Mobile product dispensers for storing and dispensing products to consumers at various locations. A mobile product dispensers may include a product dispensing system, a user interface, a powertrain system, and a control unit. The mobile product dispenser may freely roam or follow a predetermined path within its environment of operation, and may engage with and service consumers along its route. A consumer may also summon the mobile product dispenser to a location using a user device such as a smartphone, smartwatch, or the like. The control unit may enable the mobile product dispenser to autonomously travel within its environment of operation and/or to navigate to the location of a consumer.

Among other things, beverages are dispensed from one or more beverage dispensers based on selections made by users. Information about the dispensing of the beverages is sent to a central server where it is used to manage a variety of functions including replacement of depleted supplies of components. Various features of the beverage dispensers enable the beverages that are dispensed to be uniform and appealing to users.

Disclosed is a system for producing a beverage, in particular a cold beverage, comprising a cartridge that has a reservoir filled with a beverage substance, a beverage preparation unit with a cartridge receptacle into which the cartridge can be reversibly inserted, and a cartridge discharge device which causes at least partial transfer of the beverage substance from the reservoir into a mixing chamber; furthermore, the beverage preparation unit comprises a fluid supply which opens into the mixing chamber, or the system includes a movable plunger which is placed inside the reservoir and can be transferred from a starting position into a final position by means of the cartridge discharge device.

A drink dispenser system includes an ingredient supply container including a beverage ingredient, and a source of water. An ingredient supply sensor is operatively associated with the ingredient supply container and configured to sense when the ingredient supply container is empty or nearly empty and generate a signal indicative of the empty or nearly empty state. A handheld dispenser in fluid communication with the ingredient supply container and the source of water includes an indicator. A controller communicates with the ingredient supply sensor and is configured to cause activation of the indicator in response to the signal from the sensor indicative of the empty or nearly empty state.

A method for cooling a mixed beverage formed with one or more beverage components includes circulating a refrigerant through a heat exchanger having a phase change material to cool a beverage component and sensing a temperature of the refrigerant. The method further includes detecting a first instance when the sensed temperature of the refrigerant equals a threshold refrigerant temperature, detecting a second instance when the sensed temperature of the refrigerant equals the threshold refrigerant temperature, and stopping circulation of the refrigerant when the second instance is detected.

A post-mix beverage dispenser utilizing a beverage dispensing valve including a movable valve activation device is provided. The beverage dispensing valve can move the valve activation device to a predetermined activation position to dispense a fluid in response to a control signal.

A representative system includes: an exterior housing defining an interior compartment; a water tank disposed within the interior compartment; a filtration system configured to receive a flow of water from outside the exterior housing, filter the flow of water and provide filtered water to the water tank; an ice maker, disposed along a first flow path from the water tank, configured to produce ice from the filtered water provided from the first flow path; an ice bin configured to receive the ice from the ice maker; a user interface configured to receive a user input corresponding to a request for chilled water; a water control valve, disposed along a second flow path from the water tank, configured to receive the filtered water provided from the second flow path and provide a controlled flow of the filtered water to the ice bin in response to the user input such that the controlled flow of the filtered water is cooled by the ice in the ice bin to form chilled water; and a water dispenser fluidly communicating with the ice bin and configured to provide the chilled water outside of the exterior housing according to the user input.

A representative system includes: an exterior housing defining an interior compartment; a water tank disposed within the interior compartment; a filtration system configured to receive a flow of water from outside the exterior housing, filter the flow of water and provide filtered water to the water tank; an ice maker, disposed along a first flow path from the water tank, configured to produce ice from the filtered water provided from the first flow path; an ice bin configured to receive the ice from the ice maker; a user interface configured to receive a user input corresponding to a request for chilled water; a water control valve, disposed along a second flow path from the water tank, configured to receive the filtered water provided from the second flow path and provide a controlled flow of the filtered water to the ice bin in response to the user input such that the controlled flow of the filtered water is cooled by the ice in the ice bin to form chilled water; and a water dispenser fluidly communicating with the ice bin and configured to provide the chilled water outside of the exterior housing according to the user input.

What is proposed is a beverage preparation machine for producing a beverage, into which a cartridge system having a cartridge and a cartridge receptacle connected to the cartridge can be inserted, wherein the cartridge comprises a reservoir filled with a beverage substance, wherein the cartridge receptacle has a mixing chamber which can be brought into fluid communication with he reservoir, and a fluid supply line opening into the mixing chamber, wherein the cartridge receptacle comprises a compressed-air connection for blowing compressed air into the reservoir with the aid of a compressed-air line, wherein the beverage preparation machine also has a holding unit, into which the cartridge receptacle connected to the cartridge can be inserted, a fluid source for feeding the fluid into the fluid supply line, and a compressed-air source for blowing compressed air into the compressed-air connection, characterized in that the holding unit has a light element which is designed in such a way that the light element at least partially encloses the cartridge receptacle received in the holding unit.

Implementations include actions of receiving consumer-specific data and ID-specific data from an identification presented by a consumer to a vending machine, processing at least a portion of the ID-specific data to determine one or more of whether the identification is unexpired and whether the identification is authentic, and serving the consumer from the vending machine at least partially in response to determining that the identification is unexpired and that the identification is authentic and determining that the consumer is authentic relative to the identification.