Patent ID: 7171993

Claim:
A beverage overflow monitoring system for use with a beverage dispenser, said overflow monitoring system comprising: a signal generator that generates a varying-over-time master signal; a pair of spaced apart conductive probes, one said probe positioned to be in contact with a beverage stream discharged from the beverage dispenser, the other said probe positioned to be in contact with a beverage stream that overflows from a container into which the beverage stream is discharged, wherein said signal generator is connected to a first one of said probes to apply the master signal to said probe; a comparator, said comparator being connected to said signal generator to receive the master signal and to a second one of said probes to receive the signal generated as a consequence of the beverage stream establishing a conductive path between said probes, said comparator configured to compare the received signals and to generate a select comparator output signal when the received signals are substantially identical; and a timer connected to said comparator for receiving the select comparator output signal, said timer configured to generate an overflow signal when the select comparator output signal is received for a predetermined time period.