Remote beverage equipment monitoring and control system and method

• US 7,162,391 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2005
• Issued: 01/09/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bunn-O-Matic Corporation
• Original Assignee: Bunn-O-Matic Corporation
• Inventors: Knepler, John T., Kaeding, Timothy Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoff; Marc S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SUAREZ, FELIX E
• Application Number:
  US11/080,740
• Publication Number:
  US 20050182599A1
• Time in Patent Office: 665 Days
• Field of Search: 702/81, 702/82, 702/100, 702/105, 702/179, 702/187, 702/182, 702/183, 702/185, 702/186, 221/129, 455/575.1, 700/237
• US Class Current: 702/182
• 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;

comparing the modification to a variance threshold; and

performing at least one corrective action related to the modification only in response to the modification exceeding the variance threshold.

2. 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, the corrective action being resetting the beverage equipment.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of resetting the beverage equipment comprising remotely at least partially disabling the equipment until the modification has been reversed.

4. The method of claim 3, 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.

5. 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;

comparing the modification to a variance threshold; and

only performing at least one corrective action in response to the modification exceeding the variance threshold.

6. 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, 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.

7. The system of claim 6, 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.

8. The system of claim 7, 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.

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

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

detecting a modification to the equipment setting by 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, wherein the state is one of a voltage, a current, a phase, and a time of power;

communicating the modification to an equipment provider; and

performing at least one corrective action related to the modification.