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Soda Fountain Dispenser Technology - Page 2

Blogs > micronesia
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Prev 1 2 All
Horrde
Profile Joined March 2010
Canada302 Posts
December 02 2010 14:08 GMT
#21
Well, what I was was a simplified version. When I say it's not really that hard, I mean the jist of it isn't at all hard to understand. I assume the patent above is not the one OP was referring to, as it relies on the liquid or foam to overflow. That goes without saying that there would be simple circuitry inside however. But the lever, being calibrated, treats the size and weight of the liquid together as a predetermined ratio.
Trap
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
United States395 Posts
December 02 2010 14:52 GMT
#22
I've loaded the syrup packs into these machines but never examined the nozzles closely. I would guess it's similar to how a gas pump stops dispensing gas when you have a full tank: there's a secondary valve that when obstructed by fluid (when the cup is filled to the nozzle) creates a vacuum which pulls up on a diaphragm, stopping the main soda stream.
coffeetoss | "Team Liquid Fantasy Proleague: Tales of Miserable Failure and Deep Regret" -Kanil
UisTehSux
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
United States693 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-12-02 15:27:48
December 02 2010 15:13 GMT
#23
I work at Arby's, and on the drive thru fountain there are different buttons for different sizes. I think ours is outdated though and with Small through medium it's hit and miss as sometimes they are not full enough or overflow, different for each nozzle oddly. XL is always on the spot for some reason.

We just manually poor it if it's really busy to avoid any chances of spills. There is Value, Small, Medium, Large, and extra large. Below all of these buttons is a button that functions similar to the lever in the front lobby's fountain. Hold it down and the soda is dispensed.

The drive thru dispensers ( at Arby's atleast) don't have levers. But have a large well to poor drinks, like if you got the wrong one. Also we have to scoop up the ice ourselves into the cup.

Also, I don't recommend getting drinks at fast food joints anyways:

http://www.disinfo.com/2010/01/nearly-half-of-fast-food-soda-fountains-contain-bacteria-that-grew-in-feces/
I underestimated that boy. No... it was not the boy I underestimated, it was the Triforce of Courage.
meeple
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
Canada10211 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-12-02 15:47:24
December 02 2010 15:46 GMT
#24
On December 03 2010 00:13 UisTehSux wrote:
I work at Arby's, and on the drive thru fountain there are different buttons for different sizes. I think ours is outdated though and with Small through medium it's hit and miss as sometimes they are not full enough or overflow, different for each nozzle oddly. XL is always on the spot for some reason.

We just manually poor it if it's really busy to avoid any chances of spills. There is Value, Small, Medium, Large, and extra large. Below all of these buttons is a button that functions similar to the lever in the front lobby's fountain. Hold it down and the soda is dispensed.

The drive thru dispensers ( at Arby's atleast) don't have levers. But have a large well to poor drinks, like if you got the wrong one. Also we have to scoop up the ice ourselves into the cup.

Also, I don't recommend getting drinks at fast food joints anyways:

http://www.disinfo.com/2010/01/nearly-half-of-fast-food-soda-fountains-contain-bacteria-that-grew-in-feces/


lmao... then why doesn't every get sick all the time from drinking coke at those machines? This type of bacteria is everywhere, and not the kind you should be worrying about.

As for the filling machine, I'd bet a healthy chunk that its an overflow sensor of the type that has been described.
CrownRoyal
Profile Blog Joined November 2005
Vatican City State1872 Posts
December 02 2010 17:04 GMT
#25
Mcdonalds got these when they got their "McCafe"'s I was travelling the USA doing all of the McCafe upgrade stuff for mcdonalds everywhere... man that was a cool job. Anyways, that experience in my life could be a completely new blog so I'll just explain how the machine works (I did install a few of them)

They work by having a rotating bottom that the cups sit in. The register tells the machine what drinks to make, and it makes them automatically. Everything from small with no ice to extra large. It doesn't lean against the lever... that's ignorant. The rotating bottom moves the cup to where it needs to be in unison with the fountain dispenser and displaces the perfect amount of liquid based on what you ordered at the register.

hope that helps,
You're pretty when I'm drunk.
CrownRoyal
Profile Blog Joined November 2005
Vatican City State1872 Posts
December 02 2010 17:08 GMT
#26
actually in theory, that is how they are supposed to work.

it seems like I usually see the people push buttons for my drink so maybe mcdonalds decided it was -ev and the technology wasn't sound enough to run completely hands free
You're pretty when I'm drunk.
Versita
Profile Joined February 2010
Canada1032 Posts
December 02 2010 19:38 GMT
#27
On December 03 2010 02:04 CrownRoyal wrote:
Mcdonalds got these when they got their "McCafe"'s I was travelling the USA doing all of the McCafe upgrade stuff for mcdonalds everywhere... man that was a cool job. Anyways, that experience in my life could be a completely new blog so I'll just explain how the machine works (I did install a few of them)

They work by having a rotating bottom that the cups sit in. The register tells the machine what drinks to make, and it makes them automatically. Everything from small with no ice to extra large. It doesn't lean against the lever... that's ignorant. The rotating bottom moves the cup to where it needs to be in unison with the fountain dispenser and displaces the perfect amount of liquid based on what you ordered at the register.

hope that helps,


I've actually never seen a dispenser like that, but I rarely go to McDonald's and live in Canada.

Also, I'm pretty sure I've seen a machine like the one described in the OP. I'm also fairly certain that the dispenser described in the OP (if micronesia and I are thinking of the same device) doesn't receive any information from the register as to what the customer ordered, so I don't think that the dispenser uses another mechanism to detect when the cup is full.
micronesia
Profile Blog Joined July 2006
United States24755 Posts
December 02 2010 23:11 GMT
#28
On December 03 2010 02:04 CrownRoyal wrote:
It doesn't lean against the lever... that's ignorant.

Umm... it does on the machines that I've seen lol

Obviously not the same as the ones you are talking about...
ModeratorThere are animal crackers for people and there are people crackers for animals.
Razt
Profile Joined January 2008
United States97 Posts
December 03 2010 03:44 GMT
#29
On December 03 2010 02:04 CrownRoyal wrote:
Mcdonalds got these when they got their "McCafe"'s I was travelling the USA doing all of the McCafe upgrade stuff for mcdonalds everywhere... man that was a cool job. Anyways, that experience in my life could be a completely new blog so I'll just explain how the machine works (I did install a few of them)

They work by having a rotating bottom that the cups sit in. The register tells the machine what drinks to make, and it makes them automatically. Everything from small with no ice to extra large. It doesn't lean against the lever... that's ignorant. The rotating bottom moves the cup to where it needs to be in unison with the fountain dispenser and displaces the perfect amount of liquid based on what you ordered at the register.

hope that helps,


Worked at mcdonalds for little over a year and these are the machines i've seen. Every drink other than the teas and coffee was automatically dispensed (including ice) to what the order info was. So i'll i had to do was put lids on the drinks and make sure i put them in the order on the screen to tell them apart.

NeoLearner
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
Belgium1847 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-12-03 07:11:34
December 03 2010 06:51 GMT
#30
On December 02 2010 22:39 Horrde wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 02 2010 19:21 NeoLearner wrote:
My stab would be a level measurement sensor, like an optical time-of-flight like thing or a non-contact ultrasonic sensor.

Requirement for this is that the liquid level in the different cups has to have the same height. They could have a different volume but this would have to be done by making the cups wider, not higher. Don't know if this is the case in the machine you're talking about.

They are throw away cups, right? Otherwise RFID tag.

It shows I'm an electronics engineer, doesn't it?


To your last line, no, it doesn't. It shows that your a student in the field. 1st year perhaps. Don't worry, the prestige you feel of potentially being one right now will be shortlived after spending anything over 1 year in the workplace after you graduate. Trust me

Got my Master's degree in 2007 , 3.5 years of experience designing automotive electronics. In the workplace, as you say. So I guess I will have to Trust you on that one. When does this imaginary "wall" pop up?

Sincere apologies for not having relevant soda fountain experience. I was just brain storming and thinking about possible ways to implement something.
Bankai - Correlation does not imply causation
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