GB2322691A

GB2322691A - Beverage dispenser

Info

Publication number: GB2322691A
Application number: GB9803995A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sammy James Engineer; Kenneth John Burrell
Original assignee: Whitbread PLC; Whitbread and Co Ltd
Current assignee: Whitbread PLC; Whitbread and Co Ltd
Priority date: 1997-02-27
Filing date: 1998-02-25
Publication date: 1998-09-02
Anticipated expiration: 2018-02-25
Also published as: GB2322691B; GB9803995D0; EP0861801A1

Abstract

A beverage dispenser has a long outlet spout (9) which in use extends to the bottom of a glass into which the beverage is to be dispensed. A valve is provided at the bottom of the spout (9). The valve is in the form of a plunger (3) having a generally conical shape with concavely curved sidewalls to smooth the flow of beverage. The discharge end of the spout has longitudinal projections (5) which define spaces (10, figures 2 and 3) through which beverage may flow when end of the spout abuts the bottom of a glass.

Description

1 2322691 BEVERAGE DISPENSER Beer and other beverages are conventionally

dispensed through a beverage tap which comprises an inlet to a housing, an outlet spout from the housing, and a valve within the fluid path in the housing for controlling the flow of beer through the tap.

A problem with conventional beverage taps is the time taken to dispense beverage into a glass. Typically it takes between 15 and 20 seconds to dispense a pint of beverage into a glass. It is important that beverages can be dispensed as quickly as possible to keep up with customer demand.

Reducing the time taken to dispense beverage is particularly difficult for high carbonation beverages such as lager. Typically, taps for dispensing high carbonation beverages comprise a short delivery spout from which the beverage drops into the glass, falling either directly onto the glass or onto beverage already dispensed in the glass.

Due to the high carbonation level in the beverage, gas is liberated from the beverage as it hits the glass or surface of beverage already in the glass, and this liberation of gas causes excessive foam formation. Where this occurs, it is necessary to wait until the foam has collapsed before the remainder of the beverage can be dispensed. As the amount of gas liberated depends partly on the force with which the beverage falls onto the glass or beverage in the glass, the speed at which the beverage can be dispensed is limited to reduce the force and prevent excess foam formation.

It is also known to use a dispensing tap having a long spout including a sparkler which provides a restriction to the flow of beer which causes agitation of the beer as it is dispensed. The spout extends to the bottom of a glass and dispenses the beverage at the bottom of the glass. During the passage of the beverage through the empty spout, air in the spout is entrained with the beverage. As the 2 beverage passes through the sparkler and hits the bottom of the glass, this agitates the beer and leads to the formation of gas bubbles. Accordingly, this system is not suitable for dispensing high carbonation beverages as the entraining of air and the agitation caused by the sparkler and impact with the bottom of the glass causes excessive liberation of gas and overfoaming. Such long spout dispensing systems are therefore used for low carbonation beverages such as ales and stout.

US-A-2,450,315 discloses a hand pump for dispensing beer including a long dispense spout having a reduced diameter outlet including a seat against which a spherical valve member abuts to close the spout. Actuation of the pump moves the valve member away from the seat to allow dispensing of the beverage, which will jet through the small diameter opening. This jetting causes agitation of the beverage and consequent liberation of gas from the beverage. Accordingly, this pump is better suited for dispensing low carbonation beverages than high carbonation beverages.

US-A-5,603,363 discloses an apparatus for dispensing carbonated beverages which includes a header tank containing the beverage to be dispensed, and a spout leading from the tank through which the beverage is dispensed. A conical valve member is provided at the opening of the spout and is movable between a closed position in which the open end of the spout is shut off, and an open position away from the open end of the spout to allow the beverage to be dispensed. The valve member is controlled to open and close by a computer. The conical shape of the valve member causes the dispensed beverage to disperse outwardly in all directions. This is designed to minimize foaming of the beverage as it is dispensed. The spout is of a length at least as great as the depth of the container in which the beverage is to be dispensed. By positioning the end of the spout towards the bottom of the container into which the beverage is dispensed, most of the 3 beverage will be dispensed below the surface of the already dispensed beverage. This is designed to minimize the amount of air which mixes with the beverage as it is dispensed, and thereby minimizes foaming of the beverage.

According to the present invention, a beverage dispenser includes a beverage inlet, a beverage outlet spout, a valve member located substantially adjacent the outlet of the spout and movable between a closed position in which the valve member seats against the spout and an open position, and longitudinal projections which project beyond the valve member in its open position.

With this arrangement, when beverage is dispensed from the dispensing system, there is an initial pressure of beverage throughout the dispensing system to the valve near the end of the dispensing spout. Therefore, when the valve is opened, the beverage flows through the spout, without entraining any air as it passes through the spout. When dispensing a beverage into a glass or other vessel, the bottom of the glass can be pushed up against the projections, and the valve member remains above the bottom of the glass. This ensures that the glass does not prevent or affect the opening of the valve. This also ensures there is a space between the bottom of the valve member and the glass to accommodate the beverage flow into the glass.

In use, the ends of the projections are pressed against the bottom of the glass. Therefore, during most of the dispense, the end of the spout is positioned below the surface of beverage in the glass into which the beverage is dispensed. In this way, due to the location of the valve., there is nothing to cause the liberation of gas as the beverage passes through the dispensing system, and the beverage does not fall onto either the glass or beverage in the glass as it is dispensed. In this way there is minimal liberation of gas and consequent foam generation as the beverage is dispensed, and therefore the beverage can be dispensed at a higher rate than with conventional systems. By positioning the end of the spout near the bottom of the 4 glass, there is a high pressure at the end of the spout due to the maximum amount of beverage above the outlet. Another advantage of the provision of the valve at the outlet end of the spout is that it is more hygienic than conventional systems as it remains closed when not in use.

Preferably the valve member seats against a surface within the spout remote from the extreme end of the spout. In this case it is preferred that a generally cylindrical skirt extends from the seating surface and circurferentially surrounds the valve member. This ensures that if the valve member is opened when the end of the spout is not near the bottom of a glass, the beverage will be dispensed vertically downwards rather than be jetted sideways. This is especially useful when cleaning the dispenser, in which case it is common to pass corrosive liquids through the dispenser. The valve member may be connected to a control rod which extends through the spout to an actuator. The actuator may be in the f orm of a solenoid or other electronic control, but is preferably a hand operated actuator such as a lever which is moved to push or pull the control rod by a camming action. The control rod is preferably coaxial with the spout. This avoids the valve member from being out of alignment with the seating surface which may otherwise result in jetting of the beverage as the valve is opened. A means f or keeping the control rod coaxial with the spout may comprise a spacer, for example projections provided on the inside of the spout or on the control rod, or a separate spacing element having vains or spokes, to maintain the desired arrangement.

The valve member is preferably arranged to laterally disperse the flow of the beverage as it is dispensed. With this arrangement, as the beverage is dispensed through the spout, the velocity of the beverage is reduced, so that less gas is liberated from the beverage as it fills a glass into which it is dispensed. Furthermore, as the beverage is dispensed laterally rather than being projected straight down onto the glass or onto the surface of beverage already dispensed, the impact of the beverage and consequent liberation of gas from the beverage is reduced. Where the spout opens near the bottom of the glass into which the beverage is to be dispensed, the beverage flowing through the spout is gradually diverted sideways, generally parallel to the bottom of the glass, and in this way the beverage does not fall against the bottom of the glass or against beverage previously dispensed, and therefore there is minimal liberation of gas from the beverage. This allows the beverage to be dispensed more quickly than with conventional systems.

The valve member preferably has a generally conical shape, and preferably has concave sides to gradually divert the flow of beverage sideways. Advantageously the spout includes an internal generally conical portion, and preferably this has concave sides to gradually divert the flow if beverage sideways. Preferably the concave sides of the internal portion of the spout have a smaller radius of curvature than the concave sides of the valve member to give a good seal when the valve member seats against the spout.

The valve member or the seat against which the valve member closes is advantageously coated with a resilient material, for example rubber. This gives a good seal when the valve member seats against the spout. Preferably the outer surface of the spout is curved along its length. This helps liquid to drain freely from the spout. 30 The dispenser according to the present invention is not limited to dispensing high carbonation beverages. Particular examples of the present invention will be described in accordance with the accompanying drawings, in which: 35 Figure 1 shows a cross-section through a dispenser in the open position according to the present invention; 6 Figure 2 shows a view of the dispenser of Figure 1 from below with the valve member removed; Figure 3 shows a cross-section through the end of the dispenser of Figure 1 when closed; and, Figure 4 shows a handle arrangement for operating the valve.

As shown in Figure 1, the dispenser includes an inlet portion 1 through which beer or other beverage enters the dispenser. The beverage passes down a spout 9 towards an outlet 2. The spout 9 is of a length such that it can extend to the bottom of a glass which is to be filled from the dispenser, typically 150mm. The spout may have an internal diameter of about 10mm. The outer surface of the spout 9 is curved to help liquid drain off it.

At the bottom of the spout 9 is provided a plunger 3. The plunger 3 is connected by a longitudinally extending rod 6 to a lever 8 on the top of the dispenser. A spacer 11 comprising protrusions on the inner surface of the spout 9 ensure the control rod 6 is maintained co-axially with the spout 9, and thereby ensures the plunger 3 seats correctly on spout 9. By operating the lever 8, the rod 6 is pushed or pulled causing the plunger 3 to move between the open position as shown in Figure 1 in which the plunger 3 is remote from a seating surface near the end of the spout 9, to the closed position as shown in Figure 3 in which the plunger 3 seals against the seating surface. In this way, operation of the lever 8 in the conventional manner opens and closes a valve to allow and prevent the dispensing of beverage respectively. The plunger 3 travels by about 5mTn between its open and closed position.

The operation of the lever 8 can be seen in greater detail from Figure 4. As shown best in Figure 4a, a rod 20 which is connected to the rod 6, is pivotally connected to the handle 8. The pivotal connection is at a height B (for example lomm) above the top of the housing and a distance A (for example 5mm) from the side of the lever 8, where B is greater than A, so that movement of the lever 8 as 7 indicated by the arrow to the position shown in Figure 4b causes the rod 20 to move downwards, thereby opening the valve in the spout.

The plunger 3 has a generally conical shape, with concavely shaped side walls. The end of the spout 9 has an inner surface with a similar shape but having a smaller radius of curvature. The outer surface of the plunger 3 is closed with a rubber layer 4. This gives a good seal when the plunger 3 seals against the seat. The profile of the plunger 3 ensure that as the valve is opened, beverage flowing down the spout 9 is gradually diverted from a generally vertical flow to a horizontal flow. As the beverage is diverted, it is spread out, thereby reducing its velocity as it leaves the spout 9. By slowing the beverage, and introducing this sideways close to the bottom of the glass, rather than projecting it at high velocity a large distance directly onto the bottom of the glass or onto the surface of beverage already dispensed, there is less agitation of the beverage, and therefore less liberation of gas as it is dispensed. This means that the beverage can be dispensed at a high rate without excessive foam formation.

As best seen from Figure 2, four legs 5 project longitudinally from the end of the spout 9. The legs 5 project further than the lowermost position of the plunger 3. Therefore when the bottom of a glass to be filled is pressed up against the dispenser, the bottom of the legs 5 contact the bottom of the glass, and prevent the plunger 3 from contacting the bottom of the glass and thereby affecting the opening of the spout 9. The legs are spaced from each other to give spaces 10 through which beverage flows from the spout 9 into the glass. The legs 5 are rounded to minimise flow disruption during dispense and hence to minimise liberation of gas from the beverage during dispense.

8

Claims

1. A beverage dispenser including a beverage inlet, a beverage outlet spout, a valve member located substantially adjacent the outlet of the spout and movable between a closed position in which the valve member seats against the spout and an open position, and longitudinal projections which project beyond the valve member in its open position.

2. A beverage dispenser according to claim 1, in which the valve member seats against a surface within the spout remote from the extreme end of the spout.

3. A beverage dispenser according to claim 1, in which a generally cylindrical skirt extends from the seating surface and circumferentially surrounds the valve member.

4. A beverage dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the valve member is connected to a control rod which extends through the spout to an actuator.

5. A beverage dispenser according to claim 4, further comprising a spacing means to maintain the control rod and spout in coaxial relationship.

6. A beverage dispenser according to claim 4 or 5, in which the actuator is a hand operated actuator such as a lever which is moved to push or pull the control rod by a camming action.

7. A beverage dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the valve member is arranged to laterally disperse the flow of the beverage as it is dispensed.

8. A beverage dispenser according to claim 7, in which the valve member has a generally conical shape, and preferably has concave sides to gradually divert the flow of beverage sideways.

9. A beverage dispenser according to claim 7 or 8, in which the spout includes an internalgenerally conical portion, and preferably this has concave sides to gradually divert the flow if beverage sideways.

9

10. A beverage dispenser according to claim 9 when dependent upon claim 8, in which the concave sides of the internal portion of the spout have a smaller radius of curvature that the concave sides of the valve member.

11. A beverage dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the valve member or the seat against which the valve member closes is coated with a resilient material, for example rubber.

12. A beverage dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the outer surface of the spout is curved along its length.

13. A beverage dispenser as shown in, or as described with reference to, the accompanying drawings.