A system for carbonating fluid is provided comprising a gas supply and a fluid vessel for carbonating fluid, the fluid vessel having at least one internal surface for obstructing a return path of the gas to an upper surface of the fluid after injection. A retainer retains the fluid vessel relative to the gas supply and a gas injector injects gas from the gas supply into the fluid vessel. During use, the gas injector injects gas below a fluid level within the fluid vessel.

There is provided a system comprising a plurality of reusable and portable beverage containers the system further comprising at least one beverage dispensing station adapted to support one of the beverage containers, and connect to the beverage container such that beverage can be dispensed from the container, said beverage dispensing station comprising an identity tag reader configured to read the identity tag of a beverage container, said beverage dispensing station further comprising a wireless network interface, where the beverage dispensing station has dispensing prevention means which prevents a user from dispensing beverage from the dispenser, the system further comprising a server in communication with the beverage dispensing station, said server having stored a dataset comprising the identities of each of the plurality of beverage containers, wherein a beverage container can be flagged, in the dataset, for activation of the be dispensing prevention means, and the system is configured to, when a beverage container is flagged for activation of the beverage dispensing prevention means, activate the dispensing prevention means of the dispensing station.

Provided is a portable, self-contained beverage apparatus. The beverage apparatus includes a container assembly having a known storage capacity for storing a consumable liquid, and a dispensing assembly disposed within the container assembly that dispenses variable, non-zero quantities of additives into the consumable liquid. The dispensing assembly includes multiple apertures structured and arranged to retain vessels containing the additives to be dispensed into the consumable liquid. The beverage apparatus also includes a level sensor disposed within the container assembly that determines a consumable liquid level of the consumable liquid stored in the container assembly.

A system for dispensing one or more beverages is disclosed. The system may include a nozzle, one or more macro-ingredients in fluid communication with the nozzle, and a number of micro-ingredients in fluid communication with the nozzle. The nozzle is configured to dispense a beverage formed by the one or more macro-ingredients and one or more of the micro-ingredients.

A self-service wine tasting system includes automatic wine dispensers, a cloud server and user terminals. The automatic wine dispenser includes wine dispensing stations, a machine identity and a first telecommunication module. The first telecommunication module is connected to a control chip of the automatic wine dispenser. The cloud server includes a storage and a second telecommunication module. The second telecommunication module is in communication connection with the first telecommunication module. The storage stores wine storage information associated with the machine code of each automatic wine dispenser. The user terminal includes an identification device and a third telecommunication module. The third telecommunication module is in communication connection with the second telecommunication module. The self-service wine tasting system facilitates the wine taster to record the tasting behavior.

The disclosure concerns a dispensing system, having at least one dispense location with at least one dispensing head configured to dispense a beverage through a bottom portion of a container. In one aspect, the dispensing head may dispense a plurality of different beverage ingredients which a user may select to dispense a custom beverage. In another aspect the dispensing system comprises a modular dispensing system having a plurality of dispense locations each connected through piping to a central, remote ingredient system.

A system for dispensing fluid is provided in which a first fluid cartridge and a second fluid cartridge each comprise a first spout at corresponding fluid outlets, and wherein a docking location is provided for docking each of the fluid cartridges such that the first spout is adjacent the second spout. The system may further comprise a drop sensor for detecting a number of drops dispensed from the fluid cartridges at a drop detection location. The docking location may define a specific orientation for any cartridge docked at the docking location, and the cartridges may be wedge shaped and may each taper towards their corresponding spouts. Also provided is a fluid cartridge comprising a cartridge housing, a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet above a fluid fill level, and a syphon for transporting fluid from inside the cartridge to the fluid outlet.

A portable, self-contained beverage apparatus includes a container assembly having a known storage capacity for storing a consumable liquid, and a dispensing assembly disposed within the container assembly that dispenses variable, non-zero quantities of additives into the consumable liquid. The dispensing assembly includes multiple apertures structured and arranged to retain vessels containing the additives to be dispensed into the consumable liquid. The beverage apparatus also includes a level sensor disposed within the container assembly that determines a consumable liquid level of the consumable liquid stored in the container assembly. In certain embodiments, one or more positive displacement pumping mechanisms are configured to pump additive liquid from additive containers into a beverage chamber.

A cartridge is disclosed for containing and dispensing a fluid. The cartridge includes an outer housing enclosing an inner volume, an output spout, a plunger, and a first rib. The plunger is positioned within the internal volume and engages with the internal diameter of the outer housing. The first rib is positioned along at least a portion of the outer housing, and includes at least one identifier. The identifier includes the presence or absence of a recess at a plurality of locations along the first rib. Movement of the plunger within the internal volume forces a fluid from the internal volume out through the output spout.

A radio frequency identification (RFID) dispenser that includes low cost electronic components that can read and write to the tag of a refill cartridge. In one embodiment, the reader utilizes a multi band pass filter to convert the radio frequency identification into a digital signal that is processed by a controller to perform a dispensing function representative to the code of the tag. In another embodiment, the controller utilizes an internal comparator to convert the radio frequency identification into a digital signal that is processed by a controller to perform a dispensing function representative to the code of the tag. The dispenser in both embodiments also includes a pair of transistors that write to the RFID tag of the refill cartridge. A dispenser according to the invention also includes the capability to read and/or write to tags upon cartridges employed by the dispenser, and augmenting the operation of the dispenser as a function thereof. Additionally, a dispenser of variable size is presented that is adaptable, through adjustable partitions or a telescoping cup, to receive and maintain cartridges of various sizes.