Lancer Partnership, Ltd

Lancer Parternship, Ltd.

David C Sudolcan

Thomas J Chadwell

Alfred A Schroeder

Michael Romanyszyn

Merrill R Good

John Vira

William F Everett

Paul S Sudolcan

A beverage dispenser includes an electronic control system for controlling beverage dispenser components. The beverage dispenser components include at least a user interface, a dispensing valve, and a valve interface for regulating the delivery of a beverage from the dispensing valve. The electronic control system includes 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. The electronic control system further includes a program memory with firmware configured in a state machine system architecture for controlling the microcontroller. The state machine system architecture supports either a non-preemptive or a preemptive multitasking real time operating system. The firmware includes supervisory control firmware, dispenser tasks firmware, and low level drivers firmware.

Beverage dispenser including an improved electronic control system

A method and apparatus wherein traditional design methodologies directed toward obtaining minimized component costs are largely set aside in favor of mass customization, reduced design and ownership costs, and shorter design cycles. The distributed architecture contemplates widespread distribution of monitoring and control functions for most device-specific hardware under the direction of a CPU module. In implementation of the distributed architecture, various component modules are placed in communication with the CPU module through at least one and preferably multiple communication busses.

Distributed architecture for food and beverage dispensers

An intelligent volumetric module for use in metering pressurized syrup to a drink dispenser machine comprises a solenoid driven metering system for controlling liquid flows from a pressurized syrup container and a controller for controlling operation of said solenoid driven metering system according to uniquely addressed instructions received from the drink dispenser's system controller. The controller comprises a self-addressing capability, wherein serial communication to all but one non-addressed volumetric module is disrupted while a first address is assigned to that one module. Communication is the enabled along a serial bus to a next non-addressed module, to which a second address is assigned. The process continues until each volumetric module is assigned a unique address and connected to the serial communication bus.

Intelligent volumetric module for drink dispenser

A flow control system () is provided in which a flow control valve () is controlled by a control system (). The control system () measures a flow rate or temperature of a fluid flowing through the flow control valve () and adjusts the flow control valve () to achieve a desired flow rate. The flow control valve () includes an electromagnetically adjustable spool ().

Method and apparatus for flow control

A network topology for communication within and between food service equipment items generally comprises one or more food service equipment items, each having a controller and at least one functional subsystem configured as a slave to the controller, and a master interface and a bus slave interface associated with each controller. Each master interface is adapted for electrical communication over an intra-equipment communication channel with a slave interface associated with the functional subsystem. Each bus slave interface is adapted for communication, external to the food service equipment item, over an inter-equipment communication channel. Each bus slave interface is substantially electrically identical to each slave interface.

Network topology for food service equipment items

A method for monitoring a remotely located industrial process from a central service location generally comprises transmitting, through existing two-way digital paging networks, a monitoring instruction to the remote location, executing an operational command contained in the monitoring instruction on the industrial process, logging the effect of the execution of the command in a history file and transmitting content from the history file back to the central service location. The monitoring instruction may comprise the identification of an operational event for execution by the remotely located industrial process or be adapted for the on demand execution of one or more scripts of operational events. The content of the history files is transmitted, also through the existing two-way digital paging networks, back to the central service location where the data contained therein may be utilized to simulate the remotely operated industrial process according to date and time stamp information transmitted therewith as a computer generated animation of the remotely operated process.

Pseudo real-time diagnostic and process monitoring system

A method and apparatus for dispensing a product includes a support housing, a disposable or non-disposable pump, a disposable product package connectable to the pump, a pump driver connectable to the pump, and a dispensing station on the support housing. The dispensing station supports the pump driver and is adapted to receive the pump and disposable product package. The disposable product package and the pump driver connect to the pump. The pump driver operates the pump to draw product from the disposable product package. When the disposable product package is empty, the disposable product package and the pump if disposable are removed from the dispensing station and disposed.

Method and apparatus for dispensing product

A method and apparatus for theft prevention and/or recovery of stolen drink dispensers generally comprises the provision of an anti-theft device within a drink dispenser machine for detecting illegitimate movements of the machine and thereafter disabling the machine's operation. The disruption of operation is accompanied by an indication on the machine's display panel alerting the possessor of a general failure and requesting the placement of a maintenance service call. Concurrently, an innocuous indicator is also activated for alerting the responding service technician to the possibility that the dispenser machine under repair is stolen.

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Atascosa, TX, United States of America

David C Sudolcan