System and Method for Eco-Friendly Beverage Dispensing Kiosk

Abstract

A beverage dispensing kiosk that contains empty beverage containers and fills them with water and other beverages. The beverage containers comply with applicable regulations and standards to be designated “compostable.” The kiosk uses municipal water as the base, purifies the water, and adds constituents to meet the taste of the ultimate consumer. The delivered beverage may be commonly known as bottled water or as a soft drink, such as a cola beverage.

It is claimed: 
     
         1 . A eco-friendly beverage dispensing kiosk that takes in water from a local water supply facility and that dispenses bottled beverage to consumers, comprising:
 at least one filter that filters water from the local water supply facility to remove impurities and to obtain filtered water;   a housing that contains empty beverage containers, each of said containers comprising a compostable material; and   a mechanism that fills at least one of the empty beverage containers with a beverage that contains the filtered water, seals the at least one container with a cap, and   delivers the filled at least one container to a beverage recipient.   
     
     
         2 . The kiosk of  claim 1 , where the cap is sealed to the at least one container with a seal that the beverage recipient must break prior to drinking the beverage. 
     
     
         3 . The kiosk of  claim 1  where the top of the cap includes a hole therein, and the at least one container is filled through the hole in the cap. 
     
     
         4 . The kiosk of  claim 3  where the hole in the cap is permanently sealed following the filling of the beverage container. 
     
     
         5 . The kiosk of  claim 1 , further comprising a refrigeration device that chills the water from the standard local water supply facility before the at least one container is filled. 
     
     
         6 . The kiosk of  claim 1 , further comprising a camera that can read QR codes displayed by a handheld computer 
     
     
         7 . The kiosk of  claim 6  where the handheld computer is a smart phone,
 a tablet computer or a laptop computer. 
 
     
     
         8 . The kiosk of  claim 1 , further comprising a wireless receiver receiving wireless signals from a handheld computer of the recipient, said wireless signals carrying information about the purchaser's preferred additives, wherein the mechanism adds the preferred additives to the water filtered from the local water supply facility before filling the at least one container. 
     
     
         9 . The kiosk of  claim 10  where the handheld computer is a smart phone,
 a tablet computer, or 
 a laptop computer. 
 
     
     
         10 . The kiosk of  claim 1 , further comprising a wireless receiver receiving wireless signals from a handheld computer of the recipient, said wireless signals authorizing payment for the filled at least one container by a financial institution on behalf of the recipient. 
     
     
         11 . The kiosk of  claim 14  where the handheld computer is a smart phone,
 a tablet computer or 
 a laptop computer. 
 
     
     
         12 . The kiosk of  claim 1 , further comprising a computer processor that can communicate with a payment processing computer to enable automatic deduction from a pre-paid account that was funded by the beverage recipient in advance of a purchase. 
     
     
         13 . The kiosk of  claim 1 , further comprising a computer processor that contains a database of information about persons previously utilizing the kiosk. 
     
     
         14 . The kiosk of  claim 1  wherein the kiosk is part of a network of kiosks that are connected via a communications network to a central database of information about persons previously utilizing the kiosk or another kiosk that is part of the network of kiosks. 
     
     
         15 . The kiosk of  claim 1 , further comprising a wireless or other communications device to communicate two ways between the kiosk and a centralized computer with a database providing information to the kiosk. 
     
     
         16 . The kiosk of  claim 1  where no wastewater is produced in the process of filling the beverage container. 
     
     
         17 . The kiosk of  claim 1  where filtering is performed via an ultraviolet light or reverse osmosis. 
     
     
         18 . The kiosk of  claim 1  where filtering is performed with a carbon filter. 
     
     
         19 . The kiosk of  claim 18  where no water is used to flush the carbon filter. 
     
     
         20 . The kiosk of  claim 1 , further comprising tubing to carry liquid wherein said tubing allows no detectable leaching of impurities in the liquid as the liquid flows through the tubing. 
     
     
         21 . The kiosk of  claim 20  where at least some of the tubing is composed of stainless steel. 
     
     
         22 . The kiosk of  claim 1  where the mechanism adds additives to the filtered water, wherein the additives added are selected by the recipient of the beverage. 
     
     
         23 . The kiosk of  claim 22  where the additive is one or more flavors. 
     
     
         24 . The kiosk of  claim 22  where the additive is carbonation. 
     
     
         25 . The kiosk of  claim 22  where the additive is caffeine. 
     
     
         26 . The kiosk of  claim 22  where the additive increases or decreases the pH of the beverage. 
     
     
         27 . The kiosk of  claim 22 , further comprising a wireless communications component that can retrieve beverage recipient's preferred set of additives from a database linked to or stored on another computer remote from the kiosk. 
     
     
         28 . The kiosk of  claim 1 , further comprising a closed-loop maintenance system to maintain the kiosk. 
     
     
         29 . The kiosk of  claim 28 , wherein the kiosk is part of a network of kiosks that are connected via a communications network to a central database wherein the central database contains information about the kiosks in the network and number of beverage containers filled at each kiosk in the network. 
     
     
         30 . The kiosk of  claim 29  where the central database contains information about all service calls to each kiosk in the network. 
     
     
         31 . The kiosk of  claim 28  where the central database contains information about the history of filters and pumps in each kiosk in the network. 
     
     
         32 . The kiosk of  claim 1  wherein the containers are delivered to the kiosk in pre-filled cartridges. 
     
     
         33 . An eco-friendly beverage dispensing method comprising:
 receiving water from a local water supply facility;   filtering water from the standard local water supply facility to remove impurities and to obtain filtered water;   filling at least one empty beverage container with a beverage that contains the filtered water, the at least one empty beverage container comprising a compostable material;   sealing the at least one container with a cap, and   delivering the filled at least one container to a beverage recipient.