Patent Application
20230166961
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The disclosure relates to monitoring and control assemblies and more particularly pertains to a new monitoring and control assembly for detecting foaming and terminating flow in a beverage line. The present discloses a control assembly including a flow meter and valve, wherein a change in an output signal from the flow meter is correlated to a change of state of a beverage in a beverage line from a liquid state to a foam state, and wherein the change of state prompts a controller to actuate the valve to close the beverage line.
The prior art relates to monitoring and control assemblies, and more particularly, monitoring and control assemblies for beverage lines, such as beer lines running between kegs or brite tanks and dispensing taps. Related prior art may comprise sensors that detect foam formation in vessels, such as tanks, reactors, and the like. Additional prior art may comprise optical sensors used to detect foam in lines. Still more prior art may comprise mechanical Foam-on-Beer (FOB) detectors with automatic line closing elements. What is lacking in the prior art is a control assembly combining a flow meter and valve, wherein a change in an output signal from the flow meter is correlated to a change of state of a beverage in a beverage line from a liquid state to a foam state, and wherein the change of state prompts a controller to actuate the valve to close the beverage line.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a controller, a valve, and a flow meter. The valve and the flow meter are communicatively engaged to the controller and are configured to be insertable in-line with a conduit connecting a storage vessel to a dispensing tap, such as a beer line connecting a keg or brite tank to a dispensing tap. The valve is positioned proximate to the storage vessel and is configured to selectively close the conduit to prevent flow of a beverage through the conduit.
The flow meter is configured to detect at least one parameter indicative of each of a liquid state and a foam state of the beverage and to generate a first signal and a second signal, respectively, corresponding thereto. The controller is enabled to receive the first signal and the second signal from the flow meter.
Volume calculation programming code positioned on the controller enables the controller to correlate the first signal to a volume of beverage passing through the conduit. Foam in line programming code positioned on the controller enables the controller to selectively actuate the valve to close the conduit upon receipt of the second signal. The valve is configured to terminate flow of the beverage in the foam state past the valve.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The flow meter 16 is configured to detect at least one parameter indicative of each of a liquid state and a foam state of the beverage and to generate a first signal and a second signal, respectively, corresponding thereto. As in the prior art, the first signal can be used to by the controller 12 to quantify the volume of the beverage that has flowed through the conduit 18. What is not anticipated in the prior art is utilization of a change from the first signal to the second signal as an indication of the beverage being in the foam state. It is anticipated the first signal and the second signal may take the same form, such as a voltage reading, but be of differing magnitude, stability, frequency, and the like. For example, a first signal generated by the flow meter 16 may comprise a substantially stable voltage reading when the beverage is in the liquid state. A second signal generated by the flow meter 16 may comprise an increased, a decreased, a variable, or a fluctuating voltage reading when the beverage is in the foam state. The change from a substantially stable voltage reading to an increased, a decreased, a variable, or a fluctuating voltage reading can provide a basis for the controller 12 to actuate the valve 14 to prevent the conduit 18 from filling with the beverage in the foam state.
As will be apparent to those skilled in the art of monitoring and control assemblies, the monitoring and control assembly 10 is intended for use with carbonated beverages, such as, but not limited to, beer, soda, and the like. Carbonated beverages should be interpreted, in the context of this disclosure, to include any liquid in which any gas is dissolved under pressure. For example, either carbon dioxide alone or as a mixture with nitrogen are used with beer.
The flow meter 16 may comprise a thermal mass flow meter 28, a mechanical flow meter, a pressure based flow meter, a variable area flow meter, an optical flow meter, a vortex flow meter, a sonar flow meter, an electromagnetic flow meter, an ultrasonic doppler flow meter, a Coriolas flow meter, a laser doppler flow meter, or the like. With these types of flow meters 14, the first signal can be correlated to a volume of the beverage in the liquid state passing through the conduit 18, allowing the controller 12 to quantify the volume of the beverage dispensed at the dispensing tap 22.
Flow meters 14 are routinely incorporated into beverage dispensing assemblies 30 and can be positioned anywhere in a conduit 18 between the storage vessel 20 and the dispensing tap 22. A constraint of the present invention, in that the flow meter 16 also is acting as a Foam on Beer detector 54, is that the flow meter 16 should be positioned as closely as possible to the storage vessel 20. While a single valve 14 positioned proximate to the flow meter 16 may be sufficient in many configurations to prevent foaming of the beverage within the conduit 18, other configurations may require a primary valve 32 positioned proximate to the flow meter 16 and a secondary valve 34 positioned proximate the dispensing tap 22.
The thermal mass flow meter 28 comprises a microelectromechanical system sensor 36, which is configured for thermopile sensing. The thermal mass flow meter 28 may be configured to measure liquid flow rates of between 0.0 and 10.0 liters/minute. A typical flow rate for beer in a beer line 24 is two ounces per second, which allows a pint of beer to be poured in eight seconds. This corresponds to a flow rate of 3.55 liters/minute.
Output from the thermal mass flow meter 28 is in the form of a voltage reading. Parameters that vary between the liquid state and foam state of the beverage, and which influence the voltage reading, include, but are not limited to, density, viscosity, thermal conductivity, and specific heat. With foam flowing past the microelectromechanical system sensor 36, the voltage reading observed differs from that obtained for with liquid. Specifically, with beverage in the liquid state flowing past the microelectromechanical system sensor 36 at a rate of approximately 3.55 liters/minute, the voltage is substantially constant at approximately 3.3-3.6 volts, whereas with foam flowing past the microelectromechanical system sensor 36, the voltage reading fluctuates rapidly. This change in signal can be used as the basis for the controller 12 to actuate the valve 14.
Foam in line programming code 38 is positioned on the controller 12 and enables the controller 12 to selectively actuate the valve 14 to close the conduit 18 upon receipt of the second signal. The valve 14 is configured to terminate flow of the beverage in the foam state past the valve 14. The present invention anticipates the foam in line programming code 38 comprising an algorithm 40 enabling the controller 12 to evaluate the first signal generated by the flow meter 16 for a change, or changes, in the first signal to determine if the beverage passing through the conduit 18 has changed from the liquid state to the foam state.
The controller 12 also may comprise a transceiver 42, which is configured to communicate wirelessly with an electronic device 52. The electronic device 52 may be part of a network. The transceiver 42, along with dispensing programming code 44 and volume calculation programming code 46 positioned on the controller 12, enables the monitoring and control assembly 10 to seamlessly replace both flow meters 14 and Foam on Beer detectors 54 which are incorporated into prior art beverage dispensing assemblies 30. The dispensing programming code 44 enables the controller 12 to selectively actuate the valve 14 upon dispensing of a selected volume of the beverage from the dispensing tap 22. The volume calculation programming code 46 enables cumulative integration of the first signal to determine a total volume of the beverage that has passed through the conduit 18, thus allowing a volume of the beverage remaining in the storage vessel 20 to be calculable from an initial volume of the beverage positioned in the storage vessel 20.
In a configuration wherein the primary valve 32 is positioned proximate to the flow meter 16 and the secondary valve 34 is positioned proximate the dispensing tap 22, the transceiver 42 would also serve to communicate signals from the controller 12 to the secondary valve 34 via a receiver 48 that is communicatively engaged to the secondary valve 34. Also in this configuration, the primary valve 32 can be of the normally-open type and the secondary valve 34 of the normally-closed type.
The fluid line monitoring and control assembly 10 may comprise a three-way valve 56, which is positioned in-line with and proximate to the flow meter 16. The three-way valve 56 is configured to bleed gas and foam, which may be positioned in the conduit 18 between the flow meter 16 and an empty storage vessel 20. The three-way valve 56 allows the conduit 18 to be filled with beverage after the conduit 18 has been disconnected from the empty storage vessel 20 and connected to a storage vessel 20 containing the beverage. The three-way valve 56 will be of use if the flow meter 16 cannot be positioned proximate to the storage vessel 20.
The valve 14, the flow meter 16, and the controller 12 may be coupled to a housing 58 and positioned in an interior space 60 defined by the housing 58. The flow meter 16 is fluidically engaged to the valve 14 within the housing 58. The housing 58 may be configured to be mountable to a surface, such as an interior wall of a cold room. Thus configured, an inlet connector 62 and an outlet connector 64 are engaged to and extend from the housing 58, as shown in
The housing 58 also may be configured to be mountable to an outlet 68 of the storage vessel 20 or to a keg tap 70 engaged to the outlet 68. For example, the inlet connector 62 may comprise a threaded connector 72, as shown in
The present invention also anticipates the valve 14 being engaged to the inlet connector 62 and the flow meter 16 being engaged to the outlet connector 64, as this would entail only a small increase in the space that can fill with foam.
The fluid line monitoring and control assembly 10 may comprise an indicator 76 and a switch 78, which are engaged to the housing 58 and which are operationally engaged to the controller 12. The controller 12 is enabled to actuate the indicator 76 when the second signal is received. The indicator 76 informs the operator that the storage vessel 20 is empty and requires changing. Once the storage vessel 20 has been changed, the switch 78 is configured to be switched to signal the controller 12 to deactuate the indicator 76 and to open the valve 14.
The present invention anticipates the controller 12 being powered by at least one of a battery (not shown) and a power cord 80, which should be interpreted to mean that the controller 12 is powered by one or more batteries, a power cord 80, or a combination thereof. The present invention anticipates the power cord 80 being integral (permanently connected) to the housing 58 and the controller 12, or connectable by means of a connector (not shown). The present invention also anticipates the housing 58 having multiple connectors coupled thereto, would allow connection of the power cord 80 and use of tethering cords (not shown) for tethering of multiple fluid line monitoring and control assemblies 10.
The present invention anticipates the fluid line monitoring and control assembly 10 being a component of a beverage dispensing assembly 30, which may comprise one or more electronic devices 52 for interfacing with a user of the beverage dispensing assembly 30 and another electronic device 52 for interfacing with an operator of the beverage dispensing assembly 30. Beverage dispensing assemblies 30 are well known to those skilled in the art of beverage dispensing and include a wide variety of configurations, all of which depend on flow meters 16, valves 14, and most of which incorporate Foam on Beer detectors 54. A beverage dispensing assemblies 30 incorporating the fluid line monitoring and control assembly 10 offers several advantages and improvements. Many existing beverage dispensing assemblies 30 require expensive and bulky flow meters 16, which are positioned at some length from the keg 26 and which are not enabled to replace a Foam on Beer detector 54. The solenoid valve 84 and the thermal mass flow meter 28, under control of the controller 12, eliminate the need for Foam on Beer detectors 54. The fluid line monitoring and control assembly 10 also reduces the number of connections required for the beverage dispensing assembly 30, providing cost benefits and improving sanitation. Another existing option for use in beverage dispensing assemblies 30 is a dedicated and expensive keg tap, which incorporates a flow meter 16 but which is not enabled to function as a Foam on Beer detector 54. One configuration of the fluid line monitoring and control assembly 10 allows it to be threadedly engaged directly to an existing keg tap 70, thus reducing cost and eliminating loss of beer from the beverage line between the keg tap 70 and the flow meter 16.
In one example of use, the housing 58 is threadedly engaged to the threaded end 74 of the probe 50 using the threaded connector 72. The beer line 24 is attached to the outlet connector 64, positioning the solenoid valve 84 and the thermal mass flow meter 28 in-line with the beer line 24 extending to the dispensing tap 22, as shown in
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the elements is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
