Patent Publication Number: US-2021171333-A1

Title: Automatic reconstitution water dispensing systems for medications

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application ser. No. 16/213,537 filed Dec. 7, 2018, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/268,077 filed Sep. 16, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,150,663 issued Dec. 11, 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/219,911 filed Sep. 17, 2015, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to valve assemblies for automated fluid delivery systems, including valve assemblies for automated systems for dispensing flavorings for medications and other applications requiring flavoring and/or water. 
     BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
     Commercial pharmaceutical products are available with FDA approval in a limited number of flavored alternatives. Allowing patients multiple choices of flavor and taste profiles can aid the palatability of liquid medications and increase compliance and adherence among patients including children. Various types of medications would benefit from improved flavoring. For example, while many liquid medications come in flavored forms, they still tend to taste bad and their flavors can be improved. It is known to add one or more types of flavoring to liquid medications by manually selecting and adding the flavorings to the medications based upon various types of flavor recipes. However, such manual selection can be time-consuming and may not result in optimal flavoring combinations. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides automatic reconstitution water dispensing systems. The systems may be used to add flavorings to medications, and to reconstitute medications by adding water. Water for reconstitution purposes may be provided through the flavoring valve assembly and/or through a separate valve. An input device such as a code scanner may be used to input data regarding the type of medication to be flavored into the system. The dispensing system allows for automatic dispensing of reconstitution water, and, optionally, from a single unit. 
     An aspect of the present invention is to provide a reconstitution water dispensing system comprising: a reconstitution water valve in flow communication with a water supply line; a reconstitution water dispensing nozzle in flow communication with the reconstitution water valve; an input device for identifying a type of medication to which reconstitution water is to be added; and an electronic computer processor for determining an amount of reconstitution water to deliver through the reconstitution water valve to the reconstitution water dispensing nozzle depending on the identified type of medication. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for determining and dispensing an amount of reconstitution water from a dispensing apparatus. The method comprises: receiving, by an electronic computer processor of the dispensing apparatus, data associated with at least one medication; determining, by the processor, an amount of the reconstitution water to be dispensed for addition to the medication in response to the received medication data; and dispensing the determined amount of reconstitution water from the apparatus. 
     These and other aspects of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of an automatic flavoring and water dispensing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of the automatic flavoring and water dispensing system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded isometric view of the automatic flavoring and water dispensing system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a side sectional view of a rack for holding flavoring containers in a dispensing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of a portion of  FIG. 4  showing details of insertion of a flavoring container and cap into a cradle of the dispensing system. 
         FIG. 6  is an enlarged view of another portion of  FIG. 4  showing a flavoring container and cap in an inserted position in a cradle of the dispensing system. 
         FIG. 7  is an isometric view of a flavoring container and cap in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is an exploded view of the flavoring container and cap of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  is a top isometric view of a valve assembly that may be used in an automatic flavoring and water dispensing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded top isometric view of the valve assembly of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  is a bottom isometric view of the valve assembly of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 12  is a front view of the valve assembly of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 13  is a sectional view taken through section  13 - 13  of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 14  is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the valve assembly of  FIG. 13  showing details of a solenoid valve assembly with the valve in an open position. 
         FIG. 15  is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the valve assembly of  FIG. 13  showing details of a solenoid valve assembly with the valve in a closed position. 
         FIG. 16  is a top isometric view of a lower valve block of a valve assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 17  is a bottom isometric view of an upper valve block of a valve assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 18  is a top isometric view and  FIG. 19  is a bottom isometric view of a valve membrane for use in a valve assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 20  is a schematic diagram illustrating electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic systems of fluid delivery systems of automatic flavoring and water dispensing systems in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 21-23  illustrate user interfaces for operation of an automatic flavoring and water dispensing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, including flavoring operations, reconstitution operations, and a combination of flavoring and reconstitution operations. 
         FIG. 24  illustrates a user interface for operation of an automatic flavoring and water dispensing system in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention provides automatic dispensing systems for multiple types of fluids. In one embodiment, the automatic dispensing system is used to deliver different types of flavorings and water for use in liquid medications. The system may provide automated reconstitution of medications, automated flavoring of medications and/or combinations thereof. However, it is to be understood that the automatic dispensing systems of the present invention may be used to deliver various other types of fluids in addition to, or in place of, medicine flavorings and water. For example, multiple flavorings may be provided for other products such as beverages, flavored water, soda, mixed alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks, food, and the like. In other embodiments, the fluids to be delivered may include different types of liquids such as fragrances, oils, solvents, alcohol, diluents, slurries, pastes, suspensions, and the like. In various embodiments, water may be dispensed as part of the automatic dispensing system. In other embodiments, water may not be dispensed by the system. 
     Referring to the drawings, an embodiment of an automatic flavoring and water dispensing system  10  is shown in  FIGS. 1-3 . The automatic flavoring and water dispensing system  10  includes a cabinet  11  with a front panel  12 . A recessed filling station  13  is provided in the front panel  12 . A flavoring and water dispensing nozzle assembly  14  is provided in the recessed filling station  13 . In the embodiment shown, the recessed filling station  13  has a sloped bottom floor  15  rather than a horizontal bottom floor. Such an arrangement requires an operator to manually hold a container (not shown) under the dispensing nozzle assembly  14  during filling operations. However, a non-sloped bottom floor could alternatively be used. As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the cabinet  11  includes a top panel  21  with an access cap  22  that may be formed as a knock-out tab that can be removed, e.g., for water and/or electrical supply lines, when the unit is wall-mounted. As shown in  FIG. 3 , a top subassembly  23  may be used to support the top panel  21 . The cabinet  11  also includes a right side panel  24 , left side panel  25 , and bottom panel  26 . As further shown in  FIG. 3 , the automatic flavoring and water dispensing system  10  includes a frame  30  upon which various components of the dispensing system  10  may be mounted. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1-4 , the automatic flavoring and water dispensing system  10  includes multiple flavoring containers  50  supported by a container rack  40 . As shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , the dispensing system  10  houses multiple flavoring containers  50  accessible through the access door  16  in the front panel  12 . In the embodiment shown, twelve flavoring containers  50  are housed in the dispensing system  10 . However, any other suitable number of containers and/or cartridges may be used in accordance with the present invention. The flavoring containers  50  may contain various liquid flavor compositions commercially available from FLAVORx, Inc. As more fully described below, the flavoring containers  50  are held at an angle inside the dispensing system in order to facilitate extraction of the entire amount of liquid flavoring from each container  50  as it is emptied during operation of the system. 
     As shown most clearly in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the rack  40  includes an array of cradles  43  for holding the flavoring containers  50  in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As used herein, the term “cradle” means any structure capable of supporting or holding a flavoring container, including horizontal or non-horizontal shelves, brackets, saddles, clips, hangers and the like. Each cradle  43  in the embodiment shown includes an angled side surface  44  and a spring biased support clip  45  for releasably supporting a flavoring container  50  in a desired orientation in the cradle  43 , as more fully described below. 
     Each flavoring container  50  has a body  52  and a neck opening  54 , which may be externally threaded. As further shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a cap  60  is removably fastened on each flavoring container  50 , e.g., by means of internal threads. As shown in detail in  FIGS. 4-8 , the cap  60  is generally cylindrical with a top face  61  and an alignment rib  62  radially projecting from a side wall of the cap  60  in a direction parallel with a longitudinal axial direction of the generally cylindrical cap  60 . The cap  60  further includes a flavoring outlet port  64  with a central seal  65 , and an air pressure inlet port  66  with a seal  67 . While a container  50  and cap  60  arrangement is shown, cartridges may be used in place of the containers. In each case, the containers or cartridges may be single-use or reusable. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , a flavoring extraction tube  70  with a bottom notched opening  72  and a top fitting  74  may be releasably attached to the cap  60  such that the flavoring extraction tube  70  is in flow communication with the flavoring outlet port  64 . An alignment tab  76  is provided near the top fitting  74  in order to ensure that the flavoring extraction tube  70  is mounted in a desired rotational position in the cap  60 . As further shown in  FIG. 8 , the flavoring extraction tube  70  is provided at an angle such that, when inserted into the flavoring container  50 , a bottom end of the tube  70  is positioned at a bottom corner of the container body  52  in order to facilitate full emptying of the flavoring container  50  during operation. The bottom notched opening  72  eliminates potential blockage of flavoring liquid as it enters the tube  70 , thereby facilitating flow of the flavoring liquid through the extraction tube. 
     The containers  50  are held at an angle in the container rack  40  which causes the liquid flavorings to flow to a lower corner of each container as the container empties. In the embodiment shown, the angle is about 45° measured from the vertical direction. However, any other suitable angle may be used, e.g., from 20° to 70°, or from 30° to 60°. With the extraction tube  70  extending downward from the cap  60  and its inlet end positioned at or near the lowest point in the container  50 , access to substantially all of the flavoring liquid is provided as the container is emptied. The extraction tube  70  may be made of any suitable material that remains stable in the presence of the various liquid flavors, such as low density polyethylene or the like. The cap  60  may be sealed to the container  50  by any suitable means, such as a silicone seal or the like that engages with the upper edge of the neck opening  54  of the container  50 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 4-6 , a needle tube housing  80  is mounted in the upper portion  47  of the container cap recess  46 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , and the enlarged views of  FIGS. 5 and 6 , each cradle  43  of the container rack  40  includes a container cap recess  46  for receiving the cap  60  of a flavoring container  50 . The container cap recess  46  includes an upper portion in which a needle tube housing  80  is mounted. An alignment groove  48  in the container cap recess receives the alignment rib  62  of a container cap  60 . The needle tube housing  80  has a generally cylindrical body with a radially extending flange  81  at a top portion thereof. A flavoring outlet fitting  84  is mounted on, and extends through, the flange  81 . An air pressure inlet fitting  87  is also mounted on, and extends through, the flange  81 . As shown most clearly in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , a flavoring outlet needle tube  85  having a needle tip  86  is connected to the flavoring outlet fitting  84 , while an air pressure inlet needle tube  88  having an air pressure inlet needle tip  89  is connected to the air pressure inlet fitting  87 . Each of the tubes  85  and  88  include an internal passageway terminating before the needle tips  86  and  89  at the lower ends thereof. Two side outlet ports extend through the radial walls of each of the tubes  85  and  88 , just above their tips  86  and  89 . As more fully described below, the flavoring outlet needle tube  85  and tip  86  are arranged to pierce through the seal  65  of the flavoring outlet port  64  when the cap  60  is installed adjacent to the needle tube housing  80 . In a similar manner, the air pressure inlet needle tube  88  and tip  89  are arranged to pierce through the seal  67  of the air inlet pressure port  66  when the cap  60  is installed adjacent to the needle tube housing  80 . 
     In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the container rack  40 , flavoring containers  50 , caps  60  and needle tube housings  80  are structured and arranged in a manner that aligns each flavoring container  50  in its respective cradle  43  in a specific orientation that aligns the cap  60  with the flavoring extraction tube  70 , and also places the bottom  72  of each flavoring extraction tube  70  at the lowermost position in each flavoring container  50 . The cap  60  of each flavoring container  50  is aligned in its respective container cap recess  46  by inserting the alignment rib  62  of the cap in the alignment groove  48  of the recess  46 . In this manner, the cap  60  can only fit in the recess  46  in a single orientation that aligns the flavoring outlet port  64  and air inlet port  66  with their corresponding flavoring outlet needle tube  85  and air pressure inlet needle tube  88  of the needle tube housing  80 , as shown in detail in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . 
       FIGS. 9-19  illustrate a valve assembly  100  and component parts thereof that may be used in the automatic flavoring and water dispensing system  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Although the valve assembly  100  is primarily described herein for use in an automatic flavoring and water dispensing system  10 , it is to be understood that the valve assembly  100  can also be used in any other suitable system for delivery of various types of fluids. In the embodiment shown, the control valve assembly  100  has thirteen channels, including twelve flavor channels and one water and/or air purge channel. 
     The valve assembly  100  includes an upper valve block  102  and a lower valve block  104 . The upper and lower valve blocks  102  and  104  are fastened together by means of attachments holes  103  extending through the upper valve block  102  that are aligned with attachment holes  105  extending through the lower valve block  104 . In the embodiment shown, the attachment holes  103  in the upper valve block  102  are threaded, and the attachment holes  105  through the lower valve block  104  are unthreaded. Threaded fasteners  106  extend through the lower valve block attachment holes  105  and are threaded into the upper valve block attachment holes  103 . However, any other suitable type of mechanical fasteners or other attachment means may be used. As shown in  FIG. 10 , threaded mounting holes  107  in the lower valve block  104  may be used to fasten the valve assembly  100  to the frame  30  of the dispensing system  10 . 
     The upper surface of the lower valve block  104  includes valve membrane alignment tabs  108  and valve membrane alignment rings  109 , as most clearly shown in  FIG. 10  and described in more detail below. As shown in  FIGS. 10 and 13 , the upper valve block  102  has a water delivery hole  110  extending therethrough that is aligned with a water delivery hole  112  extending through the lower valve block  104 . A water delivery tube  114  is mounted in the water delivery hole  112  of the lower valve block  104 . The water delivery hole  110  may be equipped with a standard fitting (not shown) for connection to a water reconstitution valve  115 , which is schematically shown in  FIGS. 20 and 21 , as described in more detail below. 
     As further shown in  FIGS. 10 and 13 , the upper valve block  102  has several upper solenoid valve receiving holes  120  extending therethrough. Each upper solenoid valve receiving hole  120  has a larger diameter at the top surface of the upper valve block  102  that transitions to a smaller diameter opening  123  near the bottom surface of the upper valve block  102 . An annular recess  122  surrounds the lower solenoid plunger receiving hole  123  at the bottom surface of the upper valve block  102 . As shown in  FIG. 17 , several relief channels  124  connected to a relief recess  128  are provided on the bottom surface of the upper valve block  102  in communication with the annular recesses  122 . The relief channels may provide alignment of the valve membrane  170  and may allow space for the valve membrane  170  to expand when the channels  130  below are filled with pressurized liquid. 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , the upper surface of the lower valve block  104  includes several valve seat recesses  130  with annular projections  131  radially inside each valve seat recess  130 . A fluid delivery hole  132  extends through each annular projection  131 , and is in flow communication with a corresponding flavoring delivery tube  140 , as shown in  FIGS. 11-13 . Multiple flavoring tubes  140  deliver flavorings to the fluid delivery holes  132  through the lower valve block  104 . In the embodiment shown, a single water delivery tube  146  is provided to one of the fluid delivery holes  132 . 
     As most clearly shown in  FIG. 10 , multiple fluid delivery channels  134  are provided in the upper surface of the lower valve block  104 . Each fluid delivery channel  134  extends from a corresponding valve seat recess  130  and fluid delivery hole  132 , and provides a fluid passage toward a fluid delivery manifold  138  having a fluid delivery hole  139 . As more fully described below, flavorings supplied through the delivery tubes  140  and water/air supplied through the water/air purge tube  146  flow through the fluid delivery holes  132  into the valve seat recesses  130  and through the fluid delivery channels  134  to the fluid delivery manifold  138 . The fluids then travel through the fluid delivery hole  139  into the dispensing nozzle  148 . In the embodiment shown, the dispensing nozzle  148  serves to dispense both flavoring mixtures and water therethrough. The water may be provided as part of a reconstitution operation and/or a flushing operation, as more fully describe below. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 9, 10, 12 and 13-15 , the valve assembly  100  includes a solenoid valve assembly  150  having multiple solenoids  152  that may be used to control the flow of flavorings in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In addition, another solenoid  156  may be used to control the flow of water and/or air for purging or cleaning operations in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The solenoids  152  and  156  are mounted on the upper valve block  102  by means of first and second solenoid mounting brackets  160  and  161 . As shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the first and second solenoid mounting brackets  160  and  161  include attachment tabs  164  aligned with threaded attachment holes  166  in the upper surface of the upper valve block  120 . Threaded fasteners  168  extend through the attachment tabs  164  into the threaded attachment holes  166  in order to fasten the first and second solenoid brackets  160  and  161  onto the upper valve block  102 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 13-15 , each solenoid  152  has a reciprocating solenoid valve pin  153  slidably mounted therein. The bottom of the solenoid valve pin  153  engages a solenoid valve plunger  154  to control reciprocating axial movement of the solenoid valve plunger  154 . A retainer head  155  is provided at the bottom of the solenoid valve pin  153 , which is retained in a slotted retainer cage  157  at the top of the valve plunger  154 .  FIG. 14  illustrates an open position of the solenoid  152  in which the solenoid valve pin  153  and retainer head  155  pull the slotted retainer cage  157  and valve plunger  154  upward against the bias of spring  159 . In  FIG. 15 , the solenoid  152  is in its closed position in which the bias spring  159  presses the slotted retainer cage  157  and solenoid valve plunger  154  downward in the direction of arrow F. The solenoid  156  used for water and/or air purging may have a similar construction as the other solenoid valves, with a solenoid valve plunger labeled  158  in  FIG. 10 . 
     The valve assembly  100  includes a flexible and resilient valve membrane  170  between the upper valve block  102  and lower valve block  104 . The valve membrane  170  is shown in  FIGS. 13-16, 18 and 19 . For purposes of illustration, the valve membrane  107  has been omitted from the exploded view of  FIG. 10 .  FIG. 18  is a top isometric view and  FIG. 19  is a bottom isometric view of the valve membrane  170 . Installation of the valve membrane  170  on the upper surface of the lower valve block  104  is shown in  FIG. 16 . The valve membrane  170  comprises a generally planar membrane sheet  171  having multiple annular compliance recesses  172  in its upper surface. Each annular compliance recess  172  includes a contact disk  173  radially inside the recess. The valve membrane  170  is made of a deformable elastic material such as silicone or other elastic polymers. 
     A water delivery through hole  174  extends through the valve membrane  170 . Edge notches  175  are provided at selected locations around the peripheral edge of the valve membrane  170 . Alignment holes  176  are provided through the membrane  170  inside the peripheral edge thereof. 
     As shown most clearly in the bottom isometric view of  FIG. 19 , the valve membrane  170  includes multiple flavoring delivery channels  177  and a water and/or air purge channel  178 . In the embodiment shown, the flavoring delivery channels  177  and purge channel  178  are in flow communication with a flavoring delivery manifold recess  179  that is positioned above the fluid delivery manifold  138  of the lower valve block  104 . The flavoring delivery channels  177  of the valve membrane  170  are aligned above corresponding fluid delivery channels  134  in the upper surface of the lower valve block  104 . The water/air purge channel  178  of the valve membrane is aligned above one of the fluid delivery channels  134  in the upper surface of the lower valve block  104 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 13-15 , each contact disk  173  of the valve membrane  170  is located below a solenoid valve plunger  154  or solenoid valve plunger  158 . As shown in  FIG. 14 , opening of the solenoid  152  by upward movement of the solenoid valve pin  153  and solenoid valve plunger  154  against the force of the bias spring  159  allows the contact disk  173  of the valve membrane  170  to move upward due to the elastic characteristics of the valve membrane material to a position where the valve membrane no longer contacts the annular projection  131 . In this position, the fluid delivery hole  132  is no longer blocked, and a fluid passage chamber  180  is provided that allows fluid to flow up through the fluid delivery hole  132 , into the valve seat recess  130 , and into the fluid delivery channel  134 . 
     In the position shown in  FIG. 15 , the solenoid valve  152  is in a closed position in which the bias spring  159  presses the solenoid valve plunger  154  downward in the direction of arrow F against the contact disk  173  of the valve membrane. Such downward force F elastically deforms the annular compliance recess  172  of the valve membrane  170  and forces the bottom surface of the contact disk  173  against the annular projection  131 , thereby blocking fluid flow from the fluid delivery hole  132  into the annular projection  131  and fluid delivery channel  134 . 
     Each solenoid  152 ,  156  is thus spring biased into a closed position. When a particular solenoid  152 ,  156  is activated, it moves to an open position against the spring bias. Opening and closing of the individual solenoids  152 ,  156  controls the flow of the liquid flavors and water/air purging fluid through the system. For example, the solenoid for one of the flavor channels  134 ,  177  may be held open for a sufficient amount of time to allow a desired volume of the particular flavor to flow through the valve to the flavoring dispensing nozzle  148  of the system. The flavor supply lines  140  leading into the control valve  100  are pressurized, and the volume of flavoring liquid that passes through the control valve  100  is a function of parameters such as the pressure of the incoming flavoring liquid, the geometry of the valve opening, and the amount of time the valve remains open. The viscosity of the flavoring liquid may also affect its flow, and the viscosity may vary depending on the temperature of the flavoring liquid. The control valve  100  may optionally be provided with a temperature sensor (not shown) that may be used to determine viscosity changes of the various flavoring liquids, and to adjust the valve timing based upon such temperature/viscosity determinations. An atmospheric pressure sensor (not shown) may also be optionally provided on or near the valve assembly  100 . 
     In certain embodiments, the dispensing system  10  may include a purge or flush mode for removing residual flavorings from the fluid delivery manifold  138  and/or from the fluid delivery channels  134 ,  177 . In the embodiment shown, a purge fluid such as water or air may be supplied through the purge line or tube  146 , and the solenoid  156  is used to control water and/or air flow through its corresponding fluid delivery channel  134  in the lower valve block  104  and opposing purge channel  178  in the valve membrane  170 , into the fluid delivery manifold  138 , and through the flavoring dispensing nozzle  148 . In certain embodiments, pressurized air is used to purge or flush any residual flavoring contained in the fluid delivery manifold  138  and the flavoring delivery manifold recess  179 . A burst of air may thus be used to clean the system. In this embodiment, the burst of air may be provided via the purge tube  146  from a pressurized air source held at any desired pressure, for example, from 5 to 20 psi, or from 10 to 15 psi. In addition to, or in place of, the use of air to purge the system, water may be used to purge or flush any residual flavorings. In this embodiment, a source of water, e.g., at standard line pressure, may be supplied through the purge tube  146  instead of air. For reconstituted medications, water may be flushed through the system into a medicine container, in which case the amount of flush water may be added to the calculation of the total amount of water to be delivered by the system into the medication bottle. However, for commercially prepared liquid medications, the water may be flushed into waste. The waste water may flow into a waste container, or may alternatively be disposed of through a waste line connected to a drain, etc. In certain embodiments, both air and water may be used to purge or flush the system, in which case an additional channel and control valve (not shown) may be provided in the valve assembly. 
     In an alternative embodiment to that shown in the figures, the dispensing tip of the nozzle may include a coaxial arrangement in which the flavoring is delivered through a central channel and the water is delivered through a surrounding annular channel. In such an embodiment, the outer diameter of the centrally located flavoring line may taper inwardly on its downstream end, while the inner diameter of the surrounding water line may not taper but instead may be generally cylindrical. This arrangement may slow down the flow rate of the water as it exits the dispensing tip, thereby reducing or eliminating splashing that could otherwise occur. 
     In certain embodiments, a user of the automatic flavoring and water dispensing system  10  presents a medicine container to the electronic scanner  19  that reads a barcode or any other suitable type of code or indicia that has been applied on or near the container. Once the type of medication has been determined by the scanner  19 , or by any other type of automatic or manual input, a digital formulary may be accessed in order to automatically identify possible flavor options for the particular medication, as well as the type and amount of each flavoring to be added to the medication for each flavor option. For example, a digital formulary containing flavor options and flavoring recipes is available from FLAVORx, Inc. 
       FIG. 20  is a schematic diagram illustrating electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic systems of the fluid delivery system  10  in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.  FIG. 20  shows flavor bottles  50 , valve assembly  100  and dispensing nozzle assembly  14 , as previously described. In addition,  FIG. 20  shows a container  20  positioned below the dispensing nozzle assembly  14 , which may be a medication container used during flavoring and/or reconstitution operations, or may be a waste container for use during purging or flushing operations.  FIG. 20  also shows a valve  115  and a standard flow meter  116  that may be used to control water flow during reconstitution operations. The reconstitution water valve  115  may be of any standard construction known to those skilled in the art such as a commercially available solenoid valve or the like. 
     The hydraulic system shown in  FIG. 20  includes a main water supply, with a pressure regulator that feeds water through the flow meter  116  and into the water reconstitution valve  115 , which is used to control the flow of water to the valve assembly  100 . Any suitable water pressure may be used, for example, from 5 to 100 psi, or from 20 to 80 psi. In certain embodiments, standard water line pressure may be used. A water line extends from the water reconstitution valve  115  to the water delivery tube  114  of the dispensing nozzle assembly  14 . In addition to water inflow from the main water supply, the flavoring outlet port  64  of each flavoring container  50  and cap  60  is connected by a liquid flavoring delivery line to the corresponding flavoring delivery tubes  140  of the valve assembly  100 . In  FIG. 20 , channel Nos.  1 - 6  and  8 - 13  are used to indicate each of the twelve flavoring lines, and channel No.  7  indicates a water and/or air purge line that is connected to the valve assembly  100 . Flavorings and any water or air exiting the valve assembly  100  flow through a liquid delivery line to the flavoring dispensing nozzle  148  of the dispensing nozzle assembly  14 . 
     The electrical system shown in  FIG. 20  includes a PC board connected to the valve assembly  100 , the water reconstitution valve  115  and its flow meter  116 , and a standard air pump. Programmable equipment such as computers may be used as part of the electrical system, as more fully described below. 
     The pneumatic system shown in  FIG. 20  includes an air pump feeding into an air filter, a check valve, and an optional pressure regulator. In addition, an optional reservoir may be provided. Pressurized air is fed to each of the flavor bottles  50  via the air pressure inlet fitting  87  and inlet needle tube  88  of each of the needle tube housings  80 . Any suitable air pressure may be used, for example, from 1 to 100 psi, or from 5 to 20 psi. In addition, pressurized air may optionally be fed to the valve assembly  100  if the valve assembly  100  is equipped for air purging. 
       FIGS. 21-23  illustrate the operation of a user interface in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 21  shows a flavor only process.  FIG. 22  shows a water reconstitution only process.  FIG. 23  shows a combined water reconstitution and flavor process. In the flavor only process shown in  FIG. 21 , in step  1 , a user is presented with an initial screen on the user input and display screen  18 , including “scan”, “NDC” and “menu” options. If the “scan” option is chosen in step  1 , the user is prompted to “scan barcode now” by a display screen presented in step  2 . The user may then use the code scanner  19  on the side of the water dispensing system  10  to input information regarding the particular medication to be flavored. After scanning, in step  3 , the user is presented with three options: “recon plus flavor”, “recon only” and “flavor only”. When a user selects the “flavor only” option as shown in  FIG. 21 , a prompt appears for the user to enter a standard national drug code (NDC) number in step  4 . In step  5 , the user is asked “how would you like the medicine to taste?”, and several flavoring options appear on the screen. In the embodiment shown, the flavoring options include apple, banana, bubblegum, cherry, grape, lemon, orange, strawberry, raspberry, watermelon, banana orange, grape gum, grapeade, and sour apple. As understood by those skilled in the art, each selected flavor may be obtained by reference to a formulary that contains various flavoring recipes, e.g., the digital formulary available from FLAVORx, Inc. After the desired flavoring is selected, the message “ready to dispense flavor” appears in step  7 , followed by the message “dispensing flavor” in step  8 , and the message “operation complete!” in step  8 . 
     In the water reconstitution only process shown in  FIG. 22 , when the “recon only” option is selected in step  3 , “ready to dispense water” is displayed in step  4 , followed by display of “dispensing first half of water” in step  5 , “pause for mixing then press ok to dispense second half of water” in step  6 , “dispensing second half of water” in step  7 , and “operation complete!” in step  8 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 23 , when both water reconstitution and flavoring operations are desired, the user selects the “recon plus flavor” option in step  3 . Flavoring options are then presented in step  4 . Once the desired flavoring is selected, “ready to dispense water and flavor” is displayed in step  5 , “dispensing first half of water and flavor” is displayed in step  6 , “pause for mixing then press ok to dispense second half of water” is displayed in step  7 , “dispensing second half of water” is displayed in step  8 , and “operation complete!” is displayed in step  9 . 
       FIG. 24  illustrates operation of a user interface in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown, a container of Amoxicillin is read by a code scanner such as a bar code scanner, and the system automatically identifies several different possible flavorings that would be suitable for the Amoxicillin. The user can select one of the displayed flavors, and the system will automatically dispense an appropriate amount of water and liquid flavoring(s) into the Amoxicillin container. As shown in  FIG. 24 , the selected flavor and a portion of the water may be dispensed in an initial step, followed by dispensing of another amount of water that brings the total amount of dispensed water up to the total amount desired. The second water dispensing step may help to clear any residual flavor from the flavor delivery line. A burst of pressurized air may optionally be fed through the dispenser at the end of a dispensing operation in order to remove any residual flavor or water from the supply lines. 
     During medication flavoring and water reconstitution operations as described above, various types of information may be utilized by the system, including medication information, patient information, prescription information, flavoring usage information, accounting information, and the like. Medication information may include the identification of a particular medication to be flavored utilizing the input devices described above. Additionally, medication information may be transmitted to the dispensing unit from various other sources, such as from prescription information received by the pharmacy, e.g., from a doctor&#39;s office, another pharmacy, etc. Patient information may include patient medication data, patient medical data, and the like. For example, patient medication data may include types and amounts of prescription and non-prescription medications being taken by a patient currently and/or in the past. Patient medication data may also include flavoring preferences and/or historical flavoring selections for a patient. Flavoring information may include the types and amounts of flavorings dispensed by the system to individual patients and/or to multiple patients as a whole. Such flavoring information may be used to determine flavoring trends and preferences and/or to monitor flavoring usage of a dispensing system, e.g., for inventory or re-ordering purposes. Accounting information may be used to indicate that a flavoring has been added to a particular medication, and to allow a pharmacy to charge the patient or the patient&#39;s insurance company if desired. 
     In addition to medication flavoring use, the automatic dispensing systems of the present invention may be used for other purposes such as beverage dispensing. For example, alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks may be automatically flavored with the dispensing system. As a particular example, the system may be used to automatically dispense various flavors of mixed drinks such as martinis. In this embodiment, a source of alcohol may be used in addition to, or in place of, the water supply. The alcohol may be provided in the form of a conventional liquor such as gin, vodka, rum, tequila and the like, or may be provided in the form of grain alcohol or another neutral-tasting form of alcohol. In this embodiment, the flavorings may include any types of flavorings typically added to alcoholic drinks. In the case of martinis, traditional martini mixers and/or flavorings may be used, and a user may be presented with multiple pre-selected martini flavoring options. Alternatively, a user may be provided with the capability of selecting and mixing different types of flavorings and/or mixers. In either case, the dispensing unit may store the particular flavoring preference(s) of a particular user, and may utilize such flavoring preference information in the future when a user subsequently uses the dispensing system again. 
     The processes associated with the present embodiments may be executed by programmable equipment, such as computers. Software or other sets of instructions that may be employed to cause programmable equipment to execute the processes may be stored in any storage device, such as a computer system (non-volatile) memory. Furthermore, some of the processes may be programmed when the computer system is manufactured or via a computer-readable memory storage medium. Certain process aspects described herein may be performed using instructions stored on a computer-readable memory medium or media that direct a computer or computer system to perform process steps. A computer-readable medium may include, for example, memory devices such as diskettes, compact discs of both read-only and read/write varieties, optical disk drives, and hard disk drives. A computer-readable medium may also include memory storage that may be physical, virtual, permanent, temporary, semi-permanent, and/or semi-temporary, including non-transitory varieties thereof. Memory and/or storage components may be implemented using any computer-readable media capable of storing data such as volatile or non-volatile memory, removable or non-removable memory, erasable or non-erasable memory, writeable or re-writeable memory, and so forth. 
     A “computer,” “computer system,” “computing apparatus,” “component,” or “computer processor” may be, for example and without limitation, a processor, microcomputer, minicomputer, server, mainframe, laptop, personal data assistant (PDA), wireless e-mail device, smart phone, mobile phone, electronic tablet, cellular phone, pager, fax machine, scanner, or any other programmable device or computer apparatus configured to transmit, process, and/or receive data. Computer systems and computer-based devices disclosed herein may include memory and/or storage components for storing certain software applications used in obtaining, processing, and communicating information. It can be appreciated that such memory may be internal or external with respect to operation of the disclosed embodiments. 
     In general, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that various embodiments described herein, or components or parts thereof, may be implemented in many different embodiments of software, firmware, hardware, and/or modules thereof. The software code or specialized control hardware used to implement some of the present embodiments is not limiting of the present invention. For example, the embodiments described hereinabove may be implemented in computer software using any suitable computer programming language such as .NET or HTML using, for example, conventional or object-oriented techniques. Programming languages for computer software and other computer-implemented instructions may be translated into machine language by a compiler or an assembler before execution and/or may be translated directly at run time by an interpreter. Such software may be stored on any type of suitable computer-readable medium or media such as, for example, a magnetic or optical storage medium. Thus, the operation and behavior of the embodiments are described without specific reference to the actual software code or specialized hardware components. The absence of such specific references is feasible because it is clearly understood that artisans of ordinary skill would be able to design software and control hardware to implement the embodiments of the present invention based on the description herein with only a reasonable effort and without undue experimentation. 
     Various embodiments of the systems and methods described herein may employ one or more electronic computer networks to promote communication among different components, transfer data, or to share resources and information. Such computer networks can be classified according to the hardware and software technology that is used to interconnect the devices in the network, such as optical fiber, Ethernet, wireless LAN, HomePNA, power line communication, G.hn WiFi or Bluetooth. The computer networks may also be embodied as one or more of the following types of networks: local area network (LAN); metropolitan area network (MAN); wide area network (WAN); virtual private network (VPN); storage area network (SAN); or global area network (GAN), among other network varieties. 
     Although various systems described herein may be embodied in software or code executed by general purpose hardware as discussed above, as an alternative the same may also be embodied in dedicated hardware or a combination of software/general purpose hardware and dedicated hardware. If embodied in dedicated hardware, each can be implemented as a circuit or state machine that employs any one of or a combination of a number of technologies. These technologies may include, but are not limited to, discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing various logic functions upon an application of one or more data signals, application specific integrated circuits having appropriate logic gates, or other components, etc. Such technologies are generally well known by those of ordinary skill in the art and, consequently, are not described in detail herein. 
     Whereas particular embodiments of this invention have been described above for purposes of illustration, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that numerous variations of the details of the present invention may be made. For example, in addition to flavoring and reconstitution of medications, the automatic dispensing systems of the present invention may be used to flavor various types of beverages. As a particular example, the present automatic dispensing systems may be used to selectively flavor alcoholic drinks, e.g., by delivering alcohol in place of or in addition to water, and providing various flavorings that may be selectively mixed and dispensed with the alcohol. Such variations may be made without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.