Automated beer delivery system

This article discusses the interface between two bottling cellars into a si ngle-fill line through the use of fiber optics. A systems management approa ch ensures brand integrity to meet production profiles. Because quality con trol is critical when doing brand changes and dilution water flushing, cond uctivity probes are employed to sense the differences between brands and di lution water. The selection of brands is verified only when quality control approves the bright beer. This is done through a human-machine interface l ocated in the beer cellars and at the filling station. The system provides the filler operator with the capability to preselect source tanks for beer supply to the filler. When the system detects that the current source tank is nearly empty, the operator is notified. If no intervention is made, the system automatically selects the next predetermined tank.