Apparatus for dispensing a substance

A dispensing apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of source containers each containing a substance, wherein each of the source containers has at least one data indicator containing data;
• a reading mechanism capable of reading the data on the source container data indicators and data from a receiving data indicator on a receiving container for receiving the substance and transmitting the data to a controller;
• and
• a controller programmed to process the data received from the source container data indicators and receiving container data indicator, and to operate at least one of the source containers to discharge the one or more substance into the receiving container in response to a determination that the data from the receiving container data indicator matches data from the at least one source container data indicator.

An apparatus for dispensing a substance comprising:

• a source container containing the substance, wherein the substance is a chemical concentrate;
• a dispenser connected to the source container that is adapted to dispense the chemical concentrate from the source container;
• a data indicator connected to the source container, wherein the data indicator identifies data about the chemical concentrate contained in the source container;
• a reading mechanism capable of reading the data from the source container data indicator and the data from a data indicator on a receiving container, wherein the receiving container data indicator identifies data about the receiving container;
• and
• a controller connected to the reading mechanism and the dispenser, wherein the controller is programmed to operate the dispenser to dispense the chemical concentrate from the source container when data on the source container data indicator corresponds to the data on the receiving container data indicator.

A container filling apparatus comprising:

• at least one source container containing a substance, the source container having a source data indicator containing data;
• a reading mechanism capable of reading data from a data indicator on a receiving container, wherein the data indicator identifies data about the receiving container;
• a controller connected to the reading mechanism, the controller being programmed to determine when there is a match between data from the source data indicator and data from a personnel identification indicator, and to generate a signal when there is a match;
• and
• a dispenser for discharging the substance into the receiving container in response to the signal from the controller.

A container filling apparatus comprising:

• at least one source container containing a substance;
• a reading mechanism capable of reading data from a data indicator on a receiving container, wherein the data indicator identifies data about the receiving container;
• a controller connected to the reading mechanism, the controller being programmed to determine when there is a match between data from the data indicator on the receiving container and data from a personnel identification indicator, and to generate a signal when there is a match;
• and
• a dispenser for discharging the substance into the receiving container in response to the signal from the controller.

A container filling apparatus comprising:

• at least one source container containing a substance;
• a reading mechanism capable of reading data from a data indicator on a receiving container, wherein the data indicator identifies data about the receiving container;
• a controller connected to the reading mechanism, the controller being programmed to determine when a dispensing condition is satisfied, based on the data from the receiving container, and to generate a signal when the dispensing condition is satisfied;
• and
• a dispenser for discharging the substance into the receiving container in response to the signal from the controller;
• wherein the receiving container data indicator indicates the position of the receiving container with respect to the source container and the dispensing condition is satisfied when the receiving container is properly positioned;
• and wherein the controller is programmed to limit the amount of the substance dispensed per operation of the dispenser.

A container filling apparatus comprising:

• at least one source container containing a substance;
• a reading mechanism capable of reading data from a data indicator on a receiving container, wherein the data indicator identifies data about the receiving container;
• a controller connected to the reading mechanism, the controller being programmed to determine when a dispensing condition is satisfied, based on the data from the receiving container, and to generate a signal when the dispensing condition is satisfied;
• and
• a dispenser for discharging the substance into the receiving container in response to the signal from the controller,
• wherein the receiving container data indicator indicates the position of the receiving container with respect to the source container and the dispensing condition is satisfied when the receiving container is properly positioned;
• and wherein the controller is programmed to record at least one of:
• the amount of substance discharged per operation of the dispenser;
• the number of receiving containers processed;
• and
• the frequency with which receiving containers are filled.

A container filling apparatus comprising:

• at least one source container containing a substance;
• a reading mechanism capable of reading data from a data indicator on a receiving container, wherein the data indicator identifies data about the receiving container;
• a controller connected to the reading mechanism, the controller being programmed to determine when a dispensing condition is satisfied, based on the data from the receiving container, and to generate a signal when the dispensing condition is satisfied;
• and
• a dispenser for discharging the substance into the receiving container in response to the signal from the controller;
• wherein the controller is programmed to record personnel information about the operator operating the apparatus.

A container filling apparatus comprising:

• multiple source containers containing substances;
• a reading mechanism capable of reading data from multiple data indicators on a receiving container, wherein the data indicators identify data about the receiving container;
• a controller connected to the reading mechanism, the controller being programmed to determine when a dispensing condition is satisfied, based on the data from the receiving container, and to generate a signal when the dispensing condition is satisfied;
• and
• a dispenser for discharging the substances from the multiple source containers into the receiving container in response to the signal from the controller;
• wherein each source container has a data indicator and each of the multiple data indicators can be used to associate the receiving container with one of the multiple source containers.

A container filling apparatus comprising:

• at least one source container containing a substance;
• a reading mechanism capable of reading a locating mechanism on a receiving container, wherein the data indicator identifies data about the receiving container;
• a dispenser connected to the source container to discharge the substance from the source container;
• a controller connected to the reading mechanism, the controller being programmed to determine when the receiving container is properly positioned with respect to the dispenser based on data from the data indicator, and to generate a signal when the receiving container is properly positioned;
• and
• a dispenser for discharging the substance into the receiving container in response to the signal from the controller.

A container filling apparatus comprising:

• at least one source container containing a substance;
• a reading mechanism capable of reading data from a data indicator on a receiving container, wherein the data indicator identifies data about the receiving container;
• a controller connected to the reading mechanism, the controller being programmed to determine when a dispensing condition is satisfied, based on the data from the receiving container, and to generate a signal when the dispensing condition is satisfied;
• and
• a dispenser for discharging the substance into the receiving container in response to the signal from the controller;
• wherein the receiving container data indicator indicates the position of the receiving container with respect to the source container and the dispensing condition is satisfied when the receiving container is properly positioned;
• and
• wherein the controller is programmed to limit the number of receiving containers processed.

A container filling apparatus comprising:

• at least one source container containing a substance;
• a reading mechanism capable of reading data from a data indicator on a receiving container, wherein the data indicator identifies data about the receiving container;
• a controller connected to the reading mechanism, the controller being programmed to determine when a dispensing condition is satisfied, based on the data from the receiving container, and to generate a signal when the dispensing condition is satisfied;
• and
• a dispenser for discharging the substance into the receiving container in response to the signal from the controller;
• wherein the receiving container data indicator indicates the position of the receiving container with respect to the source container and the dispensing condition is satisfied when the receiving container is properly positioned;
• and
• wherein the controller is programmed to limit the frequency of filling the receiving containers.

A container filling apparatus comprising:

• at least one source container containing a substance;
• a reading mechanism capable of reading data from a data indicator on the at least one source container, wherein the data indicator identifies data about the source container;
• a controller connected to the reading mechanism, the controller being programmed to determine when there is a match between data from the data indicator on the source container and data from a personnel identification indicator, and to generate a signal when there is a match;
• and
• a dispenser for discharging the substance into a receiving container in response to the signal from the controller.