IE55576B1 - Post-mix beverage dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

A lightweight, portable post-mix carbonated beverage dispenser unit for use in small offices or small-volume locations is described. Flavoured syrup is supplied to the unit from disposable sealed syrup packages SP which are plugged into a dispenser valving system. CO2 is supplied to the unit carbonator system CT in returnable containers 42 which also may be quickly plugged into a CO2 valving system 44. A thermoelectric refrigeration system 72 may be provided to decrease noise and the number of moving parts or a mechanical freon system may be used. The unit construction may be modular for ease of repair. The cabinet is injection-molded from plastic. Water is supplied to the unit for mixing with the CO2 and syrup from a water reservoir WR which may be manually filled. The refrigeration system cools the water in the reservoir, as well as the syrup packages and carbonator tank.

Description

2 This invention relates to post-mix beverage dispensers which are suitable for use in for example small offices or other small volume locations.

Heretofore, the majority of commercially-5 available post-mix beverage dispenser units have been designed for large volume commercial uses such as fast food restaurants. Because of these large volume uses, design criteria have emphasized optimum cooling and dispenser speed rather than 10 low unit cost, size and portability. Although some consideration has been given to cost, size and portability even in these large volume commercial units, the resulting unit designs are generally far too expensive, bulky and heavy for small volume 15 use.

Some attempts have been made in the beverage dispenser industry to reduce the cost, size and weight of these units to make them available for use by the general public. However, the units 20 designed heretofore have lacked sufficient cooling capacity, dispensing efficiency, beverage quality and reliability as a trade off to achieving the aforementioned low cost, size and portability needed for consumer acceptance.

In order to be accepted by the small volume consumer, post-mix dispenser units must be easy to set up for use, compact, lightweight, easily repaired, reliable and, most importantly, inexpensive. In addition, the syrup, water and C02 supplies 30 must be quickly and easily replenished during use by an unskilled consumer.

EP-A-0022589 discloses a post-mix, carbonated beverage dispenser apparatus comprising: (a) a cabinet having a front wall; 3 (b) a carbonater within said cabinet; (c) a manually refillable water reservoir within said cabinet; (d) syrup container support means adjacent to said front wall of the said cabinet for receiving and supporting at least one replacable syrup container; (e) means for receiving and supporting at lease one replaceable C02 cylinder for supplying COj gas to said carbonator; and (f 1 a dispensing station at said cabinet front wall for delivering a post-mix carbonated beverage formed from a mixture of syrup and carbonated water.

In the apparatus disclosed in the above mentioned application the water reservoir and the C02 cylinder support means are at the back of the cabinet and are thus not readily accessible to a user.

EP-A-0027880 discloses another beverage dispenser apparatus which has similar disadvantages.

The present invention provides a post-mix, carbonated beverage dispenser apparatus comprising: (a) a cabinet having front wall; (b) a carbonater within said cabinet; (c) a manually refillable water reservoir within said cabinet; (d) syrup container support means adjacent to said front wall of the said cabinet for receiving and supporting at least one replaceable syrup container; (el means for receiving and supporting at least one replaceable C02 cylinder for . supplying 2 gas to said carbonator; and (£) a dispensing station at said cabinet front wall for delivering a post-mix carbonated beverage formed from a mixture o£ syrup and carbonated water: characterised in that the said water reservoir has an entrance opening adjacent the said front wall of the cabinet for receiving a manually introduced water supply, and the said C02 cylinder support means is located adjacent said cabinet front wall, whereby all of those parts 4 of the apparatus which contain the ingredients of the post-mix beverage and which need to be manually refilled or replaced during use, i.e. the water reservoir, the syrup container or containers, and the C02 cylinder or cylinders, are readily accessible to a user at or adjacent the said front wall of the cabinet.

Two embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichs- Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a post-mix beverage dispenser unit of the present invention; Figure 2 is a left-side elevational view of the post-mix beverage dispenser unit of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a right-side elevational view of the post-mix beverage dispenser unit of Figure 1» Figure 4 is a back elevational view of the post-mix beverage dispenser unit of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a top plan view of the post-mix beverage dispenser unit of Figure 1 with the top access panels removed to illustrate the compartments for housing the respective component parts of the post-mix beverage dispenser system; Figure 6 is a rear elevational view of the dispenser unit of Figure 1 with the rear panel removed; Figure 7 is a front perspective view showing a front access panel of the cabinet of the dispenser unit of Figure 1 5 slid to an open position to expose the water entrance chute of the dispenser unit; Figure 8 is a front perspective view with the front access panel completely removed to uncover both the water entrance chute and syrup supply compartment of the dispenser unit; Figure 9 is a front perspective view illustrating the C02 supply compartment of the dispenser cabinet of Figure 1 in an open position; Figure 10 is a bottom perspective view of a top access panel which covers the carbonator compartment and water reservoir section of the dispenser unit; Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the mechanical refrigeration system of the dispenser unit; Figure 12A and 12B are cross-sectional views of a portion of an alternate embodiment of the refrigeration system dispenser unit wherein a thermoelectric cooling element may be used.

Cabinetry Construction and General Component Arrangement The cabinetry construction and the general arrangement of the components of a post-mix beverage dispenser unit of the present invention are illustrated in Figures 1 to 9. Referring in detail to these Figures, the post-mix beverage dispenser unit is generally designated 10, and includes a main cabinet portion 12 having front, back, side, top and bottom walls disposed at right angles to each other to provide a generally cubicle shape. First access panel means in the form of a front access panel 14 is slidably mounted on the main cabinet portion 12 in suitable tracks to provide selective access to a water entrance chute EC and a syrup supply compartment 34. The front access panel 14 is so configured that it forms a flush corner of the final cabinet design in its closed position. That is, removable pane 14 has major surfaces parallel to the top, front and left side of the main cabinet portion 12 so that it wraps around and defines a corner of the overall cabinet surface of the unit in the clos.ed position. As best illustrated in Figure 7 and Figure 9 in perspective, the front panel 6 14 is provided with an extension surface 14Λ in the plane of the top wall of the main cabinet 12 which covers water entrance chute EC in the closed position and may be selectively removed to uncover the entrance chute EC in an 5 open position. In this position illustrated in Figure 7, the water reservoir WR illustrated in Figure 5 can be manually filled with water from a pitcher by pouring water into entrance chute EC. However, it is advantageous to close off entrance chute EC from the atmosphere when water 10 is not being introduced into the unit, for sanitary reasons Second access panel means in the form of a top access panel 16 is provided to cover both the water reservoir WR and carbonator compartment 38 juxtaposed near the back wall of the main cabinet portion 12. This 15 access panel 16 is rectangular in shape and merely lifts off from the top of the unit by releasing latch members 16A when access to the water reservoir WR and carbonator compartment 38 is desired. As illustrated in Figure 10, the top access panel 16 has an agitator blade AG depending 20 therefrom coupled to an agitator motor AM secured within access panel 16. A part CS of the access panel 16 has a complementary shape to the carbonator compartment 38 to thereby seal and insulate the carbonator compartment 38 when the rear access panel 16 is secured to the top of the cabinet 12.

The back of the main cabinet 12 is provided with fourth access panel means in the form of a removable access panel 30 (Fig.4) which substantially covers the entire rear vail of the cabinet 12 and has attached thereto a conventional refrigeration condenser 32 for the mechanical refrigeration 30 system of the dispenser unit. Removal of this rear access panel 30 and condenser 32 provides ready access to the water pump and refrigeration components of the dispenser unit which will be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to Figure 6.

Third access panel means in the form of an access panel 46 is provided in the lower right-hand’ corner of the dispenser unit, as viewed in Figures 1 and 9. In the closed position, panel 46 comprises the lower right-hand corner of the dispenser unit cabinet and is hinged at its 7 back edge to, in effect, form a door which provides access to a COj compartment 40 for containing a C02 cylinder 42 and a C02 regulator valve assembly 44. That is, access panel 46 has a right angle configuration which conforms to the shape of the lower right-hand corner of the dispenser: cabinet to close the C02 supply compartment which is a cutout in one corner of cabinet 12.

The unique combination of the access panels 14, 16 and 46 facilitates rapid set-up of the post-mix beverage system of the present embodiment and easy access for repair. With respect to set-up of the system, this may be achieved in the following manner. Front access panel 14 may be slid to a fully opened position, as illustrated in Figure 8, and suitable syrup containers SP may be inverted, directing their discharge ends downwardly and plugged into sockets 36 (Figure 5). Water may then be manually poured from a pitcher into water entrance chute EC whereby it flows down the chute into water reservoir WR. Front access panel 14 may then be closed to the fully closed position illustrated in Figure 1. In the event that the dispenser unit had an adequate supply of syrup and only water need be added, the access panel 14 could be slid to the partially open position of Figure 7, whereby only water entrance chute EC were exposed and water added as described above. The COj cylinder 42 illustrated in Figure 9 may then be added by inverting the C02 cylinder to direct the discharge opening downwardly and plugging the same into a socket provided on the top surface of C02 regulator valve assembly 44. Thus, it can be seen that the necessary ingredients to be supplied to the post-mix beverage dispenser can be supplied in a rapid and efficient manner without cumbersome connections by virtue of the unique cabinetry design of the dispenser unit and the plug-in nature of both the syrup packages SP and C02 cylinder 42 employed.

In further reference to the plug-in nature of the syrup packages SP and the C02 supply cylinder 42, the specific structure of the valve assemblies and associated δ containers to be used with the illustrated dispenser unit are described in prior co-pending applications assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. For example, the specific dispensing valve assembly 18 and mixing nozzles 22 contemplated for use with the dispenser unit are described in Patent Specification No. 50406 .

The specific socket for use in combination with the valve assembly 18 contemplated for use with the dispenser unit is described in Patent Specification No. 54424. The specific C02 cylinder construction to be used for cylinder 42 and the associated C02 regulator valve socket and assembly to be used with the dispenser unit is described-in Patent Specification Ho. 54098. The disclosures of each of these aforementioned Specifications are incorporated herein by reference.

The preferred embodiments of the syrup packages SP to be utilized with the dispenser unit are described in U.S. Patent 4,216,885, and the particular shape of the package is disclosed in British Registered Design Serial No. 1006047. As disclosed in U.S. Patent 4,216,885, the syrup package SP is provided with a flow control tube therein which is vented to the atmosphere through the bottom of the container after the container is plugged into socket 36. Containers SP are also provided with frangible seals or membranes over the discharge openings thereof and are punctured by a knife or cutting means of the type described in Patent Specification No. 54424 mentioned.above.

The C0.2 cylinder 42 to be used with the dispenser unit is of the type described in the aforementioned Patent Specification No. 54098, which has a dip tube therein to facilitate the dispensing of C02 gas from the container in an inverted position such as that which occurs when the discharge end is plugged into a socket in the top of C02 regulator'valve assembly 44, Referring in further detail to Figures 5 and 9, it can 9 be seen that the cabinetry construction of the dispenser unit includes three component compartments accessible through the top wall of the cabinet, including the syrup compartment, water reservoir compartment and carbonator compartment, and a C02 supply compartment 40 (Figure 9) formed as a cut-out in the lower right-hand front corner of the dispenser cabinet. An additional compartment is provided in the bottom rear of the cabinet, as illustrated in Figure 6, to house the components of the refrigeration system to be described hereinafter.

The main cabinet portion 12, as well as the various access panels, in a preferred embodiment are made of injection molded plastic. Insulation may be provided within the unit and the access panels to increase the cooling efficiency.

The injection molded plastic cabinet may be hot-stamped or otherwise decorated with suitable identifying logos, if desired.

The cabinet of the dispenser unit is also provided with a conventional form of drip tray 20 disposed in an open recess below the syrup compartment and mixing nozzles 22. The cabinet also is provided with a single vertically adjustable front foot 26 centrally disposed under the front edge of the cabinet and a rear support bracket or leg 28 which extends along the entire back edge of the cabinet.

This support arrangement facilitates adjustability and stability of the cabinet of the dispenser unit.

As will be described in more detail hereinafter, a U-shaped cooling bracket 48 may be provided in the syrup supply compartment 34 as illustrated in Figure 8. This bracket may be formed of any good heat conductor, and it wraps around the three syrup packages SP. As will be illustrated in more detail with reference to Figure 11, a portion of the evaporator coil C disposed within the water reservoir WR may pass behind and in direct contact with cooling bracket 48 to assist in the cooling of the syrup within syrup packages SP.

The arrangement of the components of the mechanical refrigeration system of a preferred embodiment of the present invention and other mechanical components not described hereinabove is illustrated in Figure 6. The 5 compressor of the refrigeration system is indicated as CP and is disposed directly below the carbonator compartment of the dispenser unit. A circulating fan F is also provided and disposed directly below the water reservoir WR for exhausting hot air from the dispenser cabinet. The 10 evaporator C of the refrigeration system is not illustrated in Figure 6, but can be viewed in the top plan view of Figure 5 as being in the bottom of the water reservoir WR. A water pump WP is disposed in the cabinet just below the fan F. The water pump, as will become more fully apparent 15 hereinafter with respect to Figure 11, is provided to pump water from the water reservoir WR into the carbonator tank CT on demand. The electrical controls for operating the dispensing unit are housed in a box CB just above the fan F, as illustrated in Figure 6.

Water Supply, Carbonation and Refrigeration Systems The water supply, carbonation and refrigeration systems of the dispenser unit are illustrated inthe schematic diagram of Figure 11. The water reservoir WR is connected to the carbonator tank CT through the water pump WP to pump 25 water on demand from the reservoir to the carbonator tank under the supervision of a plurality of probes, IP, MP and CO and suitable electrical controls within box CB. That is, when power is turned on, pump WP will normally pump water from reservoir WR into carbonator tank CT. However, 30 if the water level falls below the minimum level of probe MP, the electrical circuitry provided within control box CB will turn pump WP off and indicator light 58 on, which signals the need to refill the water reservoir WR.

Probes IP in water reservoir tank WR and carbonator 35 tank CT sense the build-up of ice on the walls thereof, and when it exceeds a predetermined thickness whereby it covers 1 1 probes IP, compressor CP is turned off via control box CB and control line 64. Probes CO in water reservoir tank WR and carbonator tank CT are merely the common or ground connections for the circuitry of both probes IP and MP.

Carbonator tank CT also has an additional pair of probes 66 and 68 to initiate or terminate the operation of water pump WP, depending on the level of water present in carbonator tank CT. That is, when the water level drops below probe 66, pump WP turns on to fill the carbonator tank, and when it reaches a maximum level at the position of probe 68, a signal is generated in the control circuitry within box CB via line 50 to turn the water pump WP off.

Thus, the respective probes in the water reservoir WR and carbonator tank CT are all connected through the electrical control circuitry in control box CB to either turn the water pump WP on and off, or the refrigeration compressor CP via line 64.

With water present in carbonator tank CT, it operates in a conventional manner by mixing water from line 52 and CO2 gas from line 56 within the tank CT and dispensing carbonated water through outlet line 54 to the dispenser valve assembly 18 wherein it is mixed with syrup from the syrup packages SP.

As further illustrated in Figure 11, the mechanical refrigeration system includes' a compressor CP, an evaporator C, and a condenser 32 connected in a closed refrigeration loop. The evaporator C is disposed in contact with the water reservoir WR to directly chill the water to be pumped to the carbonator. As illustrated, a portion of the evaporator C, namely portion 60, wraps around the carbonator tank CT to cool the same. In addition, another portion 62 of evaporator C may pass directly behind and in direct contact with cooling bracket 48 which surrounds syrup packages SP on three sides to cool the contents of those packages. Thus, the mechanical refrigeration system of the dispenser unit may be in heat transfer relationship with all of the essential components of the post-mix beverage to be dispensed prior to the mixing of those components within mixing nozzles 22. This assures that a post-mix beverage is dispensed at a controllable and suitable temperature into cups or containers resting 5 on drip tray 20.

In an alternative embodiment, the heat transfer relationship achieved by the refrigeration system of Figure 11 and, more specifically» the portions 60 and 62 of the evaporator coil C in conjunction with the heat transfer 10 bracket 48, may be accomplished by use of a thermoelectric cooling system in combination with a specially designed cold plate therefor which makes a similar type of contact with the carbonator tank and syrup packages. This embodiment of a thermoelectric refrigeration system is illustrated 15 in Figures 12A and 12B.

Referring to Figure 12A, there is generally illustrated a thermoelectric module 72, having associated therewith a cold plate 76. Cold plate 76 is so configured that it wraps around water reservoir WR and the syrup supply 20 compartment which houses syrup packages SP. Thus, both the water reservoir WR and the syrup packages SP are directly cooled by the cold plate 76. Also illustrated in Figure 12A is a heat sink 70 on the bottom of the thermoelectric module 72 and an associated fan 74 for 25 removing heat from a dispenser cabinet.

Referring to Figure 12B, there is illustrated a carbonator tank CT, which is also juxtaposed to water reservoir WR and in direct contact with a portion of cold plate 76. Thus, carbonator tank CT is also in a heat 30 transferring relationship with cold plate 76 and is directly cooled thereby. Accordingly, the dispenser unit has three juxtaposed compartments housing the water reservoir, syrup packages and carbonator tank, respectively, which are all in direct heat transfer 35 relationship with cold plate 76. Thus, as in the mechanical refrigeration system of the dispenser unit, the water reservoir, carbonator tank and syrup packages are all 3 directly cooled by the refrigeration system to provide a suitably chilled post-mix beverage.

It should be understood that a preferred embodiment of the dispenser cabinetry and system components of the beverage dispenser of the present invention have been described herein, but that modifications may be made as would occur to one of ordinary skill in the art without department from the scope of the appended claims.

For example, the arrangement of the respective compartments of the cabinetry may be modified within the scope of the present invention. The terminology of front, back, side and bottom walls is used for descriptive purposes of the preferred embodiment only to define the relative locations of the component parts as illustrated in the drawings, it being recognized that the cabinet may be rotated making the cabinet front and back the sides and vice versa. In addition, the cabinet access panels may be modified within the scope of the present invention.

For example, common panels could be used to cover adjacent component compartments to reduce the number of panels.

An accessory attachment may allow connection to a building water supply for automatic refill of the reservoir.

It will thus be seen that, at least in its preferred embodiments, the present invention provides a portable, low cost, miniature post-mix beverage dispenser unit suitable for use in small offices or low volume locations, with cabinetry features which facilitate rapid set-up, loading and replenishing of the syrup, water and C02 to be used in making the beverages, and with a heat transfer circuit operatively associated with a mechanical refrigeration system which directly contacts and cools the water, carbonator tank and syrup packages contained in the unit, or as an alternative a thermoelectric cooling system which is reliable, compact, adaptable to world electrical requirements, quiet and lightweight.

Claims (16)

14

1. A post-mix, carbonated beverage dispenser apparatus comprising: (a) a cabinet having front wall: (b) a carbonater within said cabinet; (c) a manually refillable water reservoir within said cabinet; (d) syrup container support means adjacent to said front wall of the said cabinet for receiving and supporting at least one replaceable syrup container; (el means for receiving and supporting at least one replaceable C02 cylinder for supplying C02 gas to said carbonatort and (f) a dispensing station at said cabinet front wall for delivering a post-mix carbonated beverage formed from a mixture of syrup and carbonated waters characterised in that the said water reservoir has an entrance opening adjacent the said front wall of the cabinet for receiving a manually introduced water supply, and the said COj cylinder support means is located adjacent said cabinet front wall, whereby all of those parts of the apparatus which contain the ingredients of the post-mix beverage and which need to be manually refilled or replaced during use, i.e. the water reservoir, the syrup container or containers, and the C02 cylinder or cylinders, are readily accessible to a user at or adjacent the said front wall of the cabinet.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said water reservoir is disposed adjacent a bach wall of said cabinet and a water entrance chute connects said reservoir to said entrance opening.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said water entrance chute slopes downwardly 15 from said entrance opening to said water reservoir.

4. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein said syrup container support means is adapted to receive and support three of said syrup containers adjacent said cabinet front wall.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said syrup container support means is adapted to receive and support said syrup containers having substantially flat side walls, in side-by-side relationship parallel to said front wall and above said dispensing station.

6. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said dispensing station includes a valve assembly for the or each said syrup container and a dispensing nozzle for the or each said valve assembly.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claims 5 and 6, wherein said dispensing station includes a recess in said cabinet front wall below said syrup container support means and into which said dispensing nozzles extend, and a support surface at the bottom of said recess for supporting drinking containers to be filled with the carbonated beverage.

8. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said cabinet has defined therein: a water reservoir compartment containing said water reservoir,- a carbonator compartment housing said carbonator; a syrup supply compartment for housing the or each said syrup container; and a COj supply compartment for housing a said COj cylinder; a top wall of said cabinet having openings 16 therein providing access to said water reservoir compartment, said carbonator compartment, and said syrup supply compartment; a front wall of said cabinet having openings therein providing access to said syrup supply compartment and said C02 supply compartment; a first access panel normally covering at least the openings in said front and top walls providing access to syrup supply compartment; 10. second access panel normally covering said openings in said top wall providing access to said water reservoir compartment and said carbonator compartment; and a third access panel normally covering 15 at least the opening in said front wall providing access to said C02 supply compartment.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claims 2 and 8, wherein said first access panel also normally covers said water entrance chute and is slidably 20 mounted on said cabinet, and when slid from said normal covering position first uncovers said entrance chute and then said syrup supply compartment.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein said first access panel has a wrap-around 25 portion with surfaces parallel to the corner defined by said top and front walls and is slidable in tracks provided in said top and front walls.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said first access panel has an extension 30 from said wrap-around portion in the plane of said top wall which covers said water entrance chute.

12. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 8 to 11, wherein said second access panel is flat, with major surfaces thereof parallel to said top 1 7 wall, and including latch means for securing the said panel to said top wall.

13. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 8 to 12, wherein said C02 supply compartment is a cut-out of a vertical corner of said cabinet between said front wall and one side wall thereof, and said third access panel comprises a hinged door having major planar surfaces at right angles to each other, filling the cut-out of said vertical corner in a closed position.

14. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 8 to 13, further comprising a fourth removable access panel normally covering the entire back wall of said cabinet.

15. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 8 to 14, wherein said syrup supply compartment includes one or more upwardly facing sockets for receiving the discharge end of the or each said syrup container, and said C02 supply compartment includes an upwardly facing socket for receiving the discharge end of a said C02 cylinder.

16. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with particular reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. F. R. KELLY & CO., AGENTS FOR THE APPLICANTS.