Draft beer supply chain systems and methods

1. A method, comprising:

providing information relating to a plurality of characteristics of a liquid within a keg from a wireless electronic communication device attached to the keg, wherein the information is provided to a sensor/transmitter positioned in a recessed cavity at a bottom of the keg;

determining a combined weight of the keg and the liquid within the keg using the sensor/transmitter;

periodically transmitting, at a first time interval, the combined weight of the keg and the liquid within the keg, and the information relating to the plurality of characteristics of the liquid within the keg from the sensor/transmitter to a computer database via a wireless network;

receiving an instruction to transmit at least the combined weight of the keg and the liquid in the keg using the sensor/transmitter at a second time interval from the computer database via the wireless network, wherein the second time interval is different than the first time interval; and

following receipt of the instruction, periodically transmitting, at the second time interval, at least the combined weight of the keg and the liquid within the keg using the sensor/transmitter.

2. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

positioning the wireless electronic communication device within one (1) foot of the sensor/transmitter, and wherein said providing occurs after said positioning;

determining a quantity of liquid within the keg using the information related to the combined weight of the keg and the liquid within the keg;

transmitting information related to the quantity of fluid in the keg to a user interface; and

receiving information with the sensor/transmitter from the computer database via the wireless network;

wherein the wireless communication device is encoded with information relating to a location of the keg.

3. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

positioning the wireless electronic communication device within one (1) foot of the sensor/transmitter, and wherein said providing occurs after said positioning.

4. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

determining a quantity of liquid within the keg using the information related to the combined weight of the keg and the liquid within the keg; and transmitting information related to the quantity of fluid in the keg to a user interface.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication device is encoded with information relating to a location of the keg.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensor/transmitter transmits the information to an uplink/gateway, and wherein the uplink/gateway transmits the information to the wireless network.

7. An apparatus, comprising:

a sensor/transmitter configured to be positioned at a keg bottom, the sensor/transmitter further configured to protrude below the bottom of the keg so that the sensor/transmitter supports the keg when the keg is upright, the sensor/transmitter comprising:

a plurality of weight sensors arranged in an annulus, wherein each of the plurality of weight sensors are configured to measure a combined weight of the keg and a liquid in the keg,

a receiver configured to receive information related to the liquid in the keg from a wireless electronic communication device attached to the keg, wherein the wireless electronic communication device is encoded with the information related to the liquid in the keg, and

a transceiver configured to transmit, at a first time interval, the combined weight of the keg and the liquid in the keg, and the information related to the liquid in the keg to a wireless network, wherein the combined weight of the keg and the liquid in the keg, and the information related to the liquid in the keg are provided to the transceiver by at least one of the plurality of weight sensors and the receiver, respectively, and wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive, at a second time interval, configuration instructions over the wireless network, wherein the configuration instructions are configured to instruct the transceiver of a time interval for waking up, receiving the combined weight of the keg and the liquid in the keg from the at least one of the plurality of weight sensors, and transmitting, at the second time interval, at least the combined weight of the keg and the liquid in the keg, and wherein the second time interval is different than the first time interval.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the wireless electronic communication device is an RFID tag.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the sensor/transmitter includes a pairing button and a pairing indicator, wherein said pairing indicator indicates when the receiver pairs with the wireless electronic communication device encoded with information related to the liquid within the keg.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the sensor/transmitter includes a battery compartment for storing a battery and connecting the battery to power the weight sensor, receiver and transmitter.

11. A system, comprising:

a plurality of wireless electronic communication devices, each encoded with information identifying a characteristic of a liquid within a respective keg, each of the plurality of wireless electronic communication devices configured to attach to the respective keg;

a plurality of sensors, each of the plurality of sensors configured to be positioned in a respective recessed cavity at the bottom of a respective keg, each sensor including:

at least one weight sensor configured to determine a weight of the respective keg, wherein the weight includes the weight of the liquid within the keg in addition to the weight of the keg,

a receiver configured to receive information from a respective one of the plurality of wireless electronic communication devices attached to the respective keg, the information relating to a plurality of characteristics of the liquid within the keg, and

a transmitter configured to periodically transmit, at a first time interval, information to a wireless network, the transmitted information including information from the wireless electronic communication device attached to the respective keg, and the weight of the respective keg;

a computer database configured to receive and store information from each of the plurality of sensors via the wireless network; and

a computing device configured to provide an instruction to at least one of the plurality of sensors, wherein the instruction specifies a second time interval to transmit the information to the wireless network, wherein the second time interval is different than the first time interval.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein each of the plurality of wireless electronic communication devices is an RFID tag configured to attach to an aperture in a keg.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein each of the plurality of sensors is configured and adapted to pair with a wireless electronic communication device of the plurality of wireless electronic communication devices when the sensor is within one (1) foot of the wireless electronic communication device and a user actuates the pairing, each of the plurality of sensors including an indicator indicating when the sensor and a wireless electronic communication device are paired.

14. A weight sensor for a keg, comprising:

a housing configured to fit in a recessed cavity at a bottom of a keg and;

the housing including:

a plurality of weight sensors, each of the plurality of weight sensors configured to determine a combined weight of the keg and a liquid in the keg;

a receiver configured to receive information regarding the liquid in the keg, the information regarding the liquid in the keg encoded on an RFID tag located on the keg, wherein the information at least includes a product name, a product brand, a product type, and an alcohol content of the liquid;

a transmitter coupled to the receiver and at least one of the plurality of weight sensors, the transmitter configured to:

periodically wake up based on a dynamic time interval and receive the combined weight of the keg and the liquid in the keg from the at least one of the plurality of weight sensors, wherein the dynamic time interval changes based on a time of day;

provide at least the combined weight of the keg and the liquid in the keg, the information regarding the liquid in the keg, an identification number associated with the weight sensor, and a location of the weight sensor to an inventory database via a wireless gateway; and

periodically receive dynamic time interval configuration instructions from the inventory database via the wireless gateway, wherein the dynamic time interval configuration instructions change the dynamic time interval.

15. The weight sensor of claim 14 , comprising a pairing switch connected to the housing, wherein actuation of the pairing switch results in the receiver pairing with an receiving information about the fluid in the keg from an identification device.

16. The weight sensor of claim 15 , comprising: a pairing light, wherein the pairing light illuminates when the receiver and the identification device are paired.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second interval is different than the first and third intervals.

18. The weight sensor of claim 14 , wherein the housing is configured to fit within a false bottom of the keg.