Drink dispensing system and method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9815678-B2
Application number	US-201013698391-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 18, 2010
Priority date	May 18, 2010
Publication date	Nov 14, 2017
Grant date	Nov 14, 2017

Abstract

An in-line drink dispensing system ( 1,16,17 ) for dispensing liquid such as water or other beverage. The system comprises a pump ( 6 ) in fluid connection with the system so that the pump can create a flow in the system and based on the current that the pump uses during operation a value can be determined and used for analyzing one or more statuses of the system.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A drink dispensing system ( 1 , 16 , 17 ), comprising:
an inlet ( 2 ) for receiving liquid from a liquid source,
an outlet ( 3 ) for dispensing controllable amounts of liquid,
a pump ( 6 ) for regulating a flow of the liquid, said pump ( 6 ) being in fluid connection with the inlet ( 2 ) and the outlet ( 3 ),
a controller determining a workload of the pump by measuring a current used by the pump during operation of the pump ( 6 ) at constant speed and by calculating an average value of the current used by the pump, whereby the controller controls the pump ( 6 ) based on the determined workload.

2. A drink dispensing system ( 1 , 16 , 17 ) according to claim 1 , further comprising a cooling unit ( 4 ) for cooling liquid, wherein the cooling unit ( 4 ) is arranged upstream of the pump ( 6 ).

3. A drink dispensing system ( 1 , 16 , 17 ) according to claim 2 , further comprising a bypass unit ( 18 ) arranged such that at least a part of the flow of liquid can bypass the cooling unit ( 4 ).

4. A drink dispensing system ( 1 , 16 , 17 ) according to claim 3 , wherein the bypass unit ( 18 ) comprises a check valve ( 7 ).

5. A drink dispensing system ( 1 , 16 , 17 ) according to claim 1 , further comprising a gas supply ( 5 ) for mixing the liquid with a gas, wherein the gas supply ( 5 ) is arranged downstream of the pump ( 6 ).

6. A drink dispensing system ( 1 , 16 , 17 ) according to claim 1 , further comprising a user interface ( 19 ) connectable to the controller.

7. A drink dispensing system ( 1 , 16 , 17 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the pump ( 6 ) is a bidirectional pump.

8. A refrigerator comprising a dispensing system ( 1 , 16 , 17 ) according to claim 1 .

9. A method for managing a dispensing system comprising the steps of:
receiving liquid from a liquid source,
regulating a flow of liquid with a pump ( 6 ),
dispensing liquid via an outlet ( 3 ),
determining a value corresponding to a workload of the pump ( 6 ) by measuring a current used by the pump during operation of the pump ( 6 ) at constant speed and by calculating an average value of the current used by the pump,
and
controlling the pump ( 6 ) based on the value corresponding to the workload.

10. A method according to claim 9 , further comprising the steps of receiving an input signal from a user interface ( 19 ) and based on the input signal from the user interface ( 19 ) controlling the pump ( 6 ).

11. A method according to claim 9 , wherein the step of determining the value corresponding to the workload of the pump ( 6 ) is performed at certain times during each of two or more time intervals having different durations.

12. A method according to claim 9 , further comprising the step of, based on the value corresponding to the workload of the pump ( 6 ), determining a time to start the pump ( 6 ).

13. A computer implemented method according to claim 9 , further comprising the steps of, based on the value corresponding to the workload of the pump ( 6 ), halting an ice growth process.

14. A controller configured to cause the dispensing system to perform the method according to claim 9 .

15. A drink dispensing system according to claim 1 , further comprising a cooling unit ( 4 ) for cooling liquid, wherein the cooling unit ( 4 ) is arranged upstream of the pump ( 6 ) and a bypass unit ( 18 ) arranged such that at least a part of the flow of liquid can bypass the cooling unit ( 4 ), wherein the pump ( 6 ) regulates the flow of the liquid flowing through one of the bypass unit ( 18 ) and the cooling unit ( 4 ), or partly through the bypass unit ( 18 ) and partly through the cooling unit ( 4 ).

16. A drink dispensing system ( 1 , 16 , 17 ), comprising:
an inlet ( 2 ) for receiving liquid from a liquid source,
an outlet ( 3 ) for dispensing controllable amounts of liquid,
a pump ( 6 ) configured as a sensor for regulating a flow of the liquid, said pump ( 6 ) being in fluid connection with the inlet ( 2 ) and the outlet ( 3 ),
a controller measuring a current used by the pump during operation of the pump ( 6 ) at constant speed and by calculating an average value of the current used by the pump, whereby the controller controls the flow of the liquid through the pump ( 6 ) based on the average value of the current.

17. A method for managing a dispensing system according to claim 9 , further comprising the step of redirecting the flow of the liquid through one of a bypass unit ( 18 ), a cooling unit ( 4 ), and or partly through the bypass unit ( 18 ) and partly through the cooling unit ( 4 ) when the value corresponding to the workload of the pump ( 6 ) exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

Assignees

• Furberg Richard
• Aschan Andreas
• Johansson Daniel L
• Cohen Ilan
• Coan Marco
• Electrolux Ab

Inventors

• Furberg Richard
• Aschan Andreas
• Johansson Daniel L
• Cohen Ilan
• Coan Marco

Classifications

• B67D1/0857

  Cooling arrangements (cooling systems per se F25B) · CPC title

• B67D1/0003 Primary

  the beverage being a single liquid (B67D1/02, B67D1/04 take precedence; drinking fountains E03B9/20) · CPC title

• B67D1/1247

  Means for detecting the presence or absence of liquid · CPC title

• B67D1/1202 Primary

  Flow control, e.g. for controlling total amount or mixture ratio of liquids to be dispensed · CPC title

• B67D1/12

  Flow or pressure control devices or systems {, e.g. valves, gas pressure control, level control in storage containers} · CPC title