Claims
- 1. A system for automatically filling a container for providing a beverage that is at least partially frozen, the system comprising:
- a delivery line coupled with the container for delivering a beverage to the container;
- a flow regulating device coupled with the delivery line to regulate the flow of the beverage to the container;
- a cooling device operatively coupled with the container for cooling the beverage in the container so that the beverage is at least partially frozen, the cooling device being a power-driven cooling device having a cooling capacity;
- a sensor coupled with the container for sensing a level of the beverage in the container; and
- a controller coupled with the sensor for receiving a sensor signal indicating the level of the beverage in the container, the controller coupled with the flow regulating device for automatically controlling the flow regulating device to regulate the flow rate of the beverage delivered to the container in response to the sensor signal received from the sensor and the cooling capacity of the cooling device so as to maintain the at least partially frozen beverage in the container to within a desired range of consistency.
- 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the container has a transparent wall and the sensor is coupled to an external surface of the transparent wall.
- 3. The system of claim 1 wherein the sensor is a proximity sensor which is disposed in the vicinity of a target full line of the container at which the container is full.
- 4. The system of claim 1 wherein the cooling device comprises a heat transfer unit disposed in the container, the heat transfer unit having a coolant flow therethrough for cooling the beverage in the container.
- 5. The system of claim 1 further comprising a stirring unit disposed in the container for stirring the beverage in the container to increase uniformity and consistency of the at least partially frozen beverage.
- 6. The system of claim 5 wherein the cooling device comprises a heat transfer unit disposed in the container for cooling the beverage in the container, and the stirring unit is configured to contact at least a portion of an external surface of the heat transfer unit to inhibit buildup of frozen beverage on the external surface of the heat transfer unit.
- 7. The system of claim 1 wherein the container has a filler spigot connected therewith and the delivery line is releasably coupled with the filler spigot for delivering the beverage to the container.
- 8. The system of claim 1 wherein the flow regulating device comprises a switch.
- 9. The system of claim 1 wherein the flow regulating device comprises a solenoid.
- 10. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to automatically direct the flow regulating device to terminate the flow of the beverage to the container when the sensor signal indicates that the level of the beverage in the container reaches a preset maximum level, and to reactivate the flow of the beverage to the container when the sensor signal indicates that the level of the beverage in the container falls to a preset minimum level.
- 11. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is tuned to limit the flow rate of the beverage regulated by the flow regulating device for delivery to the container to a maximum allowable flow rate determined by the cooling capacity of the cooling device and ambient temperature to maintain the at least partially frozen beverage in the container to within the desired range of consistency.
- 12. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller includes a mode switch which has an override fill mode and an auto fill mode, the controller directing the flow regulating device to deliver the beverage to the container in the override fill mode, the controller controlling the flow regulating device to automatically maintain the level of the beverage in the container to within a preset level range in the auto fill mode.
- 13. A system for automatically filling a container for dispensing a beverage that is at least partially frozen, the system comprising:
- means for delivering a beverage to the container;
- means for cooling the beverage in the container to at least partially freeze the beverage, the cooling means having a cooling capacity;
- means for monitoring a level of the beverage in the container; and
- a controller coupled with the monitoring means for receiving a signal indicating the level of the beverage in the container, the controller coupled with the delivering means for controlling the flow rate of the beverage delivered to the container in response to the cooling capacity of the cooling means and the signal of the monitoring means to automatically maintain the level of the beverage in the container to within a preset level range and to keep the at least partially frozen beverage in the container to within a desired range of consistency.
- 14. The system of claim 13 wherein the sensor is an electronic capacitance sensor.
- 15. The system of claim 13 wherein the controller is tuned to the cooling capacity of the cooling means so as to limit the flow rate of the beverage delivered to the container by the delivering means to a maximum allowable flow rate to keep the at least partially frozen beverage in the container to within a desired range of consistency.
- 16. A method of automatically filling a container for providing at least partially frozen beverage, comprising the steps of:
- directing a flow of beverage to the container;
- cooling the beverage in the container to at least partially freeze the beverage using a cooling device having a cooling capacity;
- sensing a level of the beverage in the container; and
- adjusting a flow rate of the beverage to the container to maintain the level of the beverage in the container to within a preset level range, the flow rate of the beverage to the container being kept below a maximum allowable flow rate which is determined by the cooling capacity of the cooling device to maintain the at least partially freeze beverage in the container to within a desired range of consistency.
- 17. The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of agitating the beverage in the container to increase uniformity and consistency of the at least partially frozen beverage.
- 18. The method of claim 16 wherein the adjusting step comprises automatically terminating the flow of beverage to the container when the level of the beverage in the container reaches a preset maximum level and automatically reactivating the flow of the beverage to the container when the level of the beverage in the container falls to a preset minimum level.
- 19. The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of determining maximum allowable flow rates based on the cooling capacity of the cooling device and different ambient temperatures to maintain the at least partially frozen beverage in the container to within a desired range of consistency.
- 20. The method of claim 19 further comprising the steps of measuring the ambient temperature; and selecting a maximum allowable flow rate corresponding to the measured ambient temperature as provided in the determining step for use in adjusting the flow rate of the beverage to the container.
Parent Case Info
This application claims benefit to U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/116,326 filed Jan. 19, 1999.
US Referenced Citations (4)