Portable beverage dispenser with electronic beverage characteristic display and method

• US 20040195263A1
• Filed: 04/07/2004
• Published: 10/07/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Food Equipment Technologies Company
• Original Assignee: Food Equipment Technologies Company
• Inventors: Lassota, Zbigniew G.
• Granted Patent: US 7,980,422 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 222/23
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/50 Urns with devices for keeping beverages hot or cool
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/56 having water-level controls; having temperature controls
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/0871 Level gauges for beverage storage containers level indicators in general G01F

Abstract

A dispensing urn assembly (10, 10′) with a hollow body (12) with an interior surface for containing beverage (14) and a manually operable faucet (16) for selectively dispensing beverage (14) from the bottom of hollow body with an electronic status display assembly (50) controlled by a microcomputer (62) in response to a temperature probe (44), a level probe (42) and a timer reset switch (46) to provide graphic displays (64,68, 72), numerical displays (66,70, 74) of the temperature, quantity and time elapsed or remaining since the brewing of the beverage and light indication displays (55,57, 59) when preselected values are achieved. A an integrated funnel assembly (30′) with a down-tube (40) and level probes (174-186) carried by the down-tube (40), electronic module (170) and relatively rigid interconnection (200,174) between provides a water tight passageway for leads from the probes to the microcomputer (62) contained within the electronic component housing and forms a single subassembly or module that eliminates the need for switches for activation and operation of the display (162) and may be removed for cleaning or repair.

Claims

29. In a portable dispensing urn assembly having an insulated, unheated, opaque, hollow body with an interior surface for containing beverage and extending between a top with an inlet for receiving beverage and a bottom, and a manually operable beverage dispenser attached to an exterior surface of the body for selectively dispensing beverage from the hollow body, the improvement being a method of indicating a condition of the beverage contained within the unheated, opaque hollow body, comprising the steps of:

electronically directly sensing an actual condition of the beverage within the hollow body to be displayed with electronic sensing means attached to and carried by the hollow body; and

displaying with a display means attached to and carried by the hollow body an indication of the actual beverage condition of the beverage contained within the hollow body in response to the electronic actual condition directly sensing means.

30. The method of claim 29 in which the step of sensing includes at least one of the steps of (a) sensing level of the beverage within the hollow body with an electronic sensor contained within the hollow body for, and (b) sensing temperature of the beverage within the hollow body with another electronic sensor.

32. The method of claim 29 including the step of carrying the means for actuating the display within the interior surface of the hollow body for movement with the hollow body between locations.

33. The method of claim 29 including the step of carrying the sensing means with the hollow body and within the interior surface of the body when the hollow body is moved between locations.

34. The method of claim 29 including the steps of carrying a battery power supply with the hollow body to provide portable power to a display for performing the step of displaying and to a sensing means for performing the step of sensing when the hollow body is moved between locations.

35. The method of claim 29 including the step of releasably inserting a funnel assembly through the inlet and within the interior surface, said funnel assembly carrying the battery power supply and sensing means.

36. The method of claim 29 in which the step of displaying includes the step of displaying an actual beverage condition including at least one of (a) an indication of different quantities corresponding to different quantities of beverage contained within the opaque hollow body and sensed by a quantity sensor, (b) temperature of the beverage contained within the body, and (c) time elapsed since the beverage was put into the hollow body.

37. The method of claim 29 in which the step of electronically sensing an actual condition of the beverage includes at least one of the steps of (a) sensing the a plurality of decreasing actual levels of the beverage contained within the hollow body between a level associated with the hollow body being filled with beverage and a level associated with the hollow body being nearly empty of beverage, (b) sensing the temperature of the beverage in the unheated hollow body as the temperature of the actual beverage declines, and (c) sensing time elapsed since the beverage was put into the hollow body.

38. The method of claim 29 in which the step of displaying includes the step of displaying all of the beverage conditions (a), (b) and (c) on a single display unit.

39. The method of claim 29 in which the condition is displayed by means of at least one of (a) a graphic display, and (b) a numerical display.

40. The method of claim 29 in which

the step of sensing includes the step of sensing the a plurality of different quantities of beverage within the interior surface of the hollow body, and

the step of displaying includes the step of displaying a plurality of different quantities of beverage actually contained within the hollow body in response to sensing of the different quantities.

41. The method of claim 29 including the steps of

passing freshly brewed beverage directly through the inlet with a brewer to which the beverage dispenser is especially fitted for direct receipt of freshly brewed beverage;

removing the dispensing urn assembly from the brewer to which it is especially fitted to a remote serving location;

maintaining temperature of the beverage at the remote location solely by means that does not require an electrical AC connection.

42. The method of claim 41 in which the step of maintaining the temperature is performed solely by thermally insulating the hollow body at the remote serving location.

43. The method of claim 42 including the step of serving at the remote serving location by manual operation of the faucet at least a gallon of beverage from the hollow body.

44. The method of claim 41 in which the step of displaying includes the step of displaying the condition of the beverage at the remote serving location.

45. The method of claim 29 including the step of releasably attaching the sensing means to the hollow body and to be carried by the hollow body and within the interior surface of the body when the hollow body is moved between locations.

46. The method of claim 45 including the step of removing the sensing means from within the interior surface of the hollow body through the inlet to clean the interior surface

31. The method 29 including the step of tool-less manually removal of the sensor from the hollow body to enable cleaning of the interior surface.

47. In a portable beverage dispenser having a hollow body with an interior surface for containing beverage and extending between a top and a bottom, and a dispensing means attached to an exterior surface of the body adjacent the bottom for selectively dispensing beverage from the hollow body, the improvement being a method of electronically indicating status, comprising the steps of:

releasably mounting to the top of the hollow body

a beverage funnel assembly with a funnel body for passage of fresh beverage between a funnel inlet and a funnel outlet, and

a hollow down-tube extending downwardly into the hollow body of the dispensing urn assembly from the funnel outlet;

carrying into the hollow body with the down-tube an electronic beverage condition sensor mounted to the down-tube when the beverage funnel assembly is releasably attached to the top of the hollow body;

passing fresh beverage through the funnel assembly and the down-tube into the hollow body;

sensing with the electronic beverage condition sensor an actual condition of the beverage contained within the hollow body;

protecting a display controller within a water tight component housing of the funnel assembly;

passing electrical signals through an electrical lead extending from the electronic beverage condition sensor to the controller via a relatively rigid, hollow, water tight passageway extending along the down-tube and through the funnel body between the sensor and the electronic component housing; and

controlling a display mounted to the funnel assembly of the funnel assembly with a controller contained within the water tight electronic component housing of the funnel assembly in response to electrical signals from the electronic beverage sensor to display the actual beverage condition.

48. The method of claim 47 in which the beverage condition sensor includes

an elapsed-time timer carried by the hollow body, and including the step of

restarting the timer each time beverage is added to the hollow body by means carried at least in part by the hollow body.

49. A portable, insulated, dispensing urn assembly for temporarily storing and dispensing pre-prepared hot beverage, comprising:

an insulated, non-electrically heated, opaque, hollow body for holding the pre-prepared beverage with

an interior for containing hot beverage,

a top insulated cover with a releasably attached funnel assembly with an inlet for receiving beverage directly from a beverage brewer and an outlet for passing the received beverage to the interior, and

an insulated bottom;

a manually operable dispenser attached to an exterior surface of the body;

an electronic beverage condition sensor carried by the hollow body for electronically, directly sensing the a plurality of different quantities of a beverage within the interior;

an electronic display carried by the hollow body that is connected to the sensor means attached to the hollow body for displaying an indication of the different quantities of the actual beverage condition in response to the electronic, actual beverage condition directly sensing means; and

a portable power supply carried by the hollow body for providing a source of electrical energy for both the electronic sensor and the electronic display, said portable power source being the only source of electrical power of the portable dispensing urn assembly.

50. In a portable beverage dispenser having an opaque, insulated, non-electrically heated, hollow body with a closed bottom, atop with an inlet for receipt of a beverage for containing a multiple servings of the beverage and means for selectively dispensing servings of the consumable liquid from within the body, a method of displaying the amount of beverage within the hollow body, comprising the steps of:

mounting an electronic liquid level sensor assembly to the hollow body and in sensing relationship with the consumable liquid within the hollow body to sense a plurality of different liquid levels;

showing an indication of a plurality of different quantities of liquid in response to the liquid level sensor assembly with a electronic display mounted to the hollow body and facing laterally outwardly from the hollow body for ease of viewing from a lateral position spaced from the side; and

powering with a portable power supply carried by the hollow body a source of operating energy for both the electronic liquid level sensor assembly and the electronic display, said portable power source being the only source of electrical power of the portable dispensing urn assembly.

51. The method of claim 50 including the step of carrying the electronic sensor assembly within the interior of the hollow body on a mounting member attached to the hollow body

52. The method of claim 51 in which

the sensor mounting member is elongate and is mounted to extend from adjacent the top to adjacent the bottom within the hollow body, and

the electronic level sensor assembly includes a plurality of level sensors arranged along the sensor mounting member at a plurality of different distances from the bottom corresponding to the plurality of different liquid levels, respectively.

53. The method of claim 51 including the step of carrying the electronic display outside of the hollow body on the sensor mounting member.

54. The method of claim 51 in which the mounting member has a water-tight compartment within which the microcomputer is protectively mounted.

55. The method of claim 51 including the step of protectively mounting the microcomputer within a water-tight compartment of the mounting member.

56. The method of claim 51 including the step of protectively mounting the portable power supply within a water-tight compartment of the sensor mounting member.

57. The method of claim 50 including a mounting assembly attached to the hollow body with at least one water-tight compartment and including the step of protectively enclosing within the at least one water-tight compartment the micro-computer, the portable power supply, electrical connections between the electronic liquid level sensor and the micro-computer, electrical connection between microcomputer and the display and electrical connection between the portable power supply and the electronic liquid level sensor assembly, the electronic display and the microcomputer.

58. The method of claim 50 including a single integrated mounting assembly and including the step of protectively housing all the electronic liquid level sensor assembly, the electronic display, the micro-computer and the portable power supply, and means for releasably attaching the mounting assembly to the hollow body.

59. The method of claim 58 in which the mounting assembly has a tubular portion that extends downwardly within a central portion of the hollow body from adjacent the top to adjacent the bottom and the step of sensing includes the step of carrying the sensor assembly into the interior of the hollow body on the tubular portion.

60. The method of claim 59 in which the tubular portion is attached to a funnel mounted to the inlet and including the step of guiding beverage received in the funnel to adjacent the bottom of the hollow body.

61. The method of claim 50 including the step of

sensing actual declining temperature of the beverage, itself, within the hollow body with an electronic temperature sensor separate and apart from the electronic liquid level sensor, and

responding to the to the electronic temperature sensor to control said electronic display to show the actual temperature of the beverage.

62. The method of claim 50 including the step of manually removing the electronic sensor from the hollow body to enable cleaning of the interior surface.

63. The method of claim 50 in which the portable power supply is a battery.

65. The method of claim 50 in which the electronic display shows the plurality of levels with one of (a) a graphic representation, and (b) a numerical representation.

66. The method of claim 50 including the step of controlling the electronic display to show an indication of the quantity of beverage remaining in the hollow body based on the level of the beverage sensed by the electronic level sensor assembly.

67. The method of claim 66 in which the quantity of beverage is expressed in terms of a number of servings of beverage remaining of pre-selected serving size.

68. The method of claim 50 including the step of

sensing temperature of the actual temperature of the beverage with an electronic temperature sensor that is solely dedicated to providing information needed for display of the actual decreasing temperature of the beverage contained within the unheated, hollow body, and in which

the step of sensing a plurality of different levels is performed with sensors that are solely dedicated to providing information needed for display of actual different quantities of beverage contained within the hollow body, and

the step of displaying includes the step of displaying both the actual decreasing temperature of the beverage and the actual different quantities of beverage contained within the opaque, unheated hollow body.

69. The method of claim 50 including the steps of

carrying a timer by the hollow body, and

restarting the timer each time beverage is added to the hollow body.

70. The method of claim 69 in which the step of restarting is performed by (a) manually actuating a restart switch or (b) automatically restarting the timer in response to direct sensing of the addition of beverage to the hollow body.

71. The method of claim 69 in which the step of displaying includes the step of displaying the elapsed time of the timer since being reset.

72. The method of claim 69 in which the electronic display includes means includes at least one of (a) a graphic display, (b) a numeric display, or (c) an indicator light.

73. The method of claim 50 including the step of sensing the temperature relatively adjacent the bottom of the urn body with a temperature sensor that is dedicated solely to providing temperature information needed for displaying the actual temperature of the beverage contained within the unheated hollow body.

74. The method of claim 50 in which the controller includes a micro-computer.

64. The method of 50 in which the plurality of levels are equally spaced between adjacent the top and adjacent the bottom of the hollow body.

75. In a portable beverage dispenser having an hollow insulated body, the improvement being a self-contained beverage display assembly, comprising:

an electronic display;

an electronic level sensor for sensing a plurality of different beverage levels; and

an electronic controller responsive to the electronic level sensor to control the electronic display to provide an indication of on of a plurality of beverage levels; and

a housing mounted to the hollow insulated body and protectively enclosing the level sensor and the electronic controller and supporting the display.

1. In a portable beverage dispenser having an opaque, insulated, non-electrically heated, hollow body with a closed bottom, atop with an inlet for receipt of a beverage for containing a multiple servings of the beverage and means for selectively dispensing servings of the consumable liquid from within the body, the improvement being an electronic level display assembly, comprising:

an electronic liquid level sensor assembly mounted to the hollow body and in sensing relationship with the consumable liquid within the hollow body to sense a plurality of different liquid levels;

an electronic display mounted to the hollow body and facing laterally outwardly from the hollow body for ease of viewing from a lateral position spaced from the side hollow body;

a controller responsive to the electronic liquid level sensor for controlling the electronic display to show an indication of the plurality of different liquid levels in response to the electronic liquid level sensor assembly; and

a portable power supply carried by the hollow body for providing a source of operating energy for both the electronic liquid level sensor assembly and the electronic display, said portable power source being the only source of electrical power of the portable dispensing urn assembly.

2. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 1 including a sensor mounting member that is mounted to the hollow body and carries the electronic liquid level sensor assembly within the interior of the hollow body.

3. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 2 in which the sensor mounting member assembly is releasably mounted to the hollow body.

4. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 2 in which the sensor mounting member is elongate and is mounted to extend from adjacent the top to adjacent the bottom within the hollow body and the electronic level sensor assembly includes a plurality of level sensors arranged along the sensor mounting member at a plurality of different distances from the bottom corresponding to the plurality of different liquid levels, respectively.

5. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 2 in which the sensor mounting member carries the electronic display outside of the hollow body.

6. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 2 in which the mounting member has a water-tight compartment within which the microcomputer is protectively mounted.

7. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 2 in which the mounting member has a water-tight compartment within which the microcomputer is protectively mounted.

8. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 2 in which the mounting member has a water-tight compartment within which the portable power supply is protectively mounted.

9. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 1 including a mounting assembly attached to the hollow body with at least one water-tight compartment for protectively enclosing the micro-computer, the portable power supply, electrical connections between the electronic liquid level sensor and the micro-computer, electrical connection between microcomputer and the display and electrical connection between the portable power supply and the electronic liquid level sensor assembly, the electronic display and the microcomputer.

10. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 1 including a single integrated mounting assembly for protectively housing all the electronic liquid level sensor assembly, the electronic display, the micro-computer and the portable power supply, and means for releasably attaching the mounting assembly to the hollow body.

11. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 10 in which the mounting assembly has a tubular portion for carrying the electronic sensor that extends downwardly within a central portion of the hollow body from adjacent the top to adjacent the bottom.

12. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 1 in which the sensing means is releasably attached to and carried by the hollow body within the interior surface of the hollow body.

13. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 1 including

an electronic temperature sensor separate and apart from the electronic liquid level sensor for sensing actual declining temperature of the beverage, itself, within the hollow body, and in which

the controller is responsive to the to the electronic temperature sensor to control the electronic display to show the actual temperature of the beverage.

14. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 1 in which the electronic liquid level sensor is capable of tool-less manually removal from the hollow body to enable cleaning of the interior surface.

15. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 1 including a funnel assembly releasably attached to the hollow body and extending through the inlet and within the hollow body, said funnel assembly carrying the electronic liquid level sensor, the electronic display, the controller and the portable power supply.

16. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 1 in which the portable power supply is a battery.

17. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 1 in which the portable power supply is a long life battery.

18. The beverage dispenser of claim 1 in which the plurality of levels are equally spaced between adjacent the top and adjacent the bottom of the hollow body.

19. The beverage dispenser of claim 1 in which the electronic display shows the plurality of levels with one of (a) a graphic representation, and (b) a numerical representation.

20. The beverage dispenser of claim 1 in which the controller controls the electronic display to shown and indication of the quantity of beverage remaining in the hollow body based on the level of the beverage sensed by the electronic level sensor assembly.

21. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 20 in which the quantity of beverage is expressed in terms of a number of servings of beverage remaining of pre-selected serving size.

22. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 1 including means for sensing temperature of the beverage that is solely dedicated to providing information needed for display of the actual decreasing temperature of the beverage contained within the unheated, hollow body, and in which the electronic liquid level sensor is solely dedicated to providing information needed for display of actual different quantities of beverage contained within the hollow body, and in which

the display means includes means to display both the actual decreasing temperature of the beverage and the actual different quantities of beverage contained within the opaque, unheated hollow body.

23. The dispensing urn of claim 1 including

a timer carried by the hollow body, and

means carried at least in part by the hollow body for restarting the timer each time beverage is added to the hollow body.

24. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 23 in which the restarting means includes means for restarting the timer by one of (a) manual actuation of a restart switch or (b) means for automatically restarting the timer in response to direct sensing of the addition of beverage to the hollow body.

25. The beverage dispenser of claim 23 in which the display means includes means for displaying the elapsed time of the timer since being reset.

26. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 23 in which the electronic display includes means includes at least one of (a) a graphic display, (b) a numeric display, or (c) an indicator light.

27. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 1 including a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature relatively adjacent the bottom of the urn body that is dedicated solely to providing temperature information needed for displaying the actual temperature of the beverage contained within the unheated hollow body.

28. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 1 in which the controller includes a micro-computer.

76. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 75 including a portable power supply for providing electrical power to the display, the sensor and the controller and in which the housing protectively encloses the portable power supply.

77. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 76 in which the portable power supply is a battery.

78. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 75 in which the electronic level sensor is connected to the controller via a hard-wire connection and the housing includes a water-tight compartment for protectively enclosing the hard-wire connection.

79. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 75 in which the hollow insulated body has an open top with a substantial access opening to enable manually cleaning within the hollow insulated body and the housing is mounted to substantially cover the opening except for a relatively small inlet opening carried by the housing.

80. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 75 in which the electronic level sensor includes a plurality of sensors for sensing the plurality of different levels, respectively.

81. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 75 in which the electronic level sensor directly senses the level of the beverage and the housing includes means for releasably suspending the level sensor in the beverage within the hollow body.

82. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 75 including a top cover mounted to the top of the hollow body and in which the housing includes a funnel body with a radially extending collar that supports the funnel body within a funnel body receiving opening in a top cover.

83. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 75 in which the electronic display is a liquid crystal display with a display screen and a frame protectively surrounding he display screen.

85. The method of claim 1 including the steps of remounting the electronic beverage display assembly to the opening and repeating the remaining steps of passing and displaying.

78-1. The portable beverage dispenser of claim 75 in which the electronic controller is connected to the display via a hard-wire connection and the housing includes a water-tight compartment for protectively enclosing the hard-wire connection.

84. For practice with a portable beverage dispenser having an insulated hollow body, a method of serving fresh beverage, comprising the steps of:

releasably mounting to an opening in the top of the hollow body, a self-contained electronic beverage display assembly with means for displaying a characteristic of beverage within the hollow body;

passing fresh beverage through the opening and into the hollow body via a passageway in the beverage display assembly;

displaying the beverage characteristic while dispensing the beverage;

removing the self-contained electronic beverage display assembly from the opening to enable (1) access to locations within the hollow body for cleaning, (2) repair of a malfunctioning electronic beverage display assembly, or (3) replacement of a malfunctioning electronic beverage display assembly with another functioning electronic beverage display assembly.