Brewer with measured use controlled disablement feature

• US 7,506,576 B1
• Filed: 04/13/2005
• Issued: 03/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Food Equipment Technologies Company
• Original Assignee: Food Equipment Technologies Company
• Inventors: Lassota, Michael W.
• Primary Examiner(s): ALEXANDER, REGINALD
• Application Number:
  US11/104,811
• Time in Patent Office: 1,441 Days
• Field of Search: 992/80, 992/81, 992/82, 992/83, 992/90, 992/79
• US Class Current: 99/280
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/52 Alarm-clock-controlled mechanisms for coffee- or tea-making apparatus ; Timers for coffee- or tea-making apparatus; Electronic control devices for coffee- or tea-making apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/521 the electronic control being performed over a network, e.g. by means of a computer or a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/525 the electronic control being based on monitoring of specific process parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/5253 of temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/54 Water boiling vessels in beverage making machines
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 13/025 wherein the volume is determined during delivery
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty

Abstract

A beverage brewer (10) with a controller (14) that automatically disables selected brewer functions unless enabled by an enablement code that enables use that is only sufficient to brew a preselected quantity of beverage by mixing the brew ingredient (18) with water has a reader (54, 56, 58, 56, 59, 62) for communicating with and reading the enablement code (86) from a smart card, card with magnetic strip or other data carrying medium (FIGS. 4 and 5). The enablement card when used by a delivery employee has codes for multiple customers, etc. that is used by the delivery employee to enable the brewers to brew the brew ingredient that is being delivered but no more to avoid brewing of ingredient not provided by the distributor of the brew ingredient. Alternatively, one card (52) is used for each location or each brewer and may only be used with the location or brewer that is indicated. The controller (14) is capable of disabling the brewer function, the hot water function, or both, the bypass function, the brewing function or all in response to overuse or in response to the passage of time without required maintenance. The individual enablement code medium may be attached to the container of the brew ingredient permanently or detachably, mailed to the customer with billing, etc. or the enablement code may be entered manually or via a communication modem associated with the brewer (10). When a smart card or magnetic stripe card is used, then the brewer may write to the card the amount of brewer usage or hot water usage which information can later be downloaded to a billing computer at the home office of the distributor in addition to, or in lieu of, automatic disablement of the brewer functions when they exceed preselected maximum amounts.

Claims

1. In a beverage brewer having a water tank and a brew basket for holding brew ingredient and a brew valve for passing water from the water tank to the brew basket and into contact with the ingredient, the improvement being a controller, comprising:

means for measuring a total amount of time that the brew valve is open;

means for storing the measured total amount of time that the brew valve is open;

means for storing a preselected stored amount of permitted amount of total time of opening of the brew valve;

means for selectively changing at least one of the stored preselected total amount of time of opening of the brew valve and the stored measured total amount of time that the brew valve is open;

means for disabling the brewer in response to the measured amount of opening of the brew valve becoming equal to the stored preselected amount of permitted amount of opening of the brew valve until at least one of the stored amount of permitted total time of opening of the brew valve and the stored measured total amount of time that the brew valve is open is changed by the selectively changing means such that the stored measured amount of permitted amount of total time of opening of the brew valve is greater than the stored measured total amount of time that the brew valve is open.

2. The brewer of claim 1 in which the measuring means includes means for storing the length of time that the brew valve is open.

3. The brewer of claim 1 in which the measuring means includes a flow meter for measuring the amount of water that has flowed from the water tank.

4. The brewer of claim 1 in which the selectively changing means includes means for reading a code from an external source of code to increase the preselected amount of permitted use that is stored.

5. The brewer of claim 4 in which the code is unique to a single brewer and may not be used to change the stored preselected amount of permitted use of another brewer that does not have the same code.

6. The brewer of claim 4 in which the selectively changing means includes one of (a) means for reading a smart card, (b) means for optically reading characters, (c) means for sensing an optical signal, (d) a keypad, (e) means for detecting an audible signal, and (f) a telephonic modem.

7. The brewer of claim 1 in combination with a smart card readable by the smart card reading means to selectively change the stored preselected amount of permitted use.

8. The brewer of claim 1 in which the means for selectively changing the stored preselected amount of permitted use includes

means for reading an external code representative of the change, and

an external source of the code that is external of the brewer.

9. In a beverage brewer having a water tank and a brew basket for holding brew ingredient and a brew valve for passing water from the water tank to the brew basket and into contact with the ingredient, the improvement, comprising:

a water valve for dispensing water from the water tank apart from the brew basket;

means for measuring a measured amount of use of the water valve;

means for storing the measured amount of use of the water valve;

means for storing a preselected amount of permitted use of the water valve;

means for selectively changing at least one of the stored preselected total amount of time of opening of the water valve and the stored measured total amount of time that the brew valve is open;

means for disabling the brewer for an indefinite amount of time in response to the measured amount of use the water valve becoming equal to the stored preselected amount of permitted use of the water valve until at least one of the stored amount of permitted total time of opening of the brew valve and the stored measured total amount of time that the brew valve is open is changed by the selectively changing means, such that the stored measured amount of permitted amount of total time of opening of the brew valve is greater than the stored measured total amount of time that the brew valve is open such that the stored preselected amount of permitted use of the water valve is greater than the stored measured amount of use.

10. The brewer of claim 9 in which the measuring means includes a flow meter for measuring the amount of water that has flowed from the water valve.

11. The brewer of claim 9 in which the selectively changing means includes means for reading a code from an external source of code to increase the preselected amount of permitted use that is stored.

12. The brewer of claim 11 in which the code is unique to a single brewer and may not be used to change the stored preselected amount of permitted use of another brewer that does not have the same code.

13. The brewer of claim 11 in which the selectively changing means includes one of (a) means for reading a smart card, (b) means for optically reading characters, (c) means for sensing an optical signal, (d) a keypad, (e) means for detecting an audible signal, and (f) a telephonic modem.

14. The brewer of claim 9 in combination with a smart card readable by the smart card reading means to selectively change the stored preselected amount of permitted use.

15. The brewer of claim 9 in combination with an ingredient package with a bar code readable by the bar code reading means to selectively change the stored preselected amount of permitted use.