Wireless Pour Spout Valve Control for Liquor Dispensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for dispensing liquor from bottles lack accuracy and accountability, leading to variations in drink volume and quality, and do not prevent unauthorized use, affecting profit and customer fairness.
Innovation Solution
A wireless control system comprising a pour spout with a valve controlled by a controller, a server interface, and a Point of Sale terminal, which allows for precise dispensing based on motion detection, temperature, bottle angle, and volume, ensuring accurate measurement and logging of liquor dispensed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a simple bottle spout is used for dispensing liquor, then the device complexity is low and ease of operation is high, but manufacturing precision and measurement precision are insufficient leading to variable pour volumes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the purely mechanical spout system with an integrated electronic control system that uses sensors (flow sensors, temperature sensors, tilt sensors) and electronic valves to precisely control liquor dispensing. This substitution enables accurate measurement and control of pour volume while maintaining ease of operation through automated control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms including flow sensors that monitor liquor flow rate, temperature sensors that track liquor temperature, and tilt sensors that detect bottle orientation. This feedback is continuously sent to the control unit which adjusts valve operation to maintain precise pour volume accuracy despite varying conditions.
2Loss of information
If free pouring without accounting is allowed, then ease of operation is high for bartenders, but loss of information occurs regarding dispensed liquor amounts affecting accountability
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service operation where the bartender simply operates the spout interface without manual recording. The control unit automatically tracks all dispensing events, volumes, and identifies through the server interface, eliminating the need for bartenders to manually account for pours while maintaining operational simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual tracking methods with an automated electronic tracking system that uses wireless communication between the spout, server interface, and control unit to automatically record and report all liquor dispensing information, ensuring accountability without adding operational complexity for the bartender.
3Manufacturing precision
If environmental factors like temperature and bottle angle are not controlled, then ease of operation is high, but manufacturing precision of constant flow rate deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses temperature sensors to monitor liquor temperature and tilt sensors to detect bottle orientation. This environmental feedback is continuously transmitted to the control unit which compensates for these variations by adjusting valve operation parameters, maintaining consistent flow rate despite changing environmental conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit dynamically adjusts dispensing parameters including valve opening duration and flow rate based on real-time environmental parameters such as temperature and bottle angle. This adaptive parameter adjustment ensures consistent pour volume accuracy while accounting for environmental variations without requiring complex physical control mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for dispensing a beverage from a bottle that includes communicating a dispensing authorization message from a control unit to at least one of a server interface carried by a beverage server and a pour spout secured to a bottle, wherein the dispensing authorization message at least one of includes or initiates a dispensing command, and wherein the pour spout responds to the dispensing command by opening a spout valve through which a beverage flows from the bottle and out of the pour spout.