Detection of fluid products using wireless beacons

Abstract

This disclosure describes techniques for detecting the presence or absence of a fluid product in a product container using a wireless beacon. One or more wireless beacon transmitters are placed on or within a product container containing a fluid product to be dispensed. The beacon transmitter periodically broadcasts a beacon signal. The signal strength of the received beacon signal, the reception frequency of the beacon signal, and / or other parameters associated with the beacon signal are indicative of the amount of fluid product in the product container.

Description

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 386,109, filed on December 5, 2022, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. Background Art

[0003] Product dispensers can be used to dispense various fluid products. For example, fluid products in the form of liquids, gels, foams, or pastes can be dispensed manually or automatically from a product container and used for various cleaning, commercial, or industrial applications. Automatic dispensing systems are often used in fluid delivery systems that deliver large amounts of fluid frequently or continuously. In such examples, the product container and the fluid delivery medium can be integrated with the device to which the fluid is being delivered (such as a commercial dishwasher or washing machine), or can be located separately from the location where the fluid is being dispensed, making it difficult to monitor the amount of fluid product remaining in the product container. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Generally speaking, the present disclosure relates to techniques for detecting fluid product in a product container using wireless beacons. For example, one or more wireless beacon transmitters are placed on or within the product container that holds the fluid product to be dispensed. The beacon transmitter periodically broadcasts a wireless beacon signal. The beacon signal can include, for example, beacon data that includes a beacon identifier and / or other beacon information associated with the beacon signal. One or more wireless beacon receivers located outside the product container are configured to receive the wireless beacon signal. The signal strength of the received beacon signal and / or the reception frequency of the beacon signal (and / or other parameters associated with the beacon signal) indicates the amount of fluid product in the product container. The system analyzes the received signal strength of the beacon signal, the reception frequency, and / or other parameters associated with the beacon signal to detect the presence, absence, or relative amount of fluid product in the product container. In some examples, the system generates a low - product warning when a low - product condition is detected, and / or generates a product - depletion warning when a product - depletion condition is detected.

[0005] In one example, the present disclosure describes a system that includes: a memory that stores beacon data associated with a wireless beacon signal received from a beacon transmitter located inside a product container, where the product container is configured to hold a fluid product to be dispensed, and the beacon data includes a received signal strength parameter of the wireless beacon signal; and one or more processors coupled to the memory and configured to: determine a received frequency of the wireless beacon signal; and detect the presence or absence of the fluid product in the product container based on determining that the received signal strength parameter of the wireless beacon signal meets a received signal strength threshold and determining that the received frequency of the beacon signal meets a received frequency threshold.

[0006] In another example, the present disclosure describes a method that includes: determining, by one or more processors, a received frequency of a wireless beacon signal transmitted by a beacon transmitter located inside a product container, where the product container is configured to hold a fluid product to be dispensed; and detecting, by the one or more processors, the presence or absence of the fluid product in the product container based on determining that a received signal strength parameter of the wireless beacon signal meets a received signal strength threshold and determining that the received frequency of the beacon signal meets a received frequency threshold.

[0007] In another example, the present disclosure describes a non-transitory computer-readable medium that includes instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: determine a received frequency of a wireless beacon signal transmitted by a beacon transmitter located inside a product container, where the product container is configured to hold a fluid product to be dispensed; and detect the presence or absence of the fluid product in the product container based on determining that a received signal strength parameter of the wireless beacon signal meets a received signal strength threshold and determining that the received frequency of the beacon signal meets a received frequency threshold.

[0008] Details of one or more examples are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the specification and drawings, and from the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 is a diagram of an example system for using a wireless beacon to detect the presence or absence of a fluid product in a product container in accordance with one or more techniques of the present disclosure.

[0010] Figure 2A is a block diagram of a computing device that analyzes a received signal strength and / or received frequency of a beacon signal to detect the presence, absence, or amount of a fluid product in a product container in accordance with one or more techniques of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 2B And Figure 2C are example screenshots that can be displayed on a computing device, and one or more beacon transmitters can be configured through the example screenshots.

[0012] Figure 3 is a diagram of an example system that uses wireless beacons to detect the presence or absence of a fluid product in a product container according to one or more techniques of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 4 is a block diagram of an example user computing device according to one or more techniques of the present disclosure, the example user computing device includes an example site status application and an example notification, and the example notification can be displayed on the user computing device.

[0014] Figure 5 is a graph illustrating the relationship between example received signal strength indication (RSSI) data of received beacon signals and the percentage of remaining fluid product in a product container over time according to one or more techniques of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 6 is a graph illustrating the relationship between example RSSI data of received beacon signals and the weight of remaining fluid product in a product container over time according to one or more techniques of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 7 is a graph illustrating the relationship between example RSSI data of received beacon signals and the weight of remaining fluid product in a product container according to one or more techniques of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 8A And Figure 8B is a graph of data generated by an experimental consumption test according to one or more techniques of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example process by which a computing device detects the presence or absence of a fluid product to be dispensed from a product container according to one or more techniques of the present disclosure. Detailed Description

[0019] In general, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for detecting the presence or absence of a fluid product in a product container using wireless beacons. For example, according to one or more techniques of the present disclosure, the system and / or method includes a wireless beacon transmitter that is positioned on or within a product container that contains a fluid product to be dispensed. The beacon transmitter periodically broadcasts a wireless beacon signal. The beacon signal can include, for example, beacon data that includes a beacon identifier and / or other associated beacon information (e.g., firmware version, battery level, transmit power, and / or other device information). One or more wireless beacon receivers positioned external to the product container are configured to receive the wireless beacon signal. The received signal strength, received frequency, and / or other parameters associated with the beacon signal are affected by the amount of fluid product in the container, the transmission characteristics of the fluid product, the distance between the beacon transmitter and the beacon receiver, etc. Accordingly, the received signal strength, received frequency, and / or other parameters associated with the beacon signal indicate the amount of fluid product in the product container.

[0020] In some examples, the system analyzes the received signal strength and / or received frequency of the beacon signal to detect the presence, absence, or amount of fluid product in the product container. In some examples, the system detects the presence or absence of fluid product in the product container based on determining that a received signal strength parameter of the wireless beacon signal meets a received signal strength threshold and determining that the received frequency of the beacon signal meets a received frequency threshold. One or more other parameters associated with the beacon signal can also be considered, and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0021] In some examples, the system generates a notification indicating the amount of fluid product remaining in the product container. The notification can include a low product warning generated based on detecting a low product condition and / or a product depletion warning generated based on detecting a product depletion condition.

[0022] According to one or more techniques of the present disclosure, the beacon transmitter and the beacon receiver are positioned relative to each other such that the signal strength of the received beacon signal and / or the received frequency of the beacon signal indicate the relative amount of fluid product remaining in the product container. As the fluid product is dispensed from the container and the amount of fluid in the product container decreases, the relative amount of air in the product container increases compared to the amount of fluid product in the product container. Accordingly, the distance that the beacon signal travels through the fluid product before being received by the beacon receiver decreases as the amount of fluid product in the product container decreases. Conversely, the distance that the beacon signal travels through the air before being received by the beacon receiver increases as the amount of fluid product in the container decreases.

[0023] Generally speaking, the amount of attenuation experienced by a wireless signal is a function of the distance between the transmitter and the receiver, the transmission characteristics of the transmission medium, and the frequency of the underlying wireless transmission. The attenuation experienced by a wireless beacon signal transmitted through a fluid typically differs from the attenuation experienced by a wireless beacon signal transmitted through air. According to one or more techniques of the present disclosure, the received signal strength of the received beacon signal is used as a basis for detecting a product shortage condition, a product depletion condition, and / or the amount of fluid product present in a product container.

[0024] In some examples, the transmission characteristics of the fluid medium result in a relatively large attenuation of the wireless beacon signal compared to the transmission characteristics of air. This means that the attenuation experienced by the beacon signal traveling through the fluid medium is relatively greater than the attenuation experienced by the beacon signal (assuming the same frequency and transmission power) traveling through air. Thus, as the fluid product is dispensed and the amount of fluid in the product container decreases, the signal strength of the received beacon signal traveling through the product container increases. Additionally, the receive frequency of beacon signals having a received signal strength above a predetermined threshold (i.e., the number of beacon signals received per unit time or the number of beacon signals received per unit time compared to the expected number of beacon signals to be received per unit time) may also increase as the amount of fluid in the product container decreases. By analyzing the received signal strength, receive frequency, and / or one or more other parameters associated with the beacon signal, systems and / or methods implementing the techniques of the present disclosure detect the presence, absence, and / or the amount of fluid product present in a product container. In some examples, when one or more configurable warning thresholds are reached, the system and / or method generates a product depletion warning or a product shortage warning to alert a user or service technician that the fluid product needs to be refilled or replaced.

[0025] In some examples, the wireless beacon transmitter includes a low-power beacon transmitter, such as a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon transmitter, the wireless beacon signal includes a BLE beacon signal, and the wireless beacon receiver includes a BLE receiver. However, in other examples, the beacon transmitter / beacon receiver may be configured to communicate using any type of wireless communication, including but not limited to Wi-Fi (i.e., 802.11), Bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC), ZigBee, satellite, cellular, infrared, and / or any other type of wireless communication. Thus, although some examples discussed herein are specifically described with respect to BLE beacons, the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0026] Figure 1FIG. 0 is a schematic diagram of an example system 100 for detecting the presence or absence of a fluid product to be dispensed from a product container using a wireless beacon in accordance with one or more techniques of the present disclosure. The example system 100 includes a wireless beacon transmitter 150 positioned on or within a product container 152 configured to hold a fluid product 112 to be dispensed. The system 100 may include one or more product containers 152, each having at least one associated beacon transmitter 150; however, for simplicity of illustration, Figure 1 a single product container 152 and beacon transmitter 150 are shown.

[0027] In Figure 1 the example of FIG. 7, the hollow probe assembly 114 includes a first open end 116 and a second closed end 118. The probe assembly 114 is positioned within the product container 152 such that the second closed end 118 substantially rests on or near the bottom of the product container 152 and the first open end 116 extends above the highest fill level of the fluid product 112 (e.g., the level of the fluid product when the container is "full"). The beacon transmitter 150 is positioned within the hollow probe assembly 114, e.g., at or near the second closed end 118, such that the beacon transmitter 150 is positioned to detect a product shortage condition or a product depletion condition at a desired product underfill level or product depletion fill level. In other examples, a bracket or other mechanism for holding the beacon transmitter 150 in a fixed position relative to the inner side or bottom wall of the product container 152 may be used in place of the hollow probe assembly 114. In other examples, the beacon transmitter 150 may be placed directly in the fluid product 112 within the product container 152. In such examples, the beacon transmitter 150 will sink through the fluid product 112 and rest at the bottom of the product container 152.

[0028] The beacon transmitter 150 periodically broadcasts a wireless beacon signal. The wireless beacon signal is indicated by the reference numeral 156. The wireless beacon signal may include, for example, beacon data that includes a beacon identifier and / or other associated beacon information. One or more wireless beacon receivers, such as the beacon receiver 124, are positioned outside the product container 152 and are configured to receive the wireless beacon signal broadcast by one or more beacon transmitters 150. In some examples, one or more beacon receivers 124 are configured as a beacon mesh network 120. The beacon mesh network 120 includes a plurality of beacon receivers 124 that are configured to communicate with each other and with one or more computing devices, such as the computing device 180. The beacon mesh network 120 may be configured as a full mesh, where each node (i.e., beacon receiver) communicates with every other node, or as a partial mesh, where each node communicates with nearby nodes. Each beacon receiver 124 in the beacon mesh network 120 may act as a repeater to transmit the beacon data associated with the beacon signal received by any of the individual beacon receivers 124 to the computing device 180 or other destination. Although the beacon mesh network 120 is described herein, one or more beacon receivers 124 may be configured in any type of beacon network, and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0029] In some examples, upon receiving a beacon signal, the beacon receiver 124 determines one or more parameters regarding the received beacon signal. The parameter may include, for example, received signal strength indication (RSSI), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and / or any other measurement associated with the received beacon signal. The beacon receiver 124 may also decode the beacon identifier and / or other beacon information encoded in the received beacon signal. The beacon receiver 124 and / or the beacon mesh network 120 send the beacon data 158 associated with the received beacon signal to one or more computing devices, such as the computing device 180, the beacon data including the beacon identifier, any other beacon information encoded in the beacon signal, a date / time stamp indicating the date and time the beacon signal was received, RSSI, SNR, and / or other parameters associated with the received beacon signal, etc. The beacon receiver 124 / mesh network 120 sends the beacon data 158 via any one or more of a wired network, a wireless network, a cellular network, the Internet, and / or any other type of electronic communication.

[0030] The computing device 180 may include a local and / or remote computing device configured to analyze beacon data 158 associated with received beacon signals to detect the presence or absence of a fluid product 112 within the product container 152. For example, the computing device 180 may determine the reception frequency of beacon signals received from the beacon transmitter 150 over one or more predetermined time periods. The computing device 180 analyzes the received signal strength of the beacon signals, the reception frequency of the beacon signals, and / or other beacon data to detect the presence, absence, or amount of fluid product in the product container. In some examples, the computing device 180 detects a product shortage condition, a product depletion condition, or the amount of product remaining in the product container based on the analysis of the beacon data. The computing device 180 may also generate one or more product shortage alerts and / or product depletion alerts and / or the amount of product remaining in the product container for display on a user computing device when one or more configurable alert thresholds are reached to alert the user or service technician that the fluid product needs to be refilled or replaced.

[0031] In some examples, the computing device 180 includes one or more computer-readable storage media or memories that store beacon / product association data. The beacon / product association data associates the beacon identifier of each beacon transmitter among one or more beacon transmitters 150 with product information associated with one or more fluid products 112 and / or product containers 152. In this way, the computing device 180 can decode the beacon identifier included in the received beacon signal, reference the stored beacon / product association data, and determine the product information of the product container and / or fluid product associated with the beacon transmitter that broadcast the received beacon signal.

[0032] The beacon / product association data may include, for example, an association between the beacon identifier of each beacon transmitter among one or more beacon transmitters and a product container identifier, a product name, a product type, a location, a customer name, a site name, and / or any other information relevant to the application. The beacon / product association data may be input into the computing device 180 during manufacturing, when the product container is deployed at a site, or at any other appropriate time.

[0033] In some examples, upon detecting a product shortage condition or a product depletion condition, computing device 180 generates a product shortage notification or a product depletion notification for display on a user computing device. Additionally or alternatively, computing device 180 may generate a notification that indicates the status of the fluid product within the product container determined based on the received beacon signal. The status may include, for example, a product presence or "OK" status, a "product shortage" status, or a "product depletion" status. The notification may also include beacon identification information, received beacon signal parameters, other beacon data, and / or any associated product data, including product container identifiers, product names, product types, product container locations, customer names or other customer identification information, the amount of product remaining in the product container, recommended actions, and / or any other information associated with the beacon identification information.

[0034] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a computing device 200 in accordance with one or more techniques of the present disclosure that analyzes received signal strength, received frequency, and / or other parameters associated with a beacon signal to detect the presence, absence, or amount of fluid product in a product container. Computing device 200 includes one or more processors 202, one or more user interface components 204, one or more communication components 206, and one or more data storage components or memories 208. Computing device 200 can be used to implement, for example, computing device 150 as shown. Although computing device 200 is illustrated as a single computing device, computing device 200 can include one or more distributed computing devices, and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard. Figure 1 FIG. 5. Although computing device 200 is illustrated as a single computing device, computing device 200 can include one or more distributed computing devices, and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0035] The communication interface 206 of computing device 200 receives beacon data regarding wireless beacon signals received by one or more beacon receivers, such as beacon receiver 124 and / or beacon mesh network 120. The beacon data can include (e.g., for each received beacon signal) a beacon identifier and / or other beacon information associated with the beacon signal, the RSSI and / or SNR of the received beacon signal, and any other information associated with the beacon signal. Computing device 200 stores the received beacon data as beacon data 216.

[0036] The user interface component 204 may include one or more of an audio interface, a visual interface, and a touch-based interface component, the touch-based interface component including a touch-sensitive screen, a display, a speaker, a button, a keypad, a stylus, a mouse, or other mechanisms that allow a user to interact with the computing device. The reporting module 214 generates one or more notifications indicating the amount of fluid product remaining in the product container. The notifications may include a low product alert when a low product condition is detected and / or a product depletion alert when a product depletion condition is detected. The communication component 206 allows the computing device 200 to communicate with other electronic devices via wired communication and / or wireless communication, the other electronic devices such as a gateway / edge computing device located at or near the site, one or more beacon receivers 124 and / or a beacon mesh network 120, one or more user computing devices, and / or other local or remote or local computing devices.

[0037] The storage device 208 includes one or more hardware and / or non-transitory computer-readable memories that store beacon / product association data 210, a low / product depletion detection module 212, a reporting module 214, product and dispenser data 216, received beacon information 218, and a data store 220. The modules 212, 214 may perform operations in accordance with one or more techniques of the present disclosure using software, hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware, software, and firmware and / or other processing circuitry residing in and / or executed by the computing device 200. In some examples, one or more of the data / modules 210, 212, 214, 216, and 218 may be remotely located from and / or remotely accessible by the processor 202, e.g., as one or more web services operating in a cloud-based computing system. Any data used or generated during monitoring or analysis of beacon signal information at the site to detect the presence or absence of fluid product may be stored in the data memory 222.

[0038] In accordance with one or more techniques of the present disclosure, the low / product depletion detection module 212 includes computer-readable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors 202, cause the processor 202 of the computing device 200 to analyze received beacon signal information associated with a beacon signal to detect the presence or absence of fluid product to be dispensed from a product container. For example, the analysis of the received beacon signal information may include analyzing received signal strength information (e.g., RSSI) of the received beacon signal. In some examples, the analysis further includes determining the received frequency of the beacon signal.

[0039] According to one or more techniques of the present disclosure, a reception frequency is determined based on the number of beacon signals received by a beacon receiver during one or more predetermined time periods and the expected number of beacon signals to be received during one or more predetermined time periods. For example, to determine the reception frequency of a particular beacon signal (i.e., a beacon signal having a particular beacon identifier), a computing device 200 of a product shortage / product depletion detection module 212 determines the number of beacon signals received during a predetermined time period that have a received signal strength (e.g., RSSI value) that meets an RSSI threshold. In some examples, the computing device 200 determines the reception frequency of beacon signals during each of a plurality of sliding time windows, where the width of each window is equal to the predetermined time period. The windows may be adjacent or overlapping. In other examples, the computing device 200 determines the reception frequency of the particular beacon signal as long as the particular beacon signal is received or as long as the RSSI of the received beacon signal meets the RSSI threshold. The predetermined time period may be, for example, a user-configurable time period in the range from a few seconds to a few minutes and may depend at least in part on the broadcast interval of the beacon signal; however, any suitable time period may be used and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0040] In some examples, the expected number of beacon signals to be received during a predetermined time period depends on the broadcast interval of the beacon transmitter. In some examples, the broadcast interval is an adjustable parameter that is configured during the setup of the beacon transmitter. For example, the broadcast interval may include user-configurable values in the range from 100 milliseconds to 10,000 milliseconds. In other examples, the broadcast interval is a fixed value. However, any broadcast interval may be used and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0041] As an example, if the broadcast interval of the beacon transmitter is 200 milliseconds and the predetermined time period for determining the reception frequency is 2 seconds, the expected number of beacon signals to be received during the 2-second time period is 10 (2000 / 200 = 10).

[0042] Figure 2B and Figure 2CThey are example screenshots 270 and 272 respectively. The example screenshots can be displayed on a computing device, and a user can configure one or more beacon transmitters through the example screenshots. In this example, the beacon name has been configured as "Beacon 123", and the beacon interval has been set to 1000 ms (one beacon per second). The user can configure the transmission power (dB), beacon interval, RSSI at a specified distance (in air), etc. These will affect the RSSI reception frequency calculation. The user can also add, delete, or upgrade one or more beacon transmitters, configure multiple beacon transmitters (by clicking the button marked "Batch Configure the Device") and / or configure any other available parameters of one or more beacon transmitters.

[0043] Referring again to Figure 2A , in some examples, to determine the reception frequency, the computing device 200 that executes the product shortage / product depletion detection module 212 will compare the number of beacon signals received by the beacon receiver during one or more predetermined time periods with the expected number of beacon signals to be received during one or more predetermined time periods. For example, the computing device 200 can determine the ratio or percentage of the expected number of beacon signals to be received during one or more predetermined time periods. Continuing with the above example, if 8 beacon signals that meet the RSSI threshold are received during a predetermined time period of 2 seconds, then the percentage of beacon signals received during the 2-second time period is 80% (8 beacon signals received / 10 expected beacon signals = 0.80 = 80% of the expected number of beacon signals received).

[0044] In some examples, the computing device 200 that executes the product shortage / product depletion detection module 212 can further classify the reception frequency as one of "consistent" or "intermittent" based on the comparison. For example, when the percentage of beacon signals received during a predetermined time period meets the threshold (e.g., at least 80% of the expected number of beacon signals, or some other predetermined percentage), the reception frequency can be classified as "consistent". If the number of beacon signals received during a predetermined time period does not meet the threshold number (e.g., less than 80% of the expected number of beacon signals, or other predetermined percentage), then the reception frequency can be classified as "intermittent".

[0045] In accordance with one or more techniques of the present disclosure, computing device 200 implementing product shortage / product depletion detection module 212 analyzes received signal strength information (e.g., RSSI value), received frequency of the beacon signal, and / or one or more other parameters associated with the beacon signal to detect the presence or absence of a fluid product to be dispensed from a product container. In some examples, when the received signal strength information and / or received frequency of the beacon signal meet a received signal strength threshold and / or received frequency threshold associated with a product shortage condition or a product depletion condition, computing device 200 detects the product shortage condition or the product depletion condition, respectively.

[0046] Reporting module 214 generates one or more notifications or reports for storage or for display on user interface 204, or for receipt by one or more local or remote computing devices. In some examples, reporting module 214 generates a notification indicating the amount of fluid product remaining in a product container for display on a user computing device. The notification may include a product shortage alert generated in response to detecting a product shortage condition and / or a product depletion alert generated in response to detecting a product depletion condition. In some examples, the notification may include one or more recommended actions to address the product shortage condition or the product depletion condition. Regarding Figure 4 Examples of notifications that may be generated and sent to one or more computing devices are described.

[0047] Beacon product association data 210 includes a data structure storing an association between each of a plurality of beacon identifiers and a fluid product associated with the beacon identifier. The fluid product associated with a particular beacon identifier may include, for example, a fluid product contained in a product container associated with the beacon transmitter. The data structure of beacon / product association data 210 may include, for example, a table, a relational database, or other suitable data structure. Table 1 shows an example beacon / product association data table. In Table 1, each row is associated with a different beacon identifier, and each column includes fluid product information associated with the corresponding beacon identifier of that row.

[0048] Table 1

[0049]

[0050] By referring to beacon / product association data 210 corresponding to the beacon ID of the received beacon signal, computing device 200 may generate a notification including one or more of the following: a beacon identifier, a product container identifier, a product name, a product type, a customer name, a site name, a location, and any other associated beacon data stored in beacon / product association data 210. The notification may also include the amount of product remaining in the product container, a product shortage warning, a product depletion warning, a time / date stamp, one or more recommended actions, a list of one or more components or supplies recommended for performing the one or more recommended actions, and any other information related to the presence or absence of a fluid product in the product container. Other notifications associated with the detected product depletion condition, notifications regarding the amount of product remaining in the product container, recommended actions, or other notifications may also be generated and displayed, and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0051] Figure 3 FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example system 300 that uses wireless beacons to detect the presence or absence of a fluid product in a product container in accordance with one or more techniques of the present disclosure. In this example, each of one or more sites 302A through 302N includes one or more product dispensers 240 configured to automatically dispense a fluid product from one or more product containers 252 to one or more destinations at the site. The destinations may include, for example, one or more cleaning machines 230 or end-use containers such as spray bottles, buckets, pails, and other end-use containers into which the fluid product is dispensed. Although specific examples of automatic dispensing for a cleaning machine application are described herein for purposes of discussion, the techniques of the present disclosure are applicable to any other application in which the presence or absence of a fluid product is to be detected, and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0052] Each product container 252 is associated with at least one beacon transmitter 250. For example, each product container 252 includes at least one beacon transmitter 250 located inside the product container 252.

[0053] Each of sites 302A through 302N includes one or more beacon receivers and / or a beacon mesh network 254 and a gateway / edge computing device 330. In some examples, the gateway / edge computing device 330 is physically located at or near one or more of sites 302A through 302N to provide edge computing advantages such as increased processing speed and lower latency. One or more mobile user computing devices 340 may also be present at each of sites 302A through 302N at different times. For example, a field service technician with an associated computing device 340 (such as a smart phone, a tablet computing device, etc.) may be present at one or more of sites 302A through 302N during a site visit.

[0054] Typically, each gateway / edge computing device 330 provides a connection between devices 230, 240, 250 located at associated sites 302A to 302N and one or more local or remote computing devices 340, 370, 380 via a wired or wireless connection or via one or more networks 350. The network 350 may include, for example, one or more local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), virtual private networks (VPNs), wide area networks (WANs), the Internet, etc. Thus, the gateway / edge computing device 330 is configured to communicate with the beacon mesh network 254 and send beacon data associated with the beacon signals received from the beacon transmitter 250 to one or more local and / or remote computing devices 340, 370, 380. The gateway / edge computing device 330 may be further configured to communicate with the controller of the cleaning machine 304, the controller of the product dispenser 308, and / or any other device located at the associated sites 302A to 302N.

[0055] Any one or more of the computing devices 340, 370, and / or 380 may be configured to execute modules and provide the functions described with respect to the computing device 200 and may thus include a product shortage / product depletion detection module 212, beacon / product association data 210, a reporting module 214, and received beacon data 216.

[0056] The user computing device 340 includes any type of computing device associated with a field service technician, a regional manager (TM), or other personnel responsible for maintaining the cleaning machine 230, the product dispenser 240, the product container 252, and / or other equipment at the site. The user computing device 340 may also include, for example, any type of mobile computing device, such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant, a laptop computing device, etc. The user computing device 340 may also include any type of local computing device present at the site, such as one or more laptop computers or desktop computers associated with employees or other users at the site.

[0057] In some examples, based on detecting a product shortage condition or a product depletion condition, a computing device (such as any one of gateway / edge computing device 330, remote / server computing device 380, and / or remote user computing device 370) automatically generates a notification indicating the product shortage condition or the product depletion condition. Additionally or alternatively, any one or more of computing devices 330, 370, 380 may automatically generate a notification indicating the amount of fluid product remaining in a product container for receipt by user computing device 340. The notification may be generated periodically, according to a schedule, or on demand. The notification may be generated for receipt by user computing device 340, which is associated with a service technician or other person responsible for maintaining the equipment at site 302. The automatic notification helps ensure that product shortage conditions and / or product depletion conditions are promptly communicated to the appropriate person, such that the supply of fluid product is effectively replenished before the fluid product is depleted. By helping ensure that there is always sufficient supply of fluid product available for dispensing, the techniques of the present disclosure further help achieve high standards of cleaning performance in each cleaning cycle. Additionally, the automatic notification of product shortage conditions and / or product depletion conditions reduces the performance of unnecessary or inefficient activities, such as repeated manual checks of the liquid level and associated site visits, thereby saving time and cost and increasing operational efficiency.

[0058] Additionally or alternatively, based on detecting a product shortage condition or a product depletion condition, a computing device (such as computing devices 330, 370, 380) may automatically generate a control signal for receipt by any one or more of product dispenser 240 and / or cleaning machine 230 to automatically stop the dispensing of one or more fluid products or the execution of a cleaning cycle upon detecting a product depletion event. When replenishing the fluid supply, a user may restart or initiate a cleaning cycle and / or a product dispensing cycle. Alternatively, receiving a product shortage notification or a product depletion notification may initiate an automatic refill cycle, after which the product shortage alert or the product depletion alert will be cleared and the cleaning cycle and / or the product dispensing cycle will automatically start again.

[0059] Figure 4 is a block diagram of an example user computing device 400 according to one or more techniques of the present disclosure, the example user computing device including an example site status application 408 and an example notification 402 that may be displayed on user computing device 400. The user computing device includes one or more processors 402, a user interface 404, a communication module 412, one or more data storage devices or memories 405, and a power supply 414. The data storage device 405 stores the site status application 408 and data 410. The user computing device 400 may be used to implement the user computing device 340 and / or 370 as shown in Figure 3 shown.

[0060] In some examples, the techniques of the present disclosure for detecting the presence or absence of a fluid product using a wireless beacon form part of a cleaning performance platform, the goal of which is to provide insights into various aspects of cleaning performance and to ensure a consistent high level of cleaning performance of cleaning machines deployed at multiple sites. For example, in commercial washing machine or dishwasher applications, the cleaning performance platform attempts to ensure that batches of laundry or stacks of dishes are consistently cleaned at each of multiple customer sites. The cleaning performance platform can include, for example, acoustic monitoring techniques, machine vision techniques implemented by cameras mounted inside or outside the wash chamber of the cleaning machine, the use of cleaning machine indicator markings (e.g., swatch indicator markings), and other techniques for monitoring the cleaning performance of the cleaning machine. By detecting fluid product shortage conditions and / or product depletion conditions and generating appropriate notifications, the techniques of the present disclosure help to ensure that the supply of the fluid product to be dispensed is effectively maintained, ensuring that a sufficient amount of the fluid product is present in the product container and available for dispensing when needed, thereby reliably and consistently achieving the desired level of cleaning performance.

[0061] As Figure 4 shown, an example user interface 404 of the user computing device 400 includes a touch screen display 420 on which one or more interactive pages generated by the site status application 408 can be displayed. In this example, according to one or more techniques of the present disclosure, the product shortage alert notification 402 includes information generated by the product shortage / product depletion detection module 210 executed by a computing device (e.g., any one of the computing devices 280, 330, 380, 370) for display on the user computing device 400 as described herein. The interactive pages enable a user (e.g., a service technician, a regional manager, etc.) to view the notification and / or interact with the product shortage / product depletion detection module 210 and / or other computing devices to obtain fluid presence / absence information and / or other cleaning performance information about one or more cleaning machines at the site.

[0062] The example product shortage warning notice 402 can be automatically generated by a computing device (such as the computing device 200 that executes the product shortage / product depletion module 212) based on the detection of a product shortage condition. The product shortage warning notice 402 includes the name of the site where the product shortage condition is detected ("Hotel ABC"), the site name and location ("Site 123, St. Paul, Minnesota"), the date and time associated with the detection of the product shortage condition ("05-07-2022 02:35:14"), the product name ("UltraClean Detergent"), the product container ID ("2e-5fc..."), the beacon ID ("3ce2e..."), the amount of fluid product remaining in the container ("<10%"), the remaining number of cycles ("23"), one or more recommended actions ("Replace or refill the product container"), and a list of one or more components or supplies recommended for performing the one or more recommended actions ("UltraClean Detergent, 15 gallons").

[0063] The notice 402 can include a product container ID that helps the user identify which product container needs to be refilled or replaced. The remaining number of cycles and / or the amount of fluid product remaining in the container can assist the user in determining when to schedule a site visit for the purpose of refilling or replacing the product container. In some examples, the notice 402 can also include the date / time of an automatically scheduled site visit for refilling or replacing the product container, or a user-selectable list of recommended dates / times for such site visits. By clicking on the user-selectable icon 424 labeled "Click to view more details", the user can view additional information associated with the product shortage notice, including but not limited to a graph of the received beacon signals associated with the product shortage notice 402, signal strength information of the received beacon signals, and / or the reception frequency of the received beacon signals, such as Figure 5 those shown in FIGS. 6 to 8.

[0064] Although the example product shortage notice 402 is shown in Figure 4 , other notices corresponding to the detected product depletion condition, notices regarding the amount of product remaining in the product container (expressed as a percentage, weight, volume, etc.), or other notices can also be generated and displayed, and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0065] Figures 5 to 7It is a graph of experimental data according to one or more techniques of the present disclosure, illustrating the relationship between the received signal strength of the received beacon signal (i.e., RSSI) and the amount of fluid product in the product container (e.g., percentage and / or weight). A designed experiment was performed in which a 5-gallon (about 20 kg) pail was placed on a laboratory scale. Water was filled to different levels, and the weight of the water was recorded. A BLE beacon with a 100-ms beacon interval was submerged in the pail. During the experiment, the BLE beacon remained stationary at the bottom of the pail. A BLE receiver (smartphone) was held approximately 2.5 feet above the top of the pail.

[0066] Figure 5 It is a graph of the experimental received signal strength indication (RSSI) data of the received beacon signal and the percentage of the remaining fluid product in the product container versus time. The RSSI data is indicated by reference numeral 452 in the figure, and the percentage of the remaining fluid product is indicated by reference numeral 454 in the figure. Figure 6 It is a graph of the experimental RSSI data of the received beacon signal and the weight of the remaining fluid product in the product container versus time. The RSSI data (the same data as Figure 5 shown) is indicated by reference numeral 452 in the figure, and the weight of the remaining fluid product in the pail is indicated by reference numeral 456 in the figure. Figure 7 It is a graph of the experimental RSSI data of the received beacon signal versus the weight of the remaining fluid product in the pail.

[0067] As Figures 5 to 7 shown, the RSSI of the received beacon signal varies with the amount of fluid in the container. When the liquid level in the product container is below about 10% (about 2000 g), the RSSI of the received beacon signal is generally greater than about -80 dB. When the liquid level in the product container is above about 10%, the RSSI of the received beacon signal is generally less than about -80 dB.

[0068] Figure 8A and Figure 8B are graphs of data generated by an experimental consumption test. Figure 8A It shows the relationship between the beacon count (receive frequency) data 484 of the received beacon signal of 2 beacons (labeled "Beacon B" and "Beacon C") and time. Figure 8B It shows the relationship between the remaining chemical fill % 486 in the pail and time, which is superimposed on Figure 8A the beacon count data 484. At Figure 8BIn this example, for illustrative purposes, the beacon count data is multiplied by 10. For experimental purposes, the beacon interval is set to 1000 milliseconds, and the mass of the fluid (in grams) is recorded every 2 seconds. Therefore, the expected beacon count is 2 beacon signals per 2 - second period. The experiment starts with approximately 50% fill (2.5 gallons in a 5 - gallon bucket). For each timestamp at which the mass of the chemical is recorded, the count of received beacon signals is determined. As Figure 8B shown, very few beacon signals are received until the contents of the bucket are consumed to approximately 30%. Once the 10% fill level is reached, the receiver starts receiving 1 signal per second consistently. In this particular experimental setup, the contents of the bucket are not actually consumed completely, so the fill % remains slightly below 10%.

[0069] In some examples, the point at which a consistent beacon signal is received is used as a product depletion threshold or a product shortage threshold, and the system generates a product depletion notification or a product shortage notification. In other examples, the signal counts can be aggregated over a predetermined number of time intervals to identify product depletion at various levels (e.g., 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, etc.).

[0070] The computing device 180 can determine the reception frequency of beacon signals over one or more predetermined time periods. As described above, the reception frequency can indicate whether the reception of beacon signals is "consistent" or "intermittent". For example, to determine the reception frequency of a particular beacon signal (i.e., a beacon signal with a specific beacon identifier), the computing device (such as the computing device 200 executing the product shortage / product depletion detection module 212) determines the number of beacon signals received during a predetermined time period that have a received signal strength (e.g., RSSI value) that meets the RSSI threshold, as described above with respect to Figure 2.

[0071] In Figures 8A to 8B the experimental results shown, the reception frequency of beacon signals at a chemical fill level equal to or below approximately 10% can be classified as "consistent" (e.g., at least a predetermined percentage of the expected number of beacon signals are received over one or more predetermined time periods). The reception frequency of beacon signals at a chemical fill level greater than approximately 10% can be classified as "intermittent" (e.g., the number of received beacon signals does not meet a predetermined percentage of the expected number of beacon signals).

[0072] In other examples, instead of or in addition to determining a percentage, one or more thresholds or counts may be used. For example, a first threshold may be set such that when the count of beacon signals received during a predetermined time period meets the first threshold, the receive frequency is classified as consistent. A second threshold may be set such that when the count of beacon signals received during a predetermined time period meets the second threshold, the receive frequency is classified as intermittent. In other examples, a counting function may be implemented. For example, a computing device may count the beacon signals received during each of a plurality of time periods. A maximum number of beacon signals that may be received during each time period may be set such that when the maximum number is reached, the receive frequency of the beacon signals is classified as "consistent". When the maximum number is not reached, the receive frequency of the beacon signals is classified as "intermittent".

[0073] The beacon count, the time period for determining the receive frequency, the count value, the threshold, the remaining product percentage or weight for setting a product depletion threshold or a product shortage threshold, and other variables may vary based on a particular application, the chemical product to be dispensed, the desired notification level, etc., and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0074] Figure 9 is a flowchart of an example process (500) illustrating one or more techniques of the present disclosure, by which a computing device detects the presence or absence of a fluid product to be dispensed from a product container based on wireless beacon signals received from one or more beacon transmitters. The computing device may include, for example, any one or more of computing devices 180, 200, 330, 340, 370, or 380 that execute a product shortage / product depletion detection module 212.

[0075] The computing device receives beacon data associated with one or more received wireless beacon signals transmitted by a beacon transmitter located inside the product container, the product container being configured to hold the fluid product to be dispensed (510). The beacon data may include, for example, a beacon identifier, other beacon information encoded in the beacon signal, a received signal strength indication (RSSI), the receive time / timestamp of the beacon signal, a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and / or any other parameter related to the received beacon signal. The computing device may determine a signal strength parameter (e.g., RSSI, SNR, and / or other parameter indicating the signal strength and / or quality of the received beacon signal) (512). Alternatively, the signal strength parameter may be determined by a beacon receiver 124 or a beacon mesh network 120 that receives the wireless beacon signal and sent to the computing device as part of the beacon data.

[0076] The computing device determines the received frequency of the received wireless beacon signal (514). In some examples, the received frequency of the beacon signal is determined based on the number (e.g., count) of beacon signals received by the beacon receiver during one or more predetermined time periods and the expected number (e.g., expected count) of beacon signals to be received during one or more predetermined time periods. In some examples, the counts can be aggregated over one or more predetermined time periods (such as 30 seconds, one minute, two minutes, etc.), and the aggregated count is compared with the expected aggregated count over the one or more predetermined time periods.

[0077] The computing device compares the received frequency with one or more received frequency thresholds. The one or more received frequency thresholds can include, for example, a product shortage received frequency threshold and / or a product depletion received frequency threshold. When the received frequency of the wireless beacon signal does not meet the product shortage received frequency threshold or the product depletion received frequency threshold (the "No" branch of 516), the computing device determines that the amount of product in the product container does not meet the corresponding product shortage condition or product depletion condition, and there is a sufficient amount of fluid product in the product container (520).

[0078] When the received frequency of the beacon signal meets one of the product shortage received frequency threshold or the product depletion received frequency threshold (the "Yes" branch of 516), the computing device determines whether the signal strength parameter meets one or more signal strength thresholds (518). The one or more signal strength thresholds can include, for example, a product shortage signal strength threshold and / or a product depletion signal strength threshold. When the signal strength of the received beacon signal does not meet one of the signal strength thresholds (the "No" branch of 518), the computing device determines that the amount of product in the product container does not meet the product shortage condition or the product depletion condition, and there is a sufficient amount of fluid product in the product container (520). When the signal strength of the received beacon signal meets one of the product shortage signal strength threshold or the product depletion signal strength threshold (the "Yes" branch of 518), the computing device detects the corresponding product shortage condition or product depletion condition (522).

[0079] The computing device may also generate one or more notifications (524) indicating the presence or absence of a fluid product in the product container. For example, upon detecting a low product condition or an out-of-product condition, the computing device may generate a low product notification or an out-of-product notification, respectively, for display on the user computing device. Additionally or alternatively, the computing device may generate a notification indicating the status of the product container (e.g., product present or "OK", low product, or out-of-product). The notification may also include any one or more of a beacon identifier, other beacon data encoded in the received beacon signal, and / or one or more received beacon signal parameters (such as received signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio, etc.). The notification may also include one or more of the product data associated with the beacon signal, the product data including a product container identifier, a product name, a product type, a product container location, a customer name or other customer identification information, and / or any other information associated with the beacon identification information. In some examples, the notification may include one or more recommended actions that may be taken to address the low product condition or the out-of-product condition.

[0080] Although the examples presented herein are described with respect to an automatic cleaning machine (e.g., a dishwasher, a commercial washing machine, etc.) for food preparation / processing or laundry applications, it should be understood that the techniques described herein may be applied to a variety of other commercial and industrial applications in which a fluid product is dispensed.

[0081] In one or more examples, the functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium or memory as one or more instructions or code and executed by a hardware-based processing unit. The computer-readable medium may include a computer-readable storage medium corresponding to a tangible medium such as a data storage medium, or a communication medium including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another, for example, according to a communication protocol. In this way, the computer-readable medium generally may correspond to (1) a non-transitory tangible computer-readable storage medium or (2) a communication medium such as a signal or a carrier wave. The data storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by one or more computers or one or more processors to retrieve instructions, code, and / or data structures for implementing the techniques described in this disclosure. A computer program product may include a computer-readable medium.

[0082] By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable storage media can include one or more of the following: random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, solid state devices, flash memory, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, one or more processors, or processing circuitry. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if instructions are transmitted using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of the medium. However, it should be understood that computer-readable storage media and data storage media do not include connections, carrier waves, signals, or other transient media, but rather refer to non-transitory, volatile storage media. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with a laser. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0083] Instructions can be executed by any type of processing circuitry, including one or more processors, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), general purpose microprocessors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuits. Thus, as used herein, the term "processor" can refer to any of the foregoing structures or any other structure suitable for implementing the described techniques. Additionally, in some examples, the described functionality can be disposed within dedicated hardware and / or software modules. Also, the techniques can be fully implemented in one or more circuits or logic elements.

[0084] The techniques of the present disclosure can be implemented in a variety of apparatuses or devices, including wireless handsets, integrated circuits (ICs), or a group of ICs (e.g., a chipset). Various components, modules, or units are described in the present disclosure to emphasize functional aspects of apparatuses configured to perform the disclosed techniques, but need not necessarily be implemented by different hardware units. Instead, as described above, with appropriate software and / or firmware, the various units can be combined in a hardware unit or provided by a series of interoperating hardware units including one or more processors as described above.

[0085] It should be recognized that, depending on the example, certain actions or events of any of the methods described herein may be performed in a different order, may be added, combined, or all omitted (e.g., not all of the described actions or events are required to practice the method). Additionally, in some examples, actions or events may be performed concurrently rather than sequentially, such as by multithreading, interrupt processing, or multiple processors.

[0086] In some examples, a computer-readable storage medium may include a non-transitory medium. The term "non-transitory" may indicate that the storage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or a propagated signal. In certain examples, a non-transitory storage medium may store data that can change over time (e.g., in RAM or a cache).

[0087] Various embodiments have been described. These and other embodiments are within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A system, the system comprising: a memory that stores beacon data associated with a wireless beacon signal received from a beacon transmitter located inside a product container, where the product container is configured to hold a fluid product to be dispensed, and the beacon data includes a received signal strength parameter of the wireless beacon signal; and one or more processors coupled to the memory and configured to: determine a received frequency of the wireless beacon signal; and detect the presence or absence of the fluid product in the product container based on determining that the received signal strength parameter of the wireless beacon signal meets a received signal strength threshold and determining that the received frequency of the beacon signal meets a received frequency threshold.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein, to determine the received frequency of the wireless beacon signal, the one or more processors are further configured to: compare the number of wireless beacon signals received within a predetermined time period with an expected number of wireless beacon signals to be received within the predetermined time period.

3. The system according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the expected number of wireless beacon signals to be received within the predetermined time period is based on a broadcast interval of the beacon transmitter.

4. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, to determine whether the received frequency of the beacon signal meets the received frequency threshold, the one or more processors are further configured to: determine whether the number of wireless beacon signals received within a predetermined time period meets a threshold percentage of the expected number of wireless beacon signals expected to be received within the predetermined time period.

5. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: automatically generate a notification indicating the presence or absence of the fluid product in the product container for display on a user computing device.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the notification includes one or more of the following: a beacon identifier associated with the wireless beacon signal, a product container identifier that uniquely identifies the product container, and a product name associated with the fluid product.

7. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: detect a product depletion condition based on determining that the received signal strength parameter of the wireless beacon signal meets a product depletion signal strength threshold and based on determining that the received frequency of the beacon signal meets a product depletion received frequency threshold.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: automatically generate a notification indicating the detected product depletion condition for display on a user computing device.

9. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: Detect a product shortage condition based on determining that the received signal strength parameter of the beacon signal meets a product shortage signal strength threshold and based on determining that the received frequency of the beacon signal meets a product shortage received frequency threshold.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: Automatically generate a notification indicating the detected product shortage condition for display on a user computing device.

11. A method, the method comprising: Determining, by one or more processors, a received frequency of a wireless beacon signal transmitted by a beacon transmitter located inside a product container, wherein the product container is configured to hold a fluid product to be dispensed; And Detecting, by the one or more processors, the presence or absence of the fluid product in the product container based on determining that the received signal strength parameter of the wireless beacon signal meets a received signal strength threshold and determining that the received frequency of the beacon signal meets a received frequency threshold.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein determining the received frequency of the wireless beacon signal further comprises: Comparing the number of wireless beacon signals received within a predetermined time period with an expected number of beacon signals to be received within the predetermined time period.

13. The method according to any one of claims 11 or 12, wherein the expected number of beacon signals to be received within the predetermined time period is based on a broadcast interval of the beacon transmitter.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein determining whether the received frequency of the beacon signal meets the received frequency threshold further comprises: Determining whether the number of beacon signals received within a predetermined time period meets a threshold percentage of the expected number of beacon signals expected to be received within the predetermined time period.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, the method further comprising: Automatically generating, by the one or more processors, a notification indicating the presence or absence of the fluid product in the product container for display on a user computing device.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the notification comprises one or more of the following: a beacon identifier associated with the wireless beacon signal, a product container identifier uniquely identifying the product container, and a product name associated with the fluid product.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, the method further comprising: Detecting a product depletion condition based on determining that the received signal strength parameter of the wireless beacon signal meets a product depletion signal strength threshold and based on determining that the received frequency of the wireless beacon signal meets a product depletion received frequency threshold.

18. The method according to claim 17, the method further comprising: Automatically generating, by the one or more processors, a notification indicating the detected product depletion condition for display on a user computing device.

19. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 18, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: Detect a product shortage condition based on determining that the received signal strength parameter of the beacon signal meets a product shortage signal strength threshold and based on determining that the received frequency of the beacon signal meets a product shortage received frequency threshold.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: Determine a received frequency of a wireless beacon signal transmitted by a beacon transmitter located inside a product container configured to contain a fluid product to be dispensed; and detect the presence or absence of the fluid product in the product container based on determining that the received signal strength parameter of the wireless beacon signal meets a received signal strength threshold and determining that the received frequency of the beacon signal meets a received frequency threshold.

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