HK1261556A1 - Modular dispensing system - Google Patents

Description

Modular dispensing system

The application is a divisional application of Chinese invention patent applications named as 'modular distribution system' with the national application number of 201280034218.8, the national application number of 201610181612.4 of the direct parent case, the international application number of PCT/US2012/036116, and the application date of 2012, 5 and 2.

Cross Reference to Related Applications

Priority of the present application for U.S. application No.13/116,247 entitled "modular dispensing system" filed on 26/5/2011, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to methods and modular beverage dispensing systems for the dispensing of beverages, such as for restaurants (including fast food restaurants), theaters, convenience stores, gas stations, and other entertainment and/or food service establishments.

Background

Various beverage vending machines, such as those at restaurants, theaters, and other entertainment and/or food service establishments, typically have "drop in" or counter top type vending machines. In a drop-type vending machine arrangement, the vending machine arrangement is self-contained and can drop into an aperture in a counter top. In counter top vending machine devices, the vending machine device is arranged on a counter top. In conventional beverage vending machines, a dispensing head is coupled to a particular beverage syrup supply source through a single tube dedicated to supplying that dispensing head with a particular beverage syrup, wherein the particular beverage syrup supply source is generally located near, i.e., directly below or directly above, the counter top.

The user generally places a cup under the indicia of the selected beverage and presses a button or cup against the dispensing lever to activate the vending machine so that the selected beverage is delivered into the cup from the dispensing head corresponding to the selected beverage until pressure is removed from the button or dispensing lever.

Conventional beverage vending machines are generally limited to dispensing beverages having a flavor supply located at their respective counter. As a result, the number of beverages available at conventional beverage vending machines is generally limited. For example, the drinks typically available at a conventional beverage vending machine are a plain cola beverage, a sugarless cola beverage, perhaps one or more non-cola carbonated beverages, such as a lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage or some other fruit-flavored drink (e.g., an orange flavored carbonated beverage and/or a root beer), and perhaps one or more non-carbonated beverages, such as tea and/or lemonade.

Conventional vending machines are generally not configured to allow a user to produce or receive from a single dispensing head a customized beverage that the consumer may wish to purchase, such as cola having the taste of cherry, vanilla, lemon, or lime, or tea having the taste of lemon, orange, peach, raspberry, or the like, or tea having one or more teaspoons of sweetener (sugar or some other nutritive or non-nutritive sweetener).

Conventional vending machines typically require the maintenance and re-supply of the flavor source at a counter.

Conventional vending machines typically require a dedicated dispensing head for each particular beverage.

There is a need for a beverage dispensing system that: which do not have the limitations and disadvantages of conventional beverage vending machines and methods.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, there is provided a modular dispensing system comprising: at least one dispensing head located at the counter; a transfer unit located remotely from the counter; and a conduit extending from the transfer unit to the counter.

In one aspect, the transfer unit may include a central flavor ingredient system having a plurality of beverage flavor ingredient sources, and the conduit includes a main micro-bundle of tubes.

In one aspect, the main micro-bundle comprises a plurality of individual lines, wherein each line corresponds to a particular flavor ingredient source of the central ingredient system.

In one aspect, the at least one dispensing head has a respective dosing unit. The dosing unit may be configured to dose an appropriate amount of each flavor component to the dispensing head.

In one aspect, the dosing unit supplies an appropriate amount of each flavor component to the dispensing head via a tower micro bundle, wherein the tower micro bundle comprises a plurality of individual lines, each line corresponding to a particular flavor component.

In one aspect, a modular dispensing system includes at least one dispensing head located at a counter, a transfer unit located remotely from the counter, and a conduit extending from the transfer unit to the counter, wherein the transfer unit includes a central reconstitution factory system including at least one mixing chamber corresponding to a predetermined beverage, the central reconstitution factory configured to combine water and at least one high strength beverage ingredient in the mixing chamber to form a reconstituted mixture.

In one aspect, a modular dispensing system is provided that includes at least first and second dispensing heads located at a counter, a transfer unit located remotely from the counter, and tubing extending from the transfer unit to the counter. The transfer unit may comprise a central reconstitution factory system comprising at least a first mixing chamber corresponding to a first predetermined beverage and at least a second mixing chamber corresponding to a second predetermined beverage. The central reconstitution device may be configured to combine water with at least a first high-strength beverage ingredient in the first mixing chamber to form a first reconstituted mixture, the central reconstitution device being further configured to combine water with at least a second high-strength beverage ingredient in the second mixing chamber to form a second reconstituted mixture.

The foregoing and other aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a modular dispensing system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a central coupling component system according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of a primary micro-tube bundle in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a dosing unit according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a column-type micro-bundle according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a modular dispensing system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a central component system according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8A and 8B illustrate an embodiment of a cartridge for beverage ingredients according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 illustrates the embodiment of fig. 1 with additional dispensing heads according to aspects of the present disclosure added at a single counter.

Fig. 10 illustrates the embodiment of fig. 1 with the addition of an additional counter having an additional dispensing head according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 illustrates the embodiment of fig. 10 with additional dispensing heads at each counter in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The embodiments discussed below may be used to form a variety of beverages, including but not limited to cold and hot beverages, and including but not limited to under the brand name of the Baishi corporation (e.g., Baishi Cola)) But are well known as beverages.

Referring to fig. 1, one embodiment of a modular dispensing system of the present disclosure will be described.

Referring to fig. 1, a modular dispensing system 10 may be provided that includes a plurality of dispensing heads 12 located at a counter location 14 and a transfer unit 16 located remotely from the counter location 14. The conduit 18 may extend from the transfer unit 16 to the counter location 14.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the transfer unit 16 may include a central ingredient system 20, the central ingredient system 20 having a plurality of sources 22 of beverage ingredients, wherein the beverage ingredients are designated 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 82, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, and 94. Fig. 1 and 2 show that the beverage ingredient 94 may be disposed adjacent to the beverage ingredient 92, and the beverage ingredient 94 may flow into the opening 96 of the tube 98. As described in more detail below, tube 98 may be one of the tubes that make up tubing 18. The central ingredient system 20 may supply beverage ingredients 24 to 94 to the dispensing head 12 for more than one beverage. Fig. 9 shows the embodiment of fig. 1 with additional dispense heads 912A and 912B added at a single counter 14. Fig. 10 shows the embodiment of fig. 1 with the addition of an additional counter 114 having an additional dispensing head 1012A and an additional counter 214 having an additional dispensing head 1024A. At least one of the dispensing heads may be a dispensing head for a drive-up access window. Although the counters in fig. 10 are shown as being in series, one skilled in the art will recognize that the counters may also be configured in parallel, e.g., each having a separate bundle of micro-tubes extending from transfer unit 16. Fig. 11 illustrates a variation of the embodiment shown in fig. 9 and 10, showing dispense heads 12, 912A and 912B at counter 14 (which may be supplied with beverage ingredients via main micro-bundle 18), dispense heads 1012A, 1012B and 1012C at counter 114 (which may be supplied with beverage ingredients via main micro-bundle 18A), and dispense heads 1024A, 1024B and 1024 at counter 214 (which may be supplied with beverage ingredients via main micro-bundle 18B). Although the counters in fig. 11 show the counters being in parallel, one skilled in the art will recognize that the counters may also be configured in series, e.g., a single main micro-bundle 18 extending away from the transfer unit 16 and supplying beverage ingredients to the various counters 14, 114 and 124 in series. At least one of the counters may have a dispensing head dedicated to serving beverages to the drive-up window. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the system may supply the same or different beverage ingredients to different dispensing heads located at different dispensing towers 13, 913, 915, 1013, 1015, 1017, 1113, 1115, and 1117.

The central ingredient system 20 may supply beverage ingredients 24 through 94 for a greater number of beverages than the number of dispensing heads 12 located at a single counter location 14. As shown in FIG. 10, central ingredient system 20 may supply beverages to dispensing heads located at counter locations 14, 114, 214 that are remote from one another, including, but not limited to, counter location 214 for a drive-thru window. The central ingredient system 20 may be disposed at a location 100, such as a back room 102, remote from the counter locations 14, 114, 214, the location 100 preferably not visible from at least one of the counter locations. In a preferred embodiment, the central ingredient system is not visible to a customer or consumer using the vending machine and/or purchasing beverages at a counter location.

The central ingredient system 20 may include a plurality of high-strength ingredients for micro-dosing in the preparation of a variety of beverages. For example, and not by way of limitation, fig. 1, 2, and 3 illustrate 36 beverage ingredients 24 through 94. Each beverage ingredient 24 to 94 may be stored in a cartridge or storage container 112. As shown in fig. 8A and 8B, cartridge 112 may include a bag 116 filled with beverage ingredients. Each cartridge 112 may store a different ingredient relative to the ingredients stored in each other cartridge 112 that make up the collection of sources 22,

the central ingredient system 20 may include a plurality of sweeteners 118 and 120. The sweetener 118 may be a nutritive sweetener and the sweetener 120 may be a non-nutritive sweetener.

The transfer unit 16 includes a nutritive sweetener cartridge or container 122, the container 122 containing the nutritive sweetener 118 and corresponding nutritive sweetener pump lines 124, nutritive sweetener pump 126, and nutritive sweetener pump out line 302.

The transfer unit 16 may include a non-nutritive sweetener cartridge or container 128, and the container 128 may contain the non-nutritive sweetener 120 and corresponding non-nutritive sweetener pump lines 130, non-nutritive sweetener pump 132, and non-nutritive sweetener pump out line 304.

Through line 18, pump 126 may pump nutritive sweetener 118 and pump 132 may pump non-nutritive sweetener 120 — from transfer unit 16 to dispensing head 12.

Other pumps (not shown) may be used to pump the beverage ingredients 24 through 94 from the transfer unit 16 to the dispensing head 12 through the conduit 18.

Additional pump(s) (not shown) may be used to pump water from the transfer unit 16 to the dispense head 12 through line 18. The transfer unit 16 may include a water treatment system 134. The water treatment system 134 may be used to treat water. For example, the water treatment system 134 may be used to cool water to a desired temperature for a cold beverage. A second water treatment (not shown) may be used to heat the water to a desired temperature for the hot beverage. The water temperature range provided by one or more water treatment systems used in conjunction with the water treatment system may be from just below about freezing (e.g., to produce or prepare a slush or slush product) to about 180 degrees fahrenheit (e.g., to produce or prepare a hot beverage such as coffee or tea). The water treatment system can be any suitable water treatment system that improves taste, reduces odor, and/or reduces fluorine. The water treatment system may be any suitable water treatment system that can increase the water quality to near pure water by including, but not limited to, a Reverse Osmosis (RO) system. As discussed in more detail below, the treated water comes from a water treatment system and at least one beverage ingredient from a central ingredient system may be provided to the counter location 14. The ratio of water from the water treatment system 134 to beverage ingredients provided from the central ingredient system 20 for a beverage may be about 200:1 by weight. In one embodiment, the lowest component may be about 200:1 or about 75:1 or about 40:1 (e.g., in the form of a flavoring or acidulant) to about 40:1 for non-nutritive sweeteners and to about 6:1 for non-nutritive sweeteners. A base beverage may be prepared with about four streams of materials such as water, sweeteners, flavorings, and souring agents. Additional streams of material (e.g., cherry flavoring) may be added to provide a coating aroma, or a mixture of flavoring agents may be added to reduce calories, as disclosed in U.S. patent No. 12/703,048 filed on 9.2.2010, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additional pump(s) (not shown) may be used to pump ice from transfer unit 16 to dispensing head 12 through line 18. In a preferred embodiment, the transfer unit 16 may include an ice maker 136.

As shown in fig. 3, the tube or main micro-bundle 18 includes an outer tube 138 and an inner bundle of a plurality of smaller inner tubes 140. The inner tube 140 may include beverage ingredient flavor lines 324, 326, 328, 330, 332, 334, 336, 338, 340, 342, 344, 346, 348, 350, 352, 354, 356, and 358. Inner tube 140 may include beverage ingredient acidulant lines 360, 362, 364, 366, 368, 370, 372, 374, 376, 378, 380, 382, 384, 386, 388, 390, 392 and 394.

The beverage ingredient flavor line 324 corresponds to the beverage ingredient 24, the beverage ingredient flavor line 326 corresponds to the beverage ingredient 26, and so on. Table I below specifies the correspondence between beverage ingredients and lines.

TABLE I

Figure 3 shows an outlet water line 396, a water return line 398, an ice line 306, a nutritive sweetener pump out line 302, and a non-nutritive sweetener pump out line 304. The water return line 398 may allow water that is not dispensed from the dispensing head 12 to circulate back to the transfer unit 16, thereby forming cold water to be supplied from the transfer unit 16 to the dosing unit 400. This helps to conserve energy because the water in the water return line 398 will be closer to the desired temperature than water that has not previously been cooled. A hot water outlet line and a hot water return line may also be provided. A hot water return line (not shown) may be used to allow water that is not dispensed from the dispense head 12 to circulate back to the transfer unit 16 to form hot water to be supplied from the transfer unit to the dosing unit 64. This helps to save energy because the water in the hot water return line will be closer to the ideal temperature than water that has not previously been heated. The ice line 306 may be the largest line in the line bundle. The water outlet line 396 and the water return line 398 may be lines having about equal diameters, such as a diameter of about 3/8 inches. The nutritive sweetener pump-out line 302 may have a diameter approximately equal to the non-nutritive sweetener pump-out line 304 or slightly larger than the non-nutritive sweetener pump-out line 304. For example, the nutritive sweetener line may have a diameter of about 3/8 inches, while the non-nutritive sweetener line may have a diameter of about 1/4 inches. The sweetener lines may include any desired number, e.g., 4, of different sweetener lines.

As shown in fig. 4, the dosing unit 400 may include a dispensing tower 402, and the dispensing tower 402 may include a dispensing head 12 located at the counter location 14. The dosing unit 400 may include an ice bank 404. The dosing unit 404 may receive liquid under pressure and dose appropriately to provide the desired beverage. The beverage ingredients may be dosed in an amount between about 0.1cc and about 17 cc. In one embodiment, for nutritive sweeteners, the dosage may be between about 0.5cc and 17 cc. Dosing may be performed by a sliding vane pump as shown in fig. 4 or by other suitable positive displacement pumps, gear pumps, piston pumps, oscillating pumps or membrane pumps (not shown). The pump can be controlled by pulse width modulation control, or by adjusting the stroke or in a stepwise manner to deliver the appropriate amount of ingredient to form the beverage. Those skilled in the art will recognize that control of delivery may be achieved through the use of intelligent devices, such as computers or purpose embedded electronics.

As shown in fig. 5, the distribution tower 402 may include a tower micro-bundle 406. In the illustrated embodiment, the column-type micro-bundle 406 includes: an ice line 500; nine sour water lines 502, 504, 506, 508, 510, 512, 514, 516, 518; nine non-carbonated water lines 520, 522, 524, 526, 528, 530, 532, 534, 536 (including lines that may be recycled or regenerated as needed, for example, from a cold water circuit); eighteen flavor lines 538, 539, 540, 541, 542, 543, 544, 545, 546, 547, 548, 549, 550, 551, 552, 553, 554, 555; eighteen sour agent lines 556, 558, 559, 560, 561, 562, 563, 564, 565, 566, 567, 568, 569, 570, 571, 572, 573, 574; a nutritive sweetener line 576; and a non-nutritive sweetener line 578. The column micro-tube bundle 406 may include any suitable cladding including slots and tubes.

Beverage ingredients such as sweeteners may be delivered through the micro-tube bundle for better mixing. Instead of using a conventional 3/8 inch Inner Diameter (ID) or 1/4 inch inner diameter tube (where the flavoring may fall into the bottom of the cup and may not be tasted by the consumer when drinking the upper portion of the beverage in the cup), the present disclosure allows for the use of smaller micro-tubes for better mixing and multiple dispensing points (injecting matching ingredients at similar rates), and allows for better dispersion throughout the beverage.

The modular dispensing system may include not only a central acidulant and flavoring system, but may also include a local dairy and/or juice system. Thus, a beverage may be prepared by infusion of fruit juice, such as cola infused with lemon juice and/or lime juice. Beverages such as cold brew bucinuo or hot coffee may be prepared by infusion of milk, e.g. milk or cream.

Modular dispensing systems allow additional dispensing heads to be added to existing dispensing towers to dispense additional beverages while still using a central ingredient system or transfer unit. Such existing towers may be present in "drive-ahead" systems or in-store systems.

The modular dispensing system may include a quick fill system for "drive-ahead" applications.

The modular dispensing system may comprise a replacement bag for use in an ingredient cartridge.

The modular dispensing system may include an automated sterilization system, such as an automated sterilization button located at the dispensing tower 66. The sterilisation system may comprise a sterilisation agent cartridge, for example a sterilisation agent cartridge replacing the ingredient cartridge. One skilled in the art will recognize that locking of a portion of the system may be used to enable a disinfection cycle to be run. For example, a locking feature having a sanitizer cartridge identification feature may be provided to prevent accidental beverage dispensing. The locking feature with the sterilant enclosure identification feature may have mechanical and electrical protection redundancy.

The modular dispensing system may include a flavor type interlock.

The modular distribution system may include or be in communication with a social media system or application. For example, when a consumer's mobile device is within a predetermined distance of a sensor associated with the modular dispensing system, a message may be sent to the consumer's mobile device asking whether the consumer wishes to purchase a beverage. Alternatively, or simultaneously, a message may be displayed at the counter location asking the consumer if they wish to purchase the beverage. The social media system or application may download one or more preferences of the consumer to the modular distribution system based on the consumer's past purchased and/or confirmed preferences. Accordingly, the modular dispensing system and/or social media system or application may query a particular consumer when the consumer's mobile device is within a predetermined distance from a sensor of the modular dispensing system.

The modular dispensing system may also receive beverage orders from consumers through social media systems or applications including, but not limited to, beverage vendors' social media systems or applications including, but not limited to, restaurants, theaters, other entertainment venues, and manufacturers and/or distributors of beverages. The consumer may order the beverage before arriving at the counter so that the beverage may be prepared and placed in the cup when or shortly before the consumer arrives at the counter. Alternatively, the cup holder and RFID identifier may be prepared and made available to the consumer for filling when or soon to reach the counter. See, for example, U.S. patent application serial No. 12/704,217 filed on 11/2/2010 and published on 12/8/2010 as 2010/0200110, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The system saves time for both the consumer and the beverage vendor because it reduces wait time, order placement time, and beverage preparation time.

Thus, the system may identify an individual and make certain decisions regarding which beverages or types of beverages to provide to the individual. The system may alter what the system conventionally provides, such as injecting orange juice in a cola beverage if the individual has ordered such a beverage in the past, or if the individual has identified the beverage as a preference on a social media system or application.

In addition, the system may process gifts or promotional information sent from one entity to another. By way of example, and not by way of limitation, the system may identify an individual, determine whether the individual has received a gift or satisfied promotional criteria, and send an inquiry to the individual as to whether the individual will accept the gift or promotional information, such as a free or reduced-priced drink.

The system may provide a gesture interface so that a user may order a beverage at the sensor without touching the sensor.

The system may also provide disinfection screen displays including, but not limited to: steam is sprayed out to wipe the motion display and the ultraviolet LED.

The system may provide variable pricing to the user based on the brand being sold, for example, the system may determine the products the user may receive based on cup size.

The system may allow the user to stop the vehicle to a drive-ahead location and know where the user is and present a menu to the user via the user's mobile device (e.g., personal digital assistant, regular cell phone, or smart phone), via telephone or Wi-Fi, bluetooth, or other suitable communication system, and may also provide the user with a special drive-ahead route to obtain the ordered beverage.

Due to limited road sign usage, the system may allow for geo-location for promotion.

The system may be designed for various fluid flow paths for minute amounts of dosing, such as controlling the dripping of liquid and monitoring the outflow side of the pump.

The quick fill may include a system that allows for quick fill from the bottom of the cup.

The on-demand carbonation process may be provided using a dosing unit.

Fig. 6 and 7 illustrate other aspects of the present disclosure. The transfer unit 600 may be similar to the transfer unit 16 described previously. The transfer unit 600 may include a water treatment system 134. Optionally, but not necessarily, the transfer unit 600 may include an ice system (not shown) similar to the ice maker 136 described previously.

The transfer unit 600 may include a central component system or central reconstitution facility 602 similar to the central component system 20 described above.

The central reconstitution factory system 602 may be linked to one or more conventional or legacy dispensers 604A, 604B, and 604C using a bundle 606. The link or connection between the central reconstitution factory system 602 and the legacy dispensers that are difficult to renew may be implemented in the backroom at the bundle pump inlet connection. As shown in fig. 6, the central reconstitution factory system 602 may include a plurality of beverage ingredients. In fig. 6, the central reconstitution facility 602 includes 20 beverage ingredients 608, 610, 612, 614, 616, 618, 620, 622, 624, 626, 628, 630, 632, 634, 636, 638, 640, 642, 644, 646. The beverage ingredients may be selected from the group consisting of beverage flavoring ingredients and acidulants. The transfer unit 600 may include one or more mixing chambers. In fig. 6, transfer unit 600 includes mixing chambers 648, 650, 652, 654, and 656, as well as additional mixing chambers as needed. Mixing chamber 648 may correspond to nozzle dispensers 658 and 660 at legacy dispensers 604A, 604B, and/or 604C, mixing chamber 650 may correspond to nozzle dispenser 662 at legacy dispensers 604A, 604B, and/or 604C, mixing chamber 652 may correspond to nozzle dispenser 664 at legacy dispensers 604A, 604B, and/or 604C, mixing chamber 654 may correspond to nozzle dispenser 666 at legacy dispensers 604A, 604B, and/or 604C, and mixing chamber 656 may correspond to nozzle dispenser 658 at legacy dispensers 604A, 604B, and/or 604C. Additional mixing chambers (not shown) may be provided at the transfer unit 600 to correspond to the nozzle dispensers 670, 672, 674, and 678 at the remaining difficult-to-renew dispensers 604A, 604B, and/or 604C.

The beverage ingredients may be supplied to the mixing chamber from the cartridge 112 described previously or from a bag-in-box type container, which, prior to this disclosure, was typically disposed at the beverage dispensing counter.

Syrups and other beverage ingredients may include any one of the beverage ingredients provided by a department company to form a beverage known under the brand name of any department company, for exampleSyrup and other beverage ingredients may be pumped from cartridge 112 or other supply container to the mixing chamber by a pump (not shown) as desired. These pumps may be supplied with CO from tanks 671 or 673₂Driving and passing CO₂Gas bypass line 675 feeds. These pumps may include conventional syrup pumps, such as BIP pumps.

Each mixing chamber may correspond to a particular beverage to be provided to the nozzle of a legacy dispenser 604A, 604B, and/or 604C that is difficult to renew. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, such as conventionalMay be formed in the mixing chamber 648. The inlets of mixing chamber 648 may include a water supply line 680, a sweetener supply line 682, an acidulant supply line 684, and a flavoring agent supply line 686. The mixing chamber 648 may include a beverage outlet line 688. The sweetener, acidulant and flavoring components supplied to mixing chamber 648 may be highly concentrated amounts of the components mixed with water prior to being supplied to mixing chamber 648, e.g., a weight ratio of beverage component to water of about 200: 1. After mixing with water from the water supply line 680, the weight ratio of beverage ingredients to water in the mixture exiting the mixing chamber 648 in the beverage outlet line 688 can be about 5: 1. Water may be supplied to the mixing chamber from the water treatment system 679.

Sweetener line 682 may supply nutritive sweetener and/or non-nutritive sweetener to the mixing chamber. Sweetener line 682 may be the nutritive sweetener pump line 302 or the non-nutritive sweetener pump line 304 described previously.

The present invention has been described and illustrated with reference to the embodiments of the accompanying drawings, but it should be understood that the features of the present invention can be modified, changed or substituted without significantly departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the size, number, size and shape of the various components may be varied to suit a particular application. Accordingly, the particular embodiments illustrated and described herein are for illustrative purposes only and the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims (6)

1. A modular dispensing system, comprising:

at least first and second dispensing heads located at a counter, a transfer unit located in a backroom remote from the counter, piping comprising a main micro-bundle located downstream of the transfer unit and extending from the transfer unit to the counter,

the transfer unit comprises a central reconstitution factory system comprising at least a first mixing chamber corresponding to a first predetermined beverage and at least a second mixing chamber corresponding to a second predetermined beverage,

the central reconstitution factory is configured to combine water with at least a first high-strength beverage ingredient corresponding to a first beverage in the first mixing chamber to form a first reconstituted mixture, and the central reconstitution factory is further configured to combine water with at least a second high-strength beverage ingredient corresponding to a second beverage in the second mixing chamber to form a second reconstituted mixture,

wherein the primary micro-bundle comprises a first reconstitution mixture line configured to deliver a first reconstitution mixture to a first distribution head and a second reconstitution mixture line configured to deliver a second reconstitution mixture to a second distribution head,

wherein the first mixing chamber comprises separate first, second, third and fourth inlets; wherein the first inlet of the first mixing chamber corresponds to a first water supply line, the second inlet of the first mixing chamber corresponds to a first sweetener supply line, the third inlet of the first mixing chamber corresponds to a first sour agent supply line, and the fourth inlet of the first mixing chamber corresponds to a first flavoring agent supply line;

wherein the second mixing chamber comprises separate first, second, third and fourth inlets; wherein the first inlet of the second mixing chamber corresponds to a second water supply line, the second inlet of the second mixing chamber corresponds to a second sweetener supply line, the third inlet of the second mixing chamber corresponds to a second flavoring agent supply line, and the fourth inlet of the second mixing chamber corresponds to a second flavoring agent supply line.

2. The modular dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the first high-strength beverage ingredient entering the first mixing chamber has a weight ratio of beverage ingredient to water of about 200:1 and the second high-strength beverage ingredient entering the second mixing chamber has a weight ratio of beverage ingredient to water of about 200: 1.

3. The modular dispensing system of claim 2, wherein the first reconstituted mixture exiting the first mixing chamber has a weight ratio of the first high strength beverage ingredient to water of about 5:1 and the second reconstituted mixture exiting the second mixing chamber has a weight ratio of the second high strength beverage ingredient to water of about 5: 1.

4. The modular dispensing system of claim 1, wherein the first dispensing head is a component of a first, legacy, difficult-to-renew dispenser and the second dispensing head is a component of a second, legacy, difficult-to-renew dispenser.

5. The modular dispensing system of claim 4, wherein the first high-strength beverage ingredient entering the first mixing chamber has a weight ratio of beverage ingredient to water of about 200:1 and the second high-strength beverage ingredient entering the second mixing chamber has a weight ratio of beverage ingredient to water of about 200: 1.

6. The modular dispensing system of claim 5, wherein the first reconstituted mixture exiting the first mixing chamber has a weight ratio of the first high-strength beverage ingredient to water of about 5:1 and the second reconstituted mixture exiting the second mixing chamber has a weight ratio of the second high-strength beverage ingredient to water of about 5: 1.