Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6354468
-
Patent Number
6,354,468
-
Date Filed
Wednesday, October 18, 200023 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, March 12, 200222 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Andrus, Sceales, Starke & Sawall, LLP
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 222 1291
- 222 1292
- 222 1293
- 222 1294
- 222 1445
- 222 30
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A beverage dispenser transponder identification system includes a pourer spout for insertion into a bottle containing a beverage, the pourer spout having an electromagnetically actuated stopper valve for dispensing the beverage, the pourer spout having an rf receive/transmit antenna connected to an identification transponder circuit. An actuator is provided by an activator ring for insertion around the pourer spout and has a driver coil for actuating the stopper valve, an rf transmit antenna connected to an oscillator, and an rf receive antenna connected to a decoder. The rf transmit antenna broadcasts an rf signal to the rf receive/transmit antenna which is conducted to the identification transponder circuit which sends an identification signal to the rf receive/transmit antenna which is broadcast to the rf receive antenna and received by the decoder to identify the pourer spout.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to systems for dispensing beverages from bottles, and more particularly to a transponder identification system including for dispensing measured amounts of liquid from an identified bottle for accounting quantity and cost.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A bartender commonly pours liquor from a bottle into a glass in which a drink is being mixed. A pourer spout is often attached to the mouth of the bottle to dispense the liquor at a relatively constant flow rate so that the bartender can “free pour” the liquor without the need for a measuring device, such as a jigger. Even at a constant flow rate, the exact amount of liquor poured into each drink varies depending upon the bartender, and varies from drink to drink poured by the same bartender. Such variation affects the profits derived from a given bottle of liquor. In addition, simple bottle spouts do not provide any mechanism to ensure that each drink dispensed from a bottle was rung up on the cash register. Thus, a bartender has been able to serve free or generous drinks to friends and preferred customers without accounting to the tavern management.
In response to these problems, more sophisticated liquor dispensing equipment has been devised. One such system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,920,149 and provides each bottle with a pourer spout that has a magnetically operated valve. When liquor was to be poured from a given bottle, its spout was placed inside an actuator ring that is connected to a computer via a cable. When the bottle and the ring were inverted, a switch closed, causing an electromagnetic driver coil in the ring to be energized, which opened the valve in the spout. The valve was held open for a defined period of time which dispensed a given volume of liquor because of a relatively constant flow rate through the spout. When that time period ends, the electromagnetic coil was deenergized by the computer, and the valve closed.
An improved and further developed version of the system of the noted '149 patent is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,430. The '430 patent provides a mechanism for automatically dispensing a predefined quantity of beverage from a container. The mechanism uniquely identifies the bottle from which the beverage is being poured, to account for the total quantity of beverage dispensed from that specific bottle. This also enables the inventory of the bar to be determined automatically at any instant in time. The mechanism calculates the total dollar value of beverage which has been dispensed from a bottle, and from all the bottles in a given bar during a specific period of time. A separate pourer spout is placed on each bottle, and each spout has a flow passage controlled by a magnetically operable valve and a transponder which transmits an identification code that is unique to that particular spout. The valve is operated by an actuator that is placed near to the spout in order to dispense the liquid. The actuator includes a valve operating driver coil that when energized produces a magnetic field which opens the valve. An interrogator is provided for activating the spout transducer and reading the identification code. A memory provides a group of storage locations associated with the identification code. Depending upon the sophistication desired for inventory and sales monitoring, the storage locations contain a variety of data related to the dispensing of liquid from the bottle to which the spout is attached. For example, such information can include the quantity of liquid dispensed from a bottle and a number of volume units of liquid present in that bottle when full, and/or the price of the liquid per volume unit. Other information can include the interval to hold the valve open to dispense a serving of liquid, a volume of a serving and the total sales of that kind of liquid. By storing the name of the liquid, the name can be displayed to the user while dispensing is occurring. A controller is connected to the interrogator to receive the identification code from the pourer spout and is connected to the actuator to control production of the magnetic field to open the stopper valve for a predetermined period of time, the controller being coupled to the memory and updating the data regarding a volume dispensed from the liquid container in response to the valve being opened, the controller including the mechanism for calculating a quantity of liquid remaining in the liquid container.
Another beverage dispenser coding device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,611. The '611 patent shows a non-contact coding device working in a magnetic field, for use with a liquor bottle pourer spout and a electromagnetic valve. A primary coil on an actuator ring couples with a secondary coil in the pourer spout to read the identification code.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an improved identification system enabling easier detection, and greater strength and integrity of detected signal. A beverage dispenser transponder identification system is provided including a pourer spout for insertion into a bottle containing a beverage, the pourer spout having an electromagnetically actuator stopper valve for dispensing the beverage, the pourer spout having an rf receive/transmit antenna coupled to an identification transponder circuit. The system includes an actuator for activating the pourer spout, the actuator having a driver coil for actuating the stopper valve, an rf transmit antenna connected to an oscillator, and an rf receive antenna connected to a decoder. The rf transmit antenna broadcasts an rf signal to the rf receive/transmit antenna which is conducted to the identification transponder circuit which sends an identification signal to the rf receive/transmit antenna which is broadcast to the rf receive antenna and received by the decoder to identify the pourer spout. The oscillator and decoder are separately connected to separate different antennas, namely the rf transmit antenna and the rf receive antenna, respectively. The oscillator and the decoder are ohmically isolated from each other. The oscillator is connected to the rf transmit antenna by a first conductor, and the rf receive antenna is connected to the decoder by a second conductor. The second conductor carries only the signal from the rf receive antenna and not the signal on the first conductor from the oscillator. The second conductor carries only the signal from the rf receive antenna without interference from the signal from on the first conductor from the oscillator, to reduce degradation of and identifiability and integrity of desired detection otherwise due to presence of an additional signal from the oscillator, such that the signal on the second conductor from the rf receive antenna to the decoder is easier to detect and has greater strength and integrity.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
PRIOR ART
FIG. 1
is a pictorial illustration of a beverage dispenser system and is taken from FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,430, incorporated herein by reference, and uses like reference numerals therefrom to facilitate understanding.
FIG. 2
is an enlarged cross sectional view of a pourer spout used in the beverage dispensing system of FIG. 1, and is taken from FIG. 3 of the incorporated '430 patent.
FIG. 3
is a partial cross sectional view of a pourer spout and an actuator attached to a beverage bottle and is taken from FIG. 4 of the incorporated '430 patent.
FIG. 4
is block diagram of a beverage dispenser coding device, and is taken from FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,611, incorporated herein by reference, and uses like reference numerals with a prime to facilitate understanding.
FIG. 5
is a block diagram of a beverage dispenser transponder identification system in accordance with the invention.
PRESENT INVENTION
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
PRIOR ART
As noted in the incorporated '430 patent, a facility such as a large tavern or hotel may have several bars at which alcoholic beverages are served. A beverage system monitors the serving of beverages to provide liquor inventory accounting and productivity reports for each bar and the entire facility. The system includes a separate beverage dispensing station
10
at each bar and a large bar may have several beverage dispensing stations, one for each bartender for example. The beverage dispensing stations are connected via a local area network which provides two-way communication typically with a computer located in the office of the beverage manager for the facility. Each beverage dispensing station tabulates the liquor sales at that bar location and periodically transmits the tabulated data to the manager's computer, which uses the transferred data to produce reports on liquor inventory and productivity of each dispensing station and the tavern or hotel as a whole. Although the beverage dispensing stations are specifically designed for a facility where several of them are networked together, a single beverage dispensing station can be used in a stand-alone manner in a small neighborhood bar to provide the same type of inventory monitoring.
In order to monitor beverage dispensing, each station
10
operates in connection with a number of different pourer spouts placed on liquid containers, such as liquor bottles
12
kept at a bar. Liquor
16
is shown being poured from a particular bottle
14
into a glass
24
, such as the type for serving mixed alcoholic drinks in a tavern or the like. A pourer spout
18
is inserted into the open neck
20
of bottle
14
and projects outwardly therefrom.
The pourer spout
18
has an internal stopper valve that is operated by a spout actuator or activator ring
22
into which the spout is placed in order to dispense liquor from the bottle. When the spout is coupled to actuator
22
and inverted by the bartender, the station
10
senses the inversion and interrogates a transponder within the spout
18
. In response, the transponder transmits a unique code identifying that particular spout
18
and thus the liquor bottle attached to the spout. Upon receiving the identification code, a controller
26
energizes the actuator
22
to open a stopper valve within the pourer spout
18
causing liquor to flow into glass
24
for a predetermined interval of time.
Dispensing station
10
finds special application as a means for serving liquor from a number of bottles
12
at a bar and for accounting not only for the volume of liquor dispensed from the bottles but also the total dollar volume of the liquor dispensed. Because the flow rate of liquor through the spout
18
is relatively constant, the controller
26
is able to calculate the volume of liquor that is dispensed while the stopper valve is open. This dispensed volume is used to update the stored records of the total amount of liquor dispensed from that particular bottle
14
. In addition, the controller has been programmed with the cost of a volume unit of the liquor for that bottle and is able to determine the dollar volume of the beverage that has been dispensed therefrom. The controller
26
also can be programmed with the total volume of a full beverage bottle when a new pourer spout is attached. This enables the controller to derive how much liquor remains in the bottle by subtracting the dispensed volume from the full bottle volume. Records of these parameters can be kept on a work shift basis to determine the amount of liquor dispensed and the total dollar amount taken in during each work shift. The recorded sales information can be reconciled with the money that is present in the tavern cash registers at the end of the work shift.
The pourer spout
18
is shown in greater detail in FIG.
2
and includes a plastic liner
30
making a water tight seal between the spout
18
and the inner surface of the neck
20
of bottle
14
. The liner
30
can have other constructions, if desired, such as a conventional cork. The spout
18
has a tamper-indicator, such as a stamp seal (not shown), to detect unauthorized attempts to remove the spout from the bottle. As a consequence, the only way to pour liquid from the bottle is to use the actuator
22
. The liner
30
has a tubular configuration with an inner passage
32
through which the liquor in the bottle
14
enters the spout. The liner
30
also contains a breather tube
34
that allows air to pass into the bottle
14
to replace the liquor which flows outwardly through passage
32
. A ball
36
held within a cage
38
at the inward end of the breather tube
34
prevents liquid from escaping through the breather tube. The air enters a breather hole
35
and flows through the breather tube
34
into the bottle.
The spout
18
has an external section
40
with an internal chamber
42
which is in fluid communication with passage
32
. A movable valve member
44
is located within the chamber
32
and is biased by a spring
46
against a valve seat
48
in the normal position of the valve mechanism within the spout. Thus, the spout is normally closed preventing liquor
16
from flowing out of the bottle
14
through an outlet opening
50
in the end of the spout. Because the valve member
44
is made of ferromagnetic material, the application of an external magnetic field causes the valve member
44
to move against the force of spring
46
and away from seat
48
allowing beverage to flow from the bottle.
The external section
40
of spout
18
also contains a transponder circuit
52
coupled to an annular coil
54
in a cavity around inner passage
32
. When coil
54
receives an rf (radio frequency) activation signal, the transponder circuit
52
applies a spout identification code signal to the coil. The device that sent the rf signal can detect the application of the identification code signal to transponder coil
54
and read the identification code from the transponder circuit. The identification code is unique to this particular spout
18
, allowing the spout, and hence the particular bottle
14
to which it is attached, to be identified and to distinguished from the other bottles
12
at the bar. Each bottle at the bar has a spout with a different identification code.
Referring to
FIG. 3
, actuator
22
is placed around the section
40
of the pourer spout
18
that projects from the bottle
14
. The actuator has an annular bobbin
56
of a type commonly used to support electromagnetic coils. The bobbin
56
has a tapered opening
62
at one end for receiving spout
18
. An interrogator coil
58
is wound on the bobbin
56
near the one end and is adjacent to the transponder coil
54
when the actuator
22
is placed on the spout
18
. A larger valve operating driver coil
60
also is wound around the bobbin
56
to provide an electromagnetic field which moves the spout stopper valve
44
away from seat
48
thereby allowing liquor to flow from the bottle
14
, when the actuator activator ring
22
is inserted around pourer spout
18
. A mercury tilt switch
66
is located within the actuator
22
so that the switch contacts open when the actuator is in the inverted position as illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 3
. Wires from the interrogator coil
58
, the valve operating driver coil
60
and tilt switch
66
form a cable
64
connected to controller
26
as shown in FIG.
1
. Controller
26
and identification transponder circuit
52
are further shown in the incorporated '430 patent,
FIGS. 5 and 6
respectively.
FIG. 4
shows the beverage dispenser coding device of the incorporated '611 patent. A printed circuit board on the magnetically activated bottle stopper valve includes a secondary coil
14
′ on its upper surface, and a microelectronic diode bridge and voltage regulator circuit
12
′ mounted on the underside of the board. Also mounted on the underside is an interrogated 48 bit serial number identifier circuit
10
′ which, when powered, will vary its impedance in a serial transmission fashion to give out its 48 bit serial number code. The printed circuit board can be mounted on a shoulder of the magnetically activated bottle stopper valve of the power spout, and thus can be ring shaped, with a conventional stopper valve being noted in U.S. Pat. No. 3,920,149, incorporated herein by reference. A primary coil
16
′ is provided on a base of an activator coil unit (not shown) of the actuator such that when the activator coil unit is placed on the stopper valve, the two coils
14
′ and
16
′ form a transformer unit. A microcontroller
22
′ gives a signal to a high frequency oscillator
18
′ to generate a high frequency signal driving coil
16
′. As the power received by coil
14
′ is rectified and regulated by diode bridge and rectifier
12
′, the identifier circuit
10
′ begins changing the impedance serially and this time varying change in impedance affects the impedance of coil
14
′ which is detectable on coil
16
′. The change of impedance of coil
14
′ is transmitted through coil
16
′ and then demodulated and decoded by circuit
20
′. The resulting identification serial number is passed to microcontroller
22
′ which then outputs the identification number on output
24
′ which output can be used by a bar control system to know exactly which bottle is being used, which information is used for inventory purposes.
PRESENT INVENTION
FIG. 5
shows the present invention and uses like reference numerals from above and from the noted incorporated patents where appropriate to facilitate understanding. Beverage dispenser transponder identification system
200
includes the noted pourer spout
18
for insertion into a bottle
12
containing a beverage
16
. The pourer spout has the noted electromagnetically actuated stopper valve
44
for dispensing the beverage. The pourer spout has an rf receive/transmit coil antenna
54
connected to identification transponder circuit
52
. Actuator
22
is provided by the noted activator ring for insertion around pourer spout
18
. The actuator has the noted driver coil
60
for actuating stopper valve
44
. An rf transmit antenna
202
, comparable to coil antenna
58
, is connected to oscillator
94
. An rf receive coil antenna
204
is connected to decoder
99
. Rf transmit antenna
202
broadcasts an rf signal to rf receive/transmit antenna
54
which is conducted to identification transponder circuit
52
which sends an identification signal to rf receive/transmit
54
which is broadcast to rf receive antenna
204
and received by decoder
99
to identify the pourer spout
18
.
Oscillator
94
and decoder
99
are separately connected to separate different antennas, namely rf transmit antenna
202
and rf receive antenna
204
, respectively. Oscillator
94
and decoder
99
are ohmically isolated from each other. Oscillator
94
is connected to rf transmit antenna
202
by conductor
206
. Rf receive antenna
204
is connected to decoder
99
by conductor
208
. Conductor
208
carries only the signal from rf receive antenna
204
, and not the signal on conductor
206
from oscillator
94
. In this manner, conductor
208
carries only the signal from rf antenna
204
without interference from the signal on conductor
206
from oscillator
94
, to reduce degradation of identifiability and integrity of desired detection otherwise due to presence of an additional signal from the oscillator from the conductor therefrom. In contrast, in the prior art, as noted above, the same coil
58
,
FIG. 3
, or
16
′
FIG. 4
, is used to both send the signal from the oscillator and receive the return signal to be transmitted to the decoder. In the later arrangement, as shown in
FIG. 4
, oscillator
18
′ and decoder
20
′ are not separately connected to separate different antennas and are not ohmically isolated, and hence decoder
20
′ sees not only the identification signal from coil
16
′ but also the signal from oscillator
18
′ ohmically connected to the conductor between coil
16
′ and decoder
20
′. In
FIG. 4
, the conductor wire from coil
16
′ to decoder
20
′ carries both the signal from coil
14
′ and the hard wire connected signal from oscillator
18
′. The presence of both such signals on the input conductor to decoder
20
′ degrades identifiability and integrity of the signal which is desired to be detected, namely the identification signal from the pourer spout. In contrast, in the system of
FIG. 5
, there is no signal from oscillator
94
ohmically on the input conductor
208
to decoder
99
, and hence there is no dominant effect thereof detracting from the desired identification signal sensing and discrimination from identification transponder circuit
52
.
Conductor
206
carries only the signal from oscillator
94
, and conductor
208
carries only the signal from rf receive antenna
204
, respectively, without ohmic interference from each other. Conductor
206
carries only the signal from oscillator
94
without ohmic interference from the signal on conductor
208
from rf receive antenna
204
. Conductor
208
carries only the signal from rf receive antenna
204
without ohmic interference from the signal on conductor
208
from oscillator
94
. Hence, conductor
208
carries only the signal from rf receive antenna
204
without degradation of identifiability and integrity of desired detention otherwise due to the noted additional presence in the prior art of the signal from the oscillator on its respective output conductor.
Rf transmit antenna
202
and rf receive antenna
204
are separate antennas ohmically isolated from each other. Oscillator
94
is ohmically connected only to rf transmit antenna
204
, and not to rf receive antenna
204
. Decoder
99
is ohmically connected only to rf receive antenna
204
, and not to rf transmit antenna
202
. Tuning capacitor
210
is connected to rf transmit antenna
202
. Tuning capacitor
212
is connected to rf receive antenna
204
. Capacitor
210
and rf transmit coil antenna
202
form a tank circuit tuned to a given frequency, 13.5 megahertz (MHz) being a typical frequency. Capacitor
212
and rf receive coil antenna
204
form a second tank circuit tuned to the same said given frequency. A first coaxial cable
214
has the noted central conductor
206
connecting oscillator
94
to rf transmit antenna
202
and has a grounded sheath
216
. A second coaxial cable
218
has the noted central conductor
208
connecting decoder
99
to rf receive antenna
204
, and has a grounded sheath
220
. Grounded sheathes
216
and
220
of coaxial cables
214
and
218
protect and isolate conductors
206
and
208
of coaxial cables
214
and
218
and oscillator
94
and decoder
99
from cross-talk and spurious interference, such that decoder
99
sees only the signal from rf receive antenna
204
without the signal from the oscillator
94
ohmically superimposed thereon or interfering with the signal that decoder
99
receives from rf receive antenna
204
. The length of coaxial cable
218
is one-quarter wavelength of the noted given frequency, which is the operating frequency of the rf circuitry, to provide voltage step-up for improved signal strength and detection. To provide such voltage step-up, the output of conductor
208
is provided with a higher impedance at decoder
99
than that at coil antenna
204
. Controller
26
is provided as above and has an output
222
to oscillator
94
, an output
224
to driver coil
60
, and an input
226
from decoder
99
.
It is recognized that various equivalents, alternatives and modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A beverage dispenser transponder identification system comprising a pourer spout for insertion into a bottle containing a beverage, said pourer spout having an electromagnetically actuated stopper valve for dispensing said beverage, said pourer spout having an rf receive/transmit antenna connected to an identification transponder circuit, an actuator for activating said pourer spout, said actuator having a driver coil for actuating said stopper valve, an rf transmit antenna connected to an oscillator, and an rf receive antenna connected to a decoder, said rf transmit antenna broadcasting an rf signal to said rf receive/transmit antenna which is conducted to said identification transponder circuit which sends an identification signal to said rf receive/transmit antenna which is broadcast to said rf receive antenna and received by said decoder to identify said pourer spout.
- 2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said oscillator and said decoder are separately connected to separate different antennas, namely said rf transmit antenna and said rf receive antenna, respectively.
- 3. The invention according to claim 2 wherein said oscillator and said decoder are ohmically isolated from each other.
- 4. The invention according to claim 3 wherein said oscillator is connected to said rf transmit antenna by a first conductor, said rf receive antenna is connected to said decoder by a second conductor, and said second conductor carries only the signal from said rf receive antenna and not the signal on said first conductor from said oscillator.
- 5. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said oscillator is connected to said rf transmit antenna by a first conductor, said rf receive antenna is connected to said decoder by a second conductor, and wherein said second conductor carries only the signal from said rf receive antenna without ohmic interference of the signal on said first conductor from said oscillator, to reduce degradation of identifiability and integrity of desired detection otherwise due to presence of an additional signal from said oscillator, such that the signal on said second conductor from said rf receive antenna to said decoder is easier to detect and has greater strength and integrity.
- 6. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said oscillator is connected to said rf transmit antenna by a first conductor, said rf receive antenna is connected to said decoder by a second conductor, and wherein said first and second conductors each carry only the respective signal from said oscillator and said rf receive antenna, respectively, without ohmic interference from each other, such that said second conductor carries only the signal from said rf receive antenna without degradation of identifiability and integrity of desired detection otherwise due to additional presence of the signal from said oscillator.
- 7. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said rf transmit antenna and said rf receive antenna are separate antennas ohmically isolated from each other.
- 8. The invention according to claim 7 wherein said oscillator is ohmically connected only to said rf transmit antenna and not to said rf receive antenna, and wherein said decoder is ohmically connected only to said rf receive antenna and not to said rf transmit antenna.
- 9. The invention according to claim 1 comprising a first tuning capacitor connected to said rf transmit antenna, and a second tuning capacitor connected to said rf receive antenna.
- 10. The invention according to claim 9 wherein said first capacitor and said rf transmit antenna comprise a first tank circuit tuned to a given frequency, and said second capacitor and said rf receive antenna comprise a second tank circuit tuned to the same said give frequency.
- 11. The invention according to claim 1 comprising a first coaxial cable having a conductor connecting said oscillator to said rf transmit antenna, said first coaxial cable having a grounded sheath, a second coaxial cable having a conductor connecting said decoder to said rf receive antenna, said second coaxial cable having a grounded sheath, said grounded sheathes of said first and second coaxial cables protecting and isolating said conductors of said first and second coaxial cables and said oscillator and said decoder from cross-talk and a spurious interference therebetween, such that said decoder sees only the signal from said rf receive antenna without the signal from said oscillator ohmically superimposed thereon or interfering with the signal that said decoder receives from said rf receive antenna.
- 12. The invention according to claim 1 comprising a tank circuit connected to said rf receive antenna and tuned to a given frequency, and a coaxial cable connecting said rf receive antenna to said decoder and having a length equal to onequarter wavelength of said given frequency.
- 13. The invention according to claim 1 comprising a controller having a first output to said oscillator, a second output to said driver coil, and an input from said decoder.
US Referenced Citations (18)