Appliance having a user interface panel and a beverage dispenser

Abstract

An appliance including a housing, a dispenser, and a water supply mechanism. The appliance includes a drink supply mechanism configured to removably hold a plurality of drink supply containers, a user interface panel, and a computer. The computer is configured to: cause the user interface panel to display a plurality of different images, each image associated with a different one of a plurality of different beverages which correspond to a drink supply in at least one of the plurality of drink supply containers held by the drink supply mechanism, enable the user interface panel to receive an input from a user of a selected one of the plurality of different displayed images, and after receiving the input from the user of the selected one of the plurality of different displayed images, cause the dispenser to dispense the beverage corresponding to the selected image.

1 . A beverage dispensing apparatus comprising:
 a plurality of housings;   a drink supply mechanism supported by one of the housings, the drink supply mechanism configured to removably hold a plurality of drink supply containers, each drinks supply container containing one of a plurality of different drink supplies, and each drink supply container being at least partially made from a plastic material;   a dispensing mechanism supported by a different one of the housings than the housing which supports the drink supply mechanism;   a plurality of drink supply communication lines fluidly connecting the drink supply mechanism and the dispensing mechanism;   a water supply line fluidly connected to the dispensing mechanism;   a refrigeration mechanism supported by one of the housings;   a CO 2  gas supply line;   a sensor supported by one of the housings;   a user interface panel supported by one of the housings, the user interface panel including a touch screen; and   a computer supported by one of the housings, the computer configured to operate with the user interface panel and the sensor to:
 (a) receive, through at least one data network, a software update; 
 (b) for each drink supply container held by the drink supply mechanism:
 (i) receive an authorization code, 
 (ii) verify that the received authorization code is valid, and 
 (iii) if the received authorization code is not valid, prevent drink supply from being dispensed from the drink supply container; 
 
 (c) cause the user interface panel to display a plurality of different images corresponding to a plurality of different beverages dispensable by the dispensing mechanism; 
 (d) receive, via the touch screen, an input of a selection of one of the plurality of displayed different images; 
 (e) based on the input of the selection, cause the dispensing mechanism to dispense the beverage corresponding to the selected image by mixing at a pre-determined level:
 (i) the drink supply from each drink supply container needed to form the beverage corresponding to the selected image, and 
 (ii) water from the water supply line; 
 
 (f) for each of the plurality of drink supply containers held by the drink supply mechanism:
 (i) track a volume of the drink supply dispensed from the drink supply container, and 
 (ii) send, through the at least one data network, data corresponding to one of: the volume of the drink supply dispensed from the drink supply container and the volume of drink supply remaining in the drink supply container; 
 
 (g) receive, via the sensor, an input of information regarding a replacement of one of the drink supply containers; 
 (h) if one of the plurality of drink supply containers is replaced by another drink supply container containing another drink supply that is different than the drink supply of any of the plurality of drink supply containers, update the user interface panel to display an image different than the displayed plurality of different images; 
 (i) determine if a problem occurs with the beverage dispensing apparatus; and 
 (j) if the problem is determined to occur with the beverage dispensing apparatus, cause a message to be sent through the at least one data network, wherein the message relates to the determined problem. 
   
     
     
         2 . The beverage dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the computer is configured to operate with the user interface panel to display an information message screen relating to: how to change one of the drink supply containers and a location of a drink supply container held by the drink supply mechanism which needs to be replaced. 
     
     
         3 . The beverage dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , which includes a water pressure regulator. 
     
     
         4 . The beverage dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , which includes a motion detector supported by one of the housings, wherein the computer is configured to operate with the user interface panel and the motion detector to detect if a user approaches the user interface panel, and if the user is detected to approach the user interface panel, cause the user interface panel to illuminate. 
     
     
         5 . The beverage dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the computer is configured to operate with the user interface panel to receive, via the touch screen, registration information. 
     
     
         6 . The beverage dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the computer is configured to operate with the user interface panel to receive, via the touch screen, an input corresponding to a drink supply container order. 
     
     
         7 . The beverage dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the computer is configured to receive the software update from a remote server. 
     
     
         8 . The beverage dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein for each of the plurality of drink supply containers held by the drink supply mechanism, the computer is configured to operate with the user interface panel to, in response to an input received via the touch screen, cause the user interface panel to display an indication of one of: the volume of the drink supply dispensed from the drink supply container and the volume of drink supply remaining in the drink supply container. 
     
     
         9 . The beverage dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein for each of the plurality of drink supply containers held by the drink supply mechanism, the computer is configured to cause a message to be sent thought the at least one data network if the drink supply of the drink supply container falls below a predetermined level, the message including order related information. 
     
     
         10 . The beverage dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein for each of the plurality of drink supply containers held by the drink supply mechanism, the computer is configured to determine if the drink supply container needs to be replaced. 
     
     
         11 . The beverage dispensing apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein for each of the plurality of drink supply containers held by the drink supply mechanism, if the drink supply container needs to be replaced, the computer is configured to operate with the user interface panel to cause a display of an indication that the drink supply container needs to be replaced.