Remote beverage equipment monitoring and control system and method

• US 20050182599A1
• Filed: 03/15/2005
• Published: 08/18/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bunn-O-Matic Corporation
• Original Assignee: Bunn-O-Matic Corporation
• Inventors: Knepler, John T., Kaeding, Timothy Paul
• Granted Patent: US 7,162,391 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/187
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 13/065 for drink preparation
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/002 Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a system and method for monitoring and controlling modifications to beverage equipment. The system includes at least one beverage equipment which may include a controller. The controller communicates over a communications network with a data collection server which may be accessible to a central office or equipment provider. A method is also disclosed for first monitoring or querying beverage equipment for a setting or configuration modification. Next, the modification may be compared against a modification threshold to determine whether the modification warrants corrective action. A corrective action may include but is not limited to, resetting the equipment to original or default settings, notifying an end user, notifying the equipment providers, logging the action, or some combination of two or more of these actions.

Claims

1. A method of remotely monitoring and controlling beverage equipment, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting a modification to the beverage equipment;

communicating the modification to an equipment provider; and

performing at least one corrective action related to the modification.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of detecting including providing beverage equipment that has a beverage dispensing portion and a controller in communication with the beverage dispensing portion.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

providing a controller having at least one equipment setting stored in the controller; and

detecting a modification to the at least one equipment setting.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising running a diagnostic using the controller to determine the current state of the beverage dispensing portion and comparing the current state with a previously determined state to detect a modification.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a state is one of a voltage, a current, a phase, and a time of power.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein a state is a configuration of at least one component of the beverage dispensing portion.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising comparing the modification to a variance threshold prior to performing the at least one corrective action, and only performing the at least one corrective action in response to the modification exceeding the variance threshold.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the corrective action being contacting a designated party, the designated party being a party for maintaining a predetermined beverage equipment configuration.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the designated party being one of a central office, a franchise owner, and an equipment provider.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the corrective action being logging the modification.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the corrective action being resetting the beverage equipment.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of resetting the beverage equipment comprising remotely at least partially disabling the equipment until the modification has been reversed.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising notifying an equipment user of the equipment modification and a need to reverse the equipment modification in order to end the disabling of the equipment.

14. A method of remotely monitoring and controlling beverage equipment, the method comprising the steps of:

providing beverage equipment, the beverage equipment having a beverage dispensing portion and controller in communication with the beverage dispensing portion, the controller having at least one equipment settings stored in the controller;

transmitting the at least one equipment setting to a data collection system over a communications network;

determining a modification has been made to the at least one equipment setting; and

performing a corrective action.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising comparing the modification to a variance threshold prior to performing the at least one corrective action, and only performing the at least one corrective action in response to the modification exceeding the variance threshold.

16. A method of remotely monitoring and controlling beverage equipment, the method comprising the steps of:

providing beverage equipment, the beverage equipment having a beverage dispensing portion, a controller in communication with the beverage dispensing portion, at least one sensor in communication with the beverage dispensing portion and the controller for sensing a state of the beverage dispensing portion, and a transmitting device in communication with the controller;

sensing at least one state of the beverage dispensing portion using the sensor;

sending the at least one state to the transmitting device;

providing a data collection system accessible by an equipment provider, the data collection system having a communications device in communication with a communications network;

transmitting the at least one state from the transmitting device to the data collection system over the communications network via the communications device;

determining that there has been a modification to the at least one state; and

performing a corrective action.

17. A system for remotely monitoring and controlling beverage equipment, the system comprising:

beverage equipment, the beverage equipment including a food dispensing portion, a controller in communication with the food dispensing portion, and a transmitting device in communication with the controller, the controller being operable to determine at least one state of the equipment; and

a modification control system in communication with the transmitting device, the modification control system being operable to detect a modification to the at least one state and take corrective action based on the modification.

18. The system of claim 17, the modification control system further comprising a general purpose computer operated by at least one program module containing instructions for detecting at least one state of the beverage equipment, comparing the at least one state to at least one preselected state, and determining there has been a modification when a change between the at least one state and the at least one preselected state exceeds a variance threshold.

19. The system of claim 18, the program module further comprising instructions for, in response to determining there has been a modification, resetting the equipment to the at least one preselected state.

20. The system of claim 19, the program module further comprising instructions for sending a notification to one or more of an equipment provider, a central office, and an equipment user.