Method to control a dispensing machine of fluid products

A computer-implemented method to control a dispensing machine configured to deliver fluid products inside a receptacle and comprising a plurality of containing units, to a new position and each containing a respective fluid product, one or more storage zones of said containing units and a dispensing zone in which it is provided to locate, temporarily and selectively, a sub-assembly of said containing units containing the fluid products to be delivered in a dispensing cycle, making use of a computing device comprising at least one processor, data storage means with a formulation database, an input device, and a display device, wherein the control method comprises:

• determining the disposition of the plurality of containing units in said dispensing zone and in said storage zone(s);
• receiving, via the input device or via the display device, a target formulation, selected by the user, and identifying, via the processor, from the formulation database an associated plurality of fluid products contained in respective containing units of said sub-assembly, each to be delivered according to a predetermined quantity in order to obtain said target formulation;
• displaying, on the display device, a graphic representation of the layout of the dispensing machine with said dispensing zone and said storage zone(s), which respectively reflects the determined disposition of said plurality of containing units in said dispensing zone and in said storage zone(s);
• and
• graphically highlighting, via the processor, in said graphic representation, at least said sub-assembly of containing units from which the selected target formulation is to be produced by means of signaling means so as to facilitate their identification by the user and thus provide guidance to the user for displacing of one or more than one containing unit(s) from the storage zone(s) to the dispensing zone, or vice versa, if required for the production of the target formulation,
• wherein the position of the containing units in the representation of the layout of the storage zone(s) and/or of the dispensing zone of said dispensing machine, is modifiable by selecting, one at a time, the containing unit to be moved and by dragging it to a new position.

A computer-implemented method to control a dispensing machine configured to deliver fluid products inside a receptacle and comprising a plurality of containing units, each containing a respective fluid product, one or more storage zones of said containing units and a dispensing zone in which it is provided to locate, temporarily and selectively, a sub-assembly of said containing units containing the fluid products to be delivered in a dispensing cycle, making use of a computing device comprising at least one processor, data storage means with a formulation database, an input device, and a display device, wherein the control method comprises:

• determining the disposition of the plurality of containing units in said dispensing zone and in said storage zone(s);
• receiving, via the input device or via the display device, a target formulation, selected by the user, and identifying, via the processor, from the formulation database an associated plurality of fluid products contained in respective containing units of said sub-assembly, each to be delivered according to a predetermined quantity in order to obtain said target formulation;
• displaying, on the display device, a graphic representation of the layout of the dispensing machine with said dispensing zone and said storage zone(s), which respectively reflects the determined disposition of said plurality of containing units in said dispensing zone and in said storage zone(s);
• graphically highlighting, via the processor, in said graphic representation, at least said sub-assembly of containing units from which the selected target formulation is to be produced by means of signaling means so as to facilitate their identification by the user and thus provide guidance to the user for displacing of one or more than one containing unit(s) from the storage zone(s) to the dispensing zone, or vice versa, if required for the production of the target formulation;
• and
• checking, via the processor, before each dispensing cycle, by means of a presence sensor in communication with the computer device whether the receptacle is present and correctly mounted in the dispensing machine and preventing in the event that the presence sensor detects that the receptacle is absent or incorrectly mounted, the dispensing cycle from starting and sending an alarm signal that informs the user that said receptacle is missing or incorrectly mounted.

A computer-implemented method to control a dispensing machine configured to deliver fluid products inside a receptacle and comprising a plurality of containing units, each containing a respective fluid product, one or more storage zones of said containing units and a dispensing zone in which it is provided to locate, temporarily and selectively, a sub-assembly of said containing units containing the fluid products to be delivered in a dispensing cycle, making use of a computing device comprising at least one processor, data storage means with a formulation database, an input device, and a display device, wherein the control method comprises:

• determining the disposition of the plurality of containing units in said dispensing zone and in said storage zone(s);
• receiving, via the input device or via the display device, a target formulation, selected by the user, and identifying, via the processor, from the formulation database an associated plurality of fluid products contained in respective containing units of said sub-assembly, each to be delivered according to a predetermined quantity in order to obtain said target formulation;
• displaying, on the display device, a graphic representation of the layout of the dispensing machine with said dispensing zone and said storage zone(s), which respectively reflects the determined disposition of said plurality of containing units in said dispensing zone and in said storage zone(s);
• graphically highlighting, via the processor, in said graphic representation, at least said sub-assembly of containing units from which the selected target formulation is to be produced by means of signaling means so as to facilitate their identification by the user and thus provide guidance to the user for displacing of one or more than one containing unit(s) from the storage zone(s) to the dispensing zone, or vice versa, if required for the production of the target formulation;
• and
• adjusting, via the input device, one or more operating parameters of the dispensing machine which control the dispensing cycle, in particular the dispensing speed of the fluid product by a pumping unit which drives the flow of fluid product and/or the translation speed of a slider on which a scale is disposed, provided with a support plane for said receptacle and/or the maximum dispensing tolerance that is acceptable, possibly individually for each fluid product contained in respective containing units.