Drink dispenser having central control of plural dispensing stations
AssigneeMcNeil Corporation
InventorJoseph W. Shannon
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Drink dispensing apparatus is presented wherein a system including plural dispensing terminals communicates with a central source of beverage ingredients for dispensing. Each of the terminals is interconnected with a central microprocessor which communicates with each of the terminals and the source of beverage ingredients to dispense to the respective terminals the particular formulations selected thereat. Further presented is circuitry interfacing the microprocessor with the various terminals such that automatic pricing, inventory control, sales totalization, and other housekeeping techniques may be performed by the microprocessor on a terminal-by-terminal basis.
Claims14
Apparatus for dispensing drinks from a central storage system to any of various dispensing terminals in accordance with preprogrammed or operator-selected formulations, under control of a centralized processing system, comprising:
- a plurality of centrally located beverage reservoirs, each in communication with a pump associated with that beverage;
- a plurality of dispensing terminals, each in communication with each said pump via fluid-passing conduits, said conduits combining to form a dispensing head at each said terminal, said terminals further including a keyboard of operator-actuatable selection means for selecting a drink or components thereof to be dispensed;
- programmable computer means interconnected between said reservoirs and said dispensing terminals, for communicating therebetween and controlling the dispensing of selected drinks to the dispensing heads of selected terminals from said centrally located beverage reservoirs;
- and
- a plurality of shift registers at each dispensing terminal having the outputs thereof operatively connected to and controlling respective dispensing valves at said terminal, one dispensing valve for each said beverage, said computer means communicating data to said shift registers respecting the beverages to be dispensed for a selected drink and continually updating said data during the dispensing of said selected drink, thereby controlling the periods of dispensing of each component of said drink.
Apparatus for dispensing drinks in accordance with preprogrammed or operator-selected formulations, comprising:
- storage means for maintaining therein beverages for dispensing in the various formulations;
- a plurality of dispensing terminals, each in communication with said storage means, each terminal including both a selection means for allowing the operator to select the formulations to be dispensed, and a dispensing means connected to said storage means for dispensing the drinks according to the selected formulations;
- central control means interconnected between and in communication with said terminals and said storage means for sensing from each of said selection means the respectively selected formulations for dispensing at the various terminals and controlling the dispensing at said terminals from said storage means;
- circuit means at each said dispensing terminal connected to said central control means for allowing each respective terminal to mutually exclusively communicate with said central control means, each said circuit means at each said terminal including first decode means for receiving signals from said central control means and determining from said signals if the associated terminal is accessed for communication with said central control means;
- and
- second decode means in interconnection with and receiving signals from said central control means for selecting one of a plurality of devices at the associated terminal for communication with said central control means, and wherein one of said devices comprises a keyboard of operator-actuatable selection means, said keyboard at a particular terminal being accessed by said first and second decode means;
- and
- a plurality of shift registers at each dispensing terminal having the outputs thereof operatively connected to and controlling respective dispensing valves at said terminal, one dispensing valve for each said beverage, said central control means communicating to said shift registers the beverages to be dispensed in a selected formulation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.