ES1241614U - ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR DRINK TAP CONTROL (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Electronic device for the control of beverage taps, where the electronic device is in wireless connection with external electronic devices (6) from where a user activates a beverage dispenser with at least one tap (G), and characterized in that understands: - a microprocessor module (1), comprising a PCB board and a programmable microcontroller; - a flow meter (2) installed in the cooler outlet pipe (T) of each tap, and in connection with the microprocessor module (1); - a solenoid valve (4) installed in the cooler outlet pipe (T) of each tap, and in connection with the microprocessor module (1); - a relay (3), which activates the solenoid valve (4), and which is in connection with the microprocessor module (1); and - a wireless communication module (5) with external electronic devices (6), which is in connection with the microprocessor module (1). (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR DRINK TAP CONTROL

Field of the Invention

The present invention consists of an electronic device that, installed in a beverage tap, such as a beer, allows any user to serve said beverage itself, being able to activate the system and manage the tap, which is originally closed, by means Wireless

The field of application of the invention is the industrial sector related to the manufacture and distribution of beverages and, more specifically, it is focused on the beer sector and the means and devices for offering this beverage to consumers.

State of the art

It is known that faucets, dispensers or beer handles are the elements that are attached to a barrel or container of beer and allow an operator to serve the desired amount of drink. Therefore, conventional taps are manually operated by one user and do not allow to be opened and / or remotely managed by different users.

In this context, systems that have been coupled to these faucets are known, so that the supply of beer or similar beverages can be controlled remotely. For example, systems are known that using a customer card or asking them to activate a specific tap from the bar, allow it to be activated, there being a prepayment, that is, limiting maximum consumption. In this way, defaults are avoided or that more than what is paid is consumed; In addition, it is a self-service system.

The device defined below improves these known systems, since it is not limited to requiring the user to have a customer card and / or the use of a specific tap, just as the system is not limited to consumption maximum.

The present invention allows a user to activate and manage any type of tap associated with the system through different wireless means, and without being limited to a tap specifically, being able to also control and manage time and / or consumption.

Brief Description of the Invention

The present invention relates to a device that allows any user to pour himself a drink by himself, by activating, by means of a wireless application, for example, with a mobile application or other systems, beverage taps that are originally closed. The invention, specifically, consists of a device that allows a beverage tap to be managed by any user, not just the operators or waiters who routinely manage it. For this, the device controls the passage or not of the drink along the line, its price, who uses the tap, for how long, and the flow of the dispensed beverage. Thus, the device allows the control and collection of the beverage consumed by users through different interfaces such as a mobile application.

This is possible because what the user does when activating the device, is to unlock the drink line, by opening the valves located in it. From that moment, and as long as the device allows it according to its various parameters, the tap can be operated and a drink run by the user, waiter, operator or similar. On the contrary, no matter how much the tap is opened when it is not active, the valve prevents the flow of beer from flowing. In this sense the activation can be carried out:

- by means of a mobile application, in which the user also charges balance to make convenient payments every time he activates a tap.

- by means of RFID cards, which are scanned in a reader located next to the tap for this purpose.

- by means of a dataphone that charges directly to a credit or debit card.

In the case of the mobile application, the activation can be done using a button that opens the camera of the mobile to scan with it a QR code located on the tap.

Once activated, the invention measures the session time and the volume of beer dispensed, allowing:

- close sessions automatically, after a time or flow;

- measure the volume of beer consumed, to calculate a charge per centiliter.

- recognize the user who is activating it, recording their consumption data Both mechanisms are configured according to the client / context in which the tap is located.

To make this possible, the system includes:

- remotely connected and controlled valves, which are located in the beer line;

- flow meters located on the beer line;

- a communications module, which transmits the data of these two devices and allows remote control; Y

- a processing box, comprising at least one microprocessor.

At the same time, from the mobile application, data linked to each user is also collected, such as profile data; consumption data; location; or others

It should be borne in mind that, throughout the description and the claims, the term "comprises" and its variants are not intended to exclude other technical characteristics or additional elements.

Brief explanation of the figures

In order to complete the description and to help a better understanding of the features of the invention, a set of figures and drawings is presented, where the following is illustrated and not limited to:

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of the elements of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a representation of the device object of the present invention within a beer tap or system.

Detailed description of an embodiment of the invention

As can be seen in the figures, an embodiment of the device object of the present invention, which is an electronic device is in wireless connection with external electronic devices (6) from which a user activates a beer dispenser with at least one tap ( G), includes:

- a microprocessor module (1), comprising a PCB board and a microcontroller programmable;

- at least one flow meter (2);

- at least one relay (3);

- at least one solenoid valve (4); Y

- a communication module (5).

where the microprocessor module, (1) through the communication module (5), is in communication with external electronic devices (6) that activate each tap (G), being means such as:

- mobile devices (6A) with a mobile application, in which the user also charges balance;

- RFID or other cards, which are scanned in a reader located next to the tap for this purpose; Y

- dataphone (6B) that charges directly to a credit or debit card via internet.

In one embodiment of the invention, the microprocessor module (1) may comprise an electronics of the PCB type consisting of an Arduino MEGA 2560 with an ATMEGA2560 microcontroller powered at 5 volts.

The microcontroller module (1) is responsible for controlling the electronic elements and managing the requests required by the WEB applications through the communication module (5), being preferably a wireless communication type Wifi or GSM / GPRS, for example, through a 4g router The mobile application consists of a wallet in which the user enters money. Through the camera of the mobile device, the customer reads a QR code assigned to the tap that you want to activate and an opening request is sent to the server as long as the wallet has the necessary funds to carry out the transaction. Once the request is made to the server, the web application is responsible for managing and evaluating the requests, sending an opening signal to the microcontroller through a fixed IP of the communication module. In another possible embodiment of the invention, the communications module uses another technology to communicate directly with the user's telephone that activates the tap, it being this mobile telephone who communicates with the server.

The microcontroller module (1), after receiving the request from the server, activates a relay (3) connected to a 12-volt supply that allows the passage of current to the valve that is in the section of outlet tube (T) of the already cooled product that goes from the barrel (B) to tap (G) allowing the passage of beer. It must be taken into account that the solenoid valves (4) used are preferably of the NC type, so if they are not activated by means of the relay, they are always in closed condition.

Once the solenoid valve (4) enters the open position, the microcontroller module (1) begins to perform two control methods, on the one hand, a timer module is activated, which controls the opening time of the solenoid valve (4) to ensure that it does not remain open in case the network connection is lost and cannot be closed through the web application or the server. On the other hand, to control the amount of liquid that is desired to be supplied to the user, the system has a flow meter (2) that will control the liquid that is being supplied per session, so that, at the specified limit, the relay is deactivated (3) passing the solenoid valve (4) to its closed position.

Therefore, the invention comprises a single microprocessor module (1) with a PCB capable of controlling more than one beer dispenser, beer line or beer tap (G); However, there must be a flow meter (2), a relay (3) and an electrovalve (4) per spout or tap (G), since the use of these control elements must be individual.

In turn, it is indicated that the flowmeter (2) and the solenoid valve (4), in each beer server, are located inside the cooler, interconnected in the outlet tube (T) already cooled of the product, not the mechanism itself tap, and all are connected to the microprocessor module (1).

Claims (5)

1 Electronic device for the control of beverage taps, where the electronic device is in wireless connection with external electronic devices (6) from where a user activates a beverage dispenser with at least one tap (G), and which is characterized by understands: - a microprocessor module (1), comprising a PCB board and a programmable microcontroller; - a flow meter (2) installed in the cooler outlet pipe (T) of each tap, and in connection with the microprocessor module (1); - a solenoid valve (4) installed in the cooler outlet pipe (T) of each tap, and in connection with the microprocessor module (1); - a relay (3), which activates the solenoid valve (4), and which is in connection with the microprocessor module (1); Y - a wireless communication module (5) with external electronic devices (6), which is in connection with the microprocessor module (1). 2. - Electronic device for the control of beverage taps, according to claim 1, wherein the external electronic devices (6) that activate each tap (G) are selected from mobile devices (6A) with a mobile application; RFID cards that are scanned in a tap reader; and dataphone (6B) that charges a credit or debit card. 3. - Electronic device for the control of beverage taps, according to claim 1, wherein the microprocessor module (1) is connected to a 5 volt power supply 4. - Electronic device for the control of beverage taps, according to claim 1, wherein each relay (3) is connected to a 12 volt power supply. 5. - Electronic device for the control of beverage taps, according to claim 1, wherein each solenoid valve (4) is of the NC type.