Wireless spout and dispensing system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9533870-B2
Application number	US-201414474696-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 2, 2014
Priority date	May 8, 2008
Publication date	Jan 3, 2017
Grant date	Jan 3, 2017

Abstract

The present invention is related to a pouring device for a container for the dosing of liquid, said pouring device comprising: a) a housing b) a passage for the liquid within the housing; c) an electrical operated opening/closing mechanism for opening or closing the passage in order to dosing of a predetermined or registerable amount of liquid, characterized in that the passage comprising a silicone tube, and the opening/closing mechanism is to block the silicone tube by squeezing the silicone tube in order to close the passage. The silicone tube inside the spout is the only path for the liquid to go through from the bottle, meanwhile the rest components are protected from liquid. This guaranties a quick and controlled flow of the liquid and avoids any air bubbles to influence the pour precision.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A pouring device for a container for the dosing of liquid, the pouring device comprising:
a) a compact housing configured to seal an opening of the container;
b) a flexible silicone tube for liquid passage through the compact housing; and
c) an electrically operated opening/closing mechanism disposed within the compact housing, the electrically operated opening/closing mechanism comprising (i) a motor and (ii) at least one slide arm cooperable with the motor, the at least one slide arm having an end that is secured to the tube such that the tube moves with the at least one slide arm,
wherein the at least one slide arm pinches the tube closed in a normally closed, non-pouring position,
wherein activation of the motor causes the slide arm to pull the tube apart in order to allow liquid passage through the tube;
d) a measuring circuit with multi-angle detection that generates data relating to fluid flow through the tube when a pour event is detected; and
e) one or more mobile charging features on an upper portion of the compact housing that cooperate with a mobile charger that can be attached over the pouring device for charging a battery inside the compact housing while the pouring device is in position on the container.

2. The pouring device of claim 1 , wherein the electrically operated opening/closing mechanism is operated by a gearbox and the motor.

3. The pouring device of claim 1 , wherein an outer wall of the flexible silicone tube is fixedly secured to the at least one slide arm in order to prevent silicone tube walls from sticking together by forcing the tube back to its original position upon movement of the at least one slide arm.

4. The pouring device of claim 1 , further comprising an air inlet valve that is opened for pouring and closed for non-pouring status.

5. The pouring device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more mobile charging features comprise two metal inserts on the compact housing to charge the battery, and to send and receive data with a mobile charger.

6. The pouring device of claim 5 , further comprising a mobile charger with two or more magnets configured to mount the mobile charger to the metal inserts of the pouring device in order to remotely charge the pouring device.

7. The pouring device of claim 1 , further comprising a detection circuit that detects a pour event as a free flow version and keeps the flexible silicone tube permanently open.

8. The pouring device of claim 1 , wherein the registerable amount of liquid can be selectively dosed in one of a predetermined mode and a free flow mode.

9. The pouring device of claim 1 , wherein the pouring device comprises LED indicators and an activation/selection button.

10. The pouring device of claim 9 , wherein the activation/selection button comprises a touch-sensed button.

11. The pouring device of claim 1 , further comprising a liquid indicator sealed into the compact housing.

12. The pouring device of claim 1 , further comprising a bottle presence sensor.

13. The pouring device of claim 1 , further comprising a mobile charger comprising a shape adapted to be mounted on the pouring device in order to recharge a battery of the pouring device.

14. The pouring device of claim 1 wherein the electrically operated opening/closing mechanism is controlled by a device associated with an operator that relays an authorized signal.

15. The pouring device of claim 14 , wherein the device is worn by the operator.

16. The pouring device of claim 1 , wherein the electrically operated opening/closing mechanism is controlled by an RF transceiver in the pouring device.

17. The pouring device of claim 1 , wherein the electrically operated opening/closing mechanism further comprises a link lever pivotally connected between the slide arm and the motor.

18. The pouring device of claim 1 , further comprising a mobile charger with a charger housing adapted to be mounted on the pouring device to recharge the battery of the pouring device.

19. The pouring device of claim 18 , wherein the charge housing comprises a cavity for the pouring device to be passed through.

Assignees

• Zapp Achim Philipp
• Automatic Bar Controls Inc

Inventors

• Zapp Achim Philipp

Classifications

• B67D3/0041 Primary

  with provisions for metering the liquid to be dispensed · CPC title

• B67D3/041 Primary

  operated by pinching action on flexible tubes · CPC title

• B67D3/0077

  Electronic circuitry · CPC title

• B67D3/0006

  responsive to coded information provided on the neck or spout of the storage container, e.g. bar-code, magnets or transponder · CPC title

• G01F13/006

  measuring volume in function of time · CPC title