Spout for dispensing liquid from a liquid container
First Claim
1. An apparatus for measuring the amount of liquid poured from a liquid container, the apparatus comprising:
- a. a tilt switch for detecting a tilting of the liquid container by at least a tilting angle; and
b. at least one electronic component that generates a time measurement when the liquid container remains tilted by at least the tilting angle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Some embodiments of the invention provide a system for monitoring liquid consumption at one or more establishments. At each establishment, the system includes one or more spouts and a local computer. Each spout is mounted on a liquid container. Also, each spout generates data regarding the amount of liquid poured from the spout'"'"'s container. The local computer at each establishment collects data generated by the spouts at the establishment. In some embodiments, a wireless network links the local computer and the spouts at each establishment. The system also includes an external computer that gathers the data collected by the local computers of the establishments monitored by the system. In some embodiments, the external computer is located outside of all the establishments, while in other embodiments this computer is located within one of the establishments. Some embodiments of the invention provide a free-pour spout. This spout mounts on an open orifice of a liquid container and measures the amount of liquid poured from the liquid container. This spout has a housing and a passageway defined within the housing. It also has a detection circuit that detects fluid flow through the passageway. In addition, this spout has a measuring circuit that generates data relating to fluid flow when the detection circuit detects fluid flow through the passageway.
41 Citations
32 Claims
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1. An apparatus for measuring the amount of liquid poured from a liquid container, the apparatus comprising:
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a. a tilt switch for detecting a tilting of the liquid container by at least a tilting angle; and b. at least one electronic component that generates a time measurement when the liquid container remains tilted by at least the tilting angle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification