Beverage disensing apparatus having fluid director

• US 20030097314A1
• Filed: 11/30/2001
• Published: 05/22/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Beverage Works, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Beverage Works, Inc.
• Inventors: Crisp, Harry Lee III, Duff, Todd Erik
• Granted Patent: US 6,896,159 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/28
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/0021 the components being mixed at the time of dispensing, i.e. post-mix dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/0057 Carbonators
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/0858 using compression systems
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 2001/082 arranged in parallel
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 2210/00036 for use with or in refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 2210/0006 Manifolds
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/126 Water cooler
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2323/023 Door in door constructions
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2331/803 Bottles
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2400/06 Refrigerators with a vertical mullion
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

The present invention provides a beverage dispensing apparatus for a residential refrigerator. The beverage dispensing apparatus includes a drink supplier including a drink supply canister holder for holding a plurality of drink supply canisters, a plurality of valve actuators for causing the drink supply to be selectively released from the drink supply canisters, a water supplier for selectively supplying carbonated water and non-carbonated water for producing the beverages, a gas supplier for supplying CO₂ gas to carbonate the carbonated water provided by the water supplier and for supplying CO₂ gas or other gas for pressurizing the drink supply canisters to provide a consistent flow rate of the drink supply from the drink supply canisters, a fluid director for facilitating the mixing of the drink supply from one of the drink supply canisters and the carbonated or non-carbonated water from the water supplier and one or more beverage requesters for enabling users to request one of a plurality of beverages.

Claims

1. A beverage dispensing apparatus for a refrigerator, said beverage dispensing apparatus comprising:

a fluid director mounted in the refrigerator, said fluid director having at least one channel;

a drink supply canister holder mounted in the refrigerator at least partially above said channel, said drink supply canister holder adapted to hold at least one drink supply canister having a drink supply outlet valve;

a beverage requester connected to the refrigerator;

a carbonated and non-carbonated water supplier mounted in the refrigerator, said water supplier adapted to selectively direct carbonated water or non-carbonated water into said channel when the beverage requester is activated; and

a drink supply outlet valve actuator mounted in the refrigerator, said drink supply outlet valve actuator adapted to selectively cause the drink supply outlet valve to dispense drink supply from said drink supply canister into said channel when the beverage requester is activated.

2. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fluid director is removably mounted in the refrigerator.

3. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 2, which includes a fluid director access door connected to the refrigerator.

4. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 2, which includes a fluid director access door pivotally connected to the refrigerator.

5. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fluid director includes a molded polymer member.

6. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fluid director includes a plurality of channels.

7. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the drink supply canister holder is adapted to hold a plurality of drink supply canisters.

8. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fluid director is positioned directly below the drink supply canister holder.

9. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the drink supply canister holder is movably mounted in the refrigerator.

10. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 1, which includes a drink supply canister holder access door connected to the refrigerator.

11. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 1, which includes a drink supply canister holder access door pivotally connected to the refrigerator.

12. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 1, which includes a drink supply canister holder access door slidably connected to the refrigerator.

13. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the drink supply canister holder includes means for securely maintaining the drink supply canister.

14. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the drink supply canister holder includes a movable drink supply canister securing member.

15. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 14, which includes a drink supply canister access door movably connected to the refrigerator and the drink supply canister securing member.

16. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the drink supply canister access door and the drink supply canister securing member each have an open position and a closed position, and wherein opening of the drink supply canister access door causes the drink supply canister securing member to be in the open position, and closing of the drink supply canister access door causes the drink supply canister securing member to be in closed position.

17. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 1, which includes a separate beverage requester for each drink supply canister adapted to be held by the drink supply canister holder.

18. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the beverage requester includes a user interface.

19. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the water supplier includes a carbonated water line and a non-carbonated water line, and wherein said water supplier is adapted to selectively direct the carbonated water from said carbonated water line and the non-carbonated water from said non-carbonated water line into said channel.

20. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 19, wherein the water supplier includes a carbonated water valve connected to the carbonated water line and a non-carbonated water valve connected to the non-carbonated water line.

21. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 20, wherein the water supplier includes a water dispenser connected to the carbonated water valve and the non-carbonated water valve.

22. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 21, wherein the water dispenser includes a water ring.

23. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 19, wherein the water supplier includes a carbonated water valve connected to the carbonated water line for each channel of said fluid director.

24. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 19, wherein the water supplier includes a non-carbonated water valve connected to the non-carbonated water line for each channel of said fluid director.

25. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 19, wherein the water supplier includes a water dispenser connected to the carbonated water line and the non-carbonated water line for each channel of the fluid director.

26. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 25, wherein the water dispenser includes a water ring.

27. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 25, wherein the drink supply outlet valve is adapted to dispense drink supply in a drink supply stream having a drink supply stream wall through said water into said channel.

28. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 27, wherein the water dispenser includes a plurality of water outlets.

29. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 28, wherein the water dispenser includes a water injector connected to each water outlet.

30. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 29, wherein each water injector has a fixed angular orientation.

31. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 30, wherein the water dispenser is positioned such that the water injectors are adjacent to a plurality of different locations relative to the drink supply stream wall.

32. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 28, wherein the water dispenser is positioned such that the water outlets are adjacent to a plurality of different locations relative to the drink supply stream wall.

33. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 1, which includes a CO₂ gas supplier mounted in the refrigerator and connected to the water supplier to form the carbonated water.

34. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 33, wherein the water supplier includes a carbonation tank connected to the CO₂ gas supplier.

35. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 33, wherein the CO₂ gas supplier is adapted to be fluidly connected to the drink supply canister in the drink supply canister holder to pressurize the drink supply canister.

36. A beverage dispensing apparatus for a refrigerator, said beverage dispensing apparatus comprising:

a fluid director mounted in the refrigerator, said fluid director having a plurality of channels;

a drink supply canister holder mounted in the refrigerator at least partially above said plurality of channels, said drink supply canister holder adapted to hold a plurality of drink supply canisters each having a drink supply outlet valve;

at least one beverage requester connected to the refrigerator;

a carbonated and non-carbonated water supplier mounted in the refrigerator, said water supplier adapted to selectively direct carbonated water or non-carbonated water into one of said channels when the beverage requester is activated; and

a plurality of drink supply outlet valve actuators mounted in the refrigerator, wherein each drink supply outlet valve actuators is adapted to selectively cause one of the drink supply outlet valves to dispense drink supply from said drink supply canisters into one of said channels when the beverage requester is activated.

37. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 36, which includes a plurality of beverage requesters, each beverage requester associated with one of said drink supply outlet valve actuators.

38. A beverage dispensing apparatus comprising:

a housing;

a drink supply canister holder mounted in the housing and adapted to hold at least one drink supply canister having a drink supply outlet valve;

a fluid director mounted in the housing at least partially below the drink supply canister holder, said fluid director including at least one channel;

a drink supply outlet valve actuator mounted in the housing and adapted to actuate the drink supply outlet valve to cause the flow of drink supply from the drink supply canister into said channel;

a carbonated and non-carbonated water supplier mounted in the housing, said water supplier including a water valve actuator adapted to cause the flow of carbonated or non-carbonated water from the water supplier into said channel;

a CO₂ gas supplier mounted in the housing and connected to the water supplier;

a controller in communication with the drink supply outlet valve actuator and the water valve actuator; and

a beverage requester in communication with the controller.

39. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 38, wherein the CO₂ gas supplier includes means for fluidly connecting to the drink supply canister to pressurize the drink supply canister.

40. A beverage dispensing apparatus for a refrigerator comprising:

a plurality of fluid directing channels removably mounted in said refrigerator;

means in said refrigerator for supporting a plurality of individually replaceable pressurizable drink supply canisters, wherein each drink supply canister is supported at least partially above an associated one of said channels;

means in the refrigerator for pressurizing the drink supply canisters;

means in said refrigerator for selectively directing drink supply from each drink supply canister through its associated fluid directing channels into a beverage collector;

means in said refrigerator for selectively directing carbonated water or non-carbonated water through one of said fluid directing channels into the beverage collector;

means connected to said refrigerator for enabling a user to request a beverage made from drink supply in one of the drink supply canisters; and

means in said refrigerator for controlling and synchronizing the water directing means and the drink supply directing means.

41. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 40, which includes means for forming the carbonated water using CO₂ gas.

42. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 41, wherein the pressuring means uses said CO₂ gas to pressurize the drink supply canisters.

43. A beverage dispensing apparatus for a refrigerator, said beverage dispensing apparatus comprising:

a fluid director removably mounted in the refrigerator, said fluid director having at least one channel;

a drink supply canister holder adapted to hold at least one drink supply canister at least partially above said channel, each said drink supply canister including a drink supply outlet valve;

at least one beverage requester connected to the refrigerator;

a water supplier mounted in the refrigerator, said water supplier including a carbonated water line and a non-carbonated water line, at least one carbonated water valve connected to the carbonated water line and at least one non-carbonated water valve connected to the non-carbonated water line, at least one water dispenser connected to the carbonated water valve and the non-carbonated water valve, wherein said water supplier is adapted to selectively direct carbonated water from said carbonated water line and non-carbonated water from said non-carbonated water line through said water dispenser into said channel when the beverage requester is activated;

a CO₂ gas supplier mounted in the refrigerator and connected to the water supplier to form the carbonated water; and

at least one drink supply outlet valve actuator mounted in the refrigerator, wherein said drink supply outlet valve actuator is adapted to selectively cause the drink supply outlet valve to dispense drink supply from said drink supply canister into said channel when the beverage requester is activated.

44. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 43, wherein the water dispenser includes a water ring.

45. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 44, wherein the water ring defines an aperture and the drink supply canister holder positions the drink supply canister to direct drink supply through the aperture into said channel.

46. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 43, wherein the water supplier includes a carbonation tank connected to the CO₂ gas supplier.

47. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 43, wherein the CO₂ supplier is adapted to be fluidly connected to the drink supply canister in the drink supply canister holder to pressurize the drink supply canister.

48. The beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 43, wherein the beverage requester includes a user interface.

49. A refrigerator including a beverage dispensing apparatus comprising:

a housing;

a fluid director mounted in the housing, said fluid director having at least one channel;

a drink supply canister holder mounted in the housing and adapted to hold at least one drink supply canister at least partially above said channel, said drink supply canister including a drink supply outlet valve;

a beverage requester connected to the housing;

a carbonated and non-carbonated water supplier mounted in the housing, said water supplier adapted to selectively direct carbonated water or non-carbonated water into said channel when the beverage requester is activated; and

a drink supply outlet valve actuator mounted in the housing, said drink supply outlet valve actuator adapted to selectively cause the drink supply outlet valve to dispense drink supply from said drink supply canister into said channel when the beverage requester is activated.

50. The refrigerator of claim 49, wherein the fluid director is removably mounted in the housing.

51. A refrigerator having a beverage dispensing apparatus, said refrigerator comprising:

a housing;

a fluid director connected to the housing, said fluid director having a plurality of channels;

a drink supply canister holder connected to the housing and adapted to hold a plurality of drink supply canisters each at least partially above one of said channels, each said drink supply canister including a drink supply outlet valve;

at least one beverage requester connected to the housing;

a carbonated and non-carbonated water supplier mounted in the housing, said water supplier adapted to selectively direct carbonated water or non-carbonated water into one of said channels when the beverage requested is activated;

at plurality of drink supply outlet valve actuators mounted in the housing, wherein each drink supply outlet valve actuator is adapted to selectively cause one of the drink supply outlet valves to dispense drink supply from said drink supply canisters into one of said channels when the beverage requested is activated.

52. The refrigerator of claim 51, wherein the water supplier includes a plurality of water dispensers each having at least one water inlet and a plurality of water outlets.

53. The refrigerator of claim 52, wherein each water dispenser includes a water ring.

54. The refrigerator of claim 53, wherein each water ring defines an aperture and the drink supply canister holders position the drink supply canister outlet values to direct the drink supply respectively through the apertures of the water rings.

55. The refrigerator of claim 51, wherein the refrigerator is a residential refrigerator.

56. The refrigerator of claim 51, wherein the water supplier includes a carbonation tank.

57. The refrigerator of claim 56, which includes at least one gas supply canister holder mounted in the housing and adapted to hold a gas supply canister including at least one gas outlet valve;

a gas communication line fluidly connected to the carbonation tank and adapted to be fluidly connected to the gas supply canister; and

a gas communication line adapted to be fluidly connected to the gas supply canister and the drink supply canisters.

58. In a refrigerator including an exterior, an interior, at least one door having a closed position and an open position for providing access to the interior, a beverage dispenser mounted in said door, the improvement comprising a fluid director for a beverage dispenser removably mounted in the door and a fluid director access door connected to the door and adapted to provide access to the fluid director.

59. The refrigerator of claim 58, wherein the fluid director access door is pivotally attached to the door.

60. The refrigerator of claim 58, wherein the fluid director access door is slidably attached to the door.

61. The refrigerator of claim 58, wherein the fluid director access door is accessible from the exterior of the refrigerator.

62. The refrigerator of claim 58, wherein the fluid director access door is accessible from the interior of the refrigerator.