the proximity sensors  410  on adjacent dispensing valves  180  may use differently times light pulses. Specifically, each proximity sensor  410  may use a timing that is randomly generated at the startup step  510 . Each proximity sensor  410  thus may only look for incoming light pulses at that timing interval so as to avoid interference with adjacent dispensing valves  180 . 
     The contactless dispensing valve system  400  thus allows contactless dispensing of beverages and the like. The proximity sensors  410  accurately determine the presence of a cup  135  with minimal interference from adjacent dispensing valves  180  and with minimal cleaning requirements. 
     It should be apparent that the foregoing relates only to certain embodiments of the present application and the resultant patent. Numerous changes and modifications may be made herein by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the general spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims and the equivalents thereof