Beverage dispenser including an improved electronic control system

A method of designing a beverage dispenser or re-configuring an existing beverage dispenser, comprising:

• providing beverage dispenser components, comprising at least:
• a user interface,
• a dispensing valve, and
• a valve interface for regulating the delivery of a beverage from the dispensing valve;
• providing an electronic control system, comprising:
• a microcontroller for monitoring the user interface and for activating the valve interface responsive to user input, thereby regulating the delivery of a beverage from the dispensing valve, and
• a program memory including supervisory control firmware, dispenser tasks firmware, and low level drivers firmware for controlling the microcontroller;
• adding a beverage dispenser component;
• modifying the low level drivers firmware to interface the microcontroller with the added beverage dispenser component;
• adding a dispenser tasks firmware state machine;
• and
• modifying the supervisory control firmware to call the added dispenser tasks firmware state machine.