Method and apparatuses for providing a selectable beverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage dispensing systems limit user options by linking beverage color to flavor, making it burdensome for manufacturers to produce varied products and restricting user selection to a single flavor and color.
Innovation Solution
A post-mix beverage dispensing system with two clear, unflavored beverage bases and separate colorants, allowing users to select each component individually through a user interface, enabling independent choice of color and flavor, and offering blended or randomly selected beverages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If beverage color is linked to flavor in traditional dispensing systems, then manufacturing is simplified with single-flavor products, but user selection variety is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The beverage is segmented into separate functional components: clear beverage base, flavor concentrate, and colorant. Each component is stored separately and combined at dispensing, allowing independent selection of flavor and color to resolve the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and user variety.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds a new dimension of independence between flavor and color selection. Traditionally color was tied to flavor (one dimension), but this system separates them into independent selectable parameters (two dimensions), enabling users to choose any flavor-color combination without complicating manufacturing.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple flavored and colored beverages are pre-produced, then user selection options increase, but storage requirements and burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of storing complete pre-mixed beverages in various flavors and colors, the system segments them into universal clear bases and separate flavor/color concentrates. This reduces storage volume significantly while maintaining the ability to create numerous beverage variations on-demand.
Solution Approach 2:
The clear beverage base serves as a universal carrier that can combine with any flavor and color combination. This multi-functional base eliminates the need to store separate containers for each beverage variety, reducing storage requirements while preserving selection options.
3Device complexity
If a single dispensing nozzle is used for clear beverages and colorants, then device complexity is reduced, but precise ratio control becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The control system monitors dispensing parameters and adjusts the ratio of clear beverage to colorant in real-time, ensuring consistent color intensity and flavor balance despite the simplified single-nozzle structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system controls the viscosity, flow rate, and concentration parameters of the colorant and beverage components to achieve precise mixing ratios through the single nozzle, maintaining manufacturing precision while reducing structural complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and apparatuses for providing a selectable beverage from a post-mix beverage dispenser are provided. In one embodiment, the method for providing a beverage having a separately selected color from a post-mix beverage dispensing system comprises: (a) providing at least two beverage bases for dispense from the post-mix beverage dispensing system; (b) separately storing at least two colorants in the post-mix beverage dispensing system; (c) receiving a request for a selected beverage base and the separately selected color with a computer processor; and (d) in response to the selection of the selected beverage base and the separately selected color, automatically dispensing through a single faucet of the post-mix beverage dispensing system, continuously in a predetermined ratio for any volume of the beverage dispensed, the selected beverage base and at least one of the colorants to provide the beverage having the separately selected color.