Beverage dispensing valve

• US 4,549,675 A
• Filed: 09/07/1982
• Issued: 10/29/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/1982
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: IMI Cornelius Incorporated (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Cornelius Co. (Minnesota) (IMI PLC)
• Inventors: Austin, Forrest L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bartuska, F. J.
• Application Number:
  US06/415,505
• Time in Patent Office: 1,148 Days
• Field of Search: 222/129.1-129.4, 222/145, 222/144.5, 222/501, 222/505, 222/506, 137/607
• US Class Current: 222/129.1
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/0082 entirely mechanical
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/0085 electro-mechanical
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/87692 With common valve operator

Abstract

A beverage dispensing valve primarily for post-mix has a valve body that will accept all known types of beverage flow controls, water and syrup valves that are interchangeable in either of two fluid ports, a reversible block between the valves and a nozzle that enables syrup to be used in either port and water to be used in either port, a positively sealing and easily removable nozzle for improved sanitation and mixing, and multiple fulcrums in the valve body that will respectively accept a manual actuator or a switch actuator and a solenoid driven actuator. A receiver on the valve body accepts a single solenoid for both valves and an electronic dispensing control which is restrained in place by a removable cover, a finger pad in the valve actuator provides manual override for electrical component failure, an alternate actuator opens the water valve only regardless of which side the water valve is in and regardless of whether the dispensing valve is manual or electric, the water and syrup valves are pallet type valves positioned horizontally and the valve actuator goes over the top of the valves to reach forward located valve anvils and reduce the size of the dispensing valve, and a manifold and latch mechanism provide either quick disconnect or manually disconnectable mounting of the valve body.

Claims

1. A post-mix beverage dispensing valve, comprising:

a. a valve main body having a pair of substantially horizontal ports side by side to each other, one port being for water and the second port being for syrup;

b. a pair of horizontal pallet valves, each valve having an actuator anvil to the front of the valve main body;

c. a horizontal valve block underneath the pallet valves and secured to the valve main body, with the pallet valves being held between the block and the main body, said block having upward facing valve seats upon which the valves normally sit;

d. a dispensing nozzle extending downward from the valve block; and

e. an actuator hammer pivotally mounted in the main block, said hammer reaching over the valves and the valve block to in front of the main body and the block to reach and make operative contact with the valve anvils.

2. In a post-mix beverage dispensing valve having a body, left and right normally closed pallet style dispensing valves side by side in the body, a left fluid port in the body and to the left valve, a right fluid port in the body and to the right valve, and a dispensing nozzle fluidly connected to both valves;

the improvement comprising

a. each valve having a downwardly rotatable valve actuator extending forward from a valve fulcrum in front of and generally co-planar with the valve;

b. a manual dispensing valve actuator pivotally supported by the body, said valve actuator having a downward extending lever pushable by a cup or a hand;

c. a hammer integrally on the manual actuator, said hammer being in front of the normally closed left and right valves and the ports and the body and having means in front of the body and the valves which are operatively engageable with a top surface of both valve actuators for effecting upward rotation of and opening of the normally closed valves; and

an integral arch in the manual actuator, said arch extending upward and rearward from the hammer and over the nozzle to an actuator fulcrum and thence rearward and downward to the lever.

3. A beverage dispensing valve according to claim 2, in which the actuator fulcrum is in the body and directly above the left and right valves, said manual actuator being pivoted about said fulcrum, said hammer extending forward and downward from the actuator fulcrum to engage the valve actuators in front of the body.

4. A beverage dispensing valve according to claim 3, in which the actuator fulcrum is directly above the nozzle, and in which the manual actuator depends downwardly from the actuator fulcrum both in front of and to the rear of the right and left valves, said manual actuator spanning over the right and left valves.

5. A beverage dispensing valve according to claim 2, in which the hammer includes a pair of discrete and laterally spaced apart hammerheads, each hammerhead including vertically adjustable valve actuator engaging means for adjustment of engagability with each respective right or left valve actuator, each hammerhead facing downward and each actuator engaging means having upward facing means for accepting a vertically disposed adjustment tool from above.

6. A post-mix beverage dispensing valve, comprising:

a. a valve body having two fluid ports, one port being for water and one port being for syrup;

b. a water valve in one of the ports and a syrup valve in the other of the ports;

c. a valve seat in each port, each valve seat being substantially horizontal and facing upward, with the water and syrup valves being on top of the valve seats;

d. a water actuator anvil extending horizontally forward of the water valve and the valve body, and a syrup actuator anvil extending horizontally forward of the syrup valve and the valve body;

e. a fulcrum carried by the valve body, said fulcrum being above both the water and syrup valves; and

f. a common actuator hammer for opening both the water and syrup valves, said hammer being above the water and syrup valves and anvils, and being pivotally mounted to said fulcrum and extending forward of the valve body and having of pair of hammerheads engageable with the actuator anvils.

7. A post-mix beverage dispensing valve according to claim 6, in which the hammer is materially integral with a mechanical dispensing valve actuator which extends downward from the fulcrum and between the ports to a place of access, said mechanical actuator having a side profile of an inverted U going over the top of the water and syrup valves to reach the forward extending water and syrup actuator anvils.

8. A post-mix beverage dispensing valve according to claim 7, in which the fulcrum is at an apex between the hammer and the mechanical actuator.

9. A post-mix beverage dispensing valve according to either of claims 6, 7 or 8, in which the hammerheads are both adjustable in the hammer.

10. A post-mix beverage dispensing valve according to claim 6, in which the hammer has means for being connected to a solenoid, said means being rearward of said fulcrum, said dispensing valve including a solenoid mounted to the valve body, said solenoid being inverted and mounted to pull directly upward, said solenoid having an armature connected to the hammer connecting means.

11. A post-mix beverage dispensing valve according to claim 10, in which the hammer is an inverted V-shape, with the connection of the solenoid to the hammer being normally below the fulcrum.

12. A post-mix beverage dispensing valve according to either of claims 10 or 11, in which the hammer has means in front of the valve body which form a finger pad for manual movement of the hammer in the event of solenoid failure.

13. A post-mix beverage dispensing valve according to either of claims 10 or 11, in which the hammerheads both have means for being adjusted in the hammer to make proper engagement with the anvils, and in which an electronic solenoid control operatively connected to the solenoid is supported by the valve body, said control normally precluding access to the adjustment means, said valve body having means above the hammer for slidably receiving the electronic control, said control being slidably mounted and being removable from said receiving means for access to said adjustment means.

14. A post-mix beverage dispensing valve according to claim 13, in which the hammer has means in front of the valve body and normally under the electronic control which form a finger pad for manual movement of the hammer in the event of either control or solenoid failure, said finger pad means being accessible upon removal of the control.

15. A post-mix beverage dispensing valve, comprising:

a. a valve body having two fluid ports, one for water and one for syrup;

b. a horizontal pallet type water valve in one of the ports and a horizontal pallet type syrup valve in the other of the ports, said water and syrup valves both lying in a horizontal plane and having valve elements upwardly rotatable about a respective fulcrum in front of and generally co-planar with the valves for opening of the respective valves;

c. a water actuator anvil extending horizontally and forward from the water valve to in front of the valve body, and a syrup actuator anvil likewise extending horizontally and forward from the syrup valve to in front of the valve body, both anvils being downwardly rotatable about said fulcrums for effecting opening of the respective valves;

d. a common valve actuator having a hammer for effecting concurrent opening of both the water and syrup valves, said actuator having

(1) a single fulcrum located in and by the valve body, said hammer being pivotable about said single fulcrum, and

(2) a pair of vertically adjustable hammerheads for effecting operative connection of the hammer against the anvils, said hammerheads being in front of the valves and the ports and the valve body, and facing downward and being mounted to and carried by the hammer; and

e. an adjustable liquid flow control in said body and at least one of the fluid ports, said flow control and both of the hammerheads each having substantially similar upward facing adjustment means for accepting an adjustment tool, said upward facing adjustment means all being generally parallel to each other and being receptive of a single adjustment tool.

16. A post-mix beverage dispensing valve, comprising:

a. a valve body having two fluid ports, one for water and one for syrup;

b. a water valve in one of the ports and a syrup valve in the other of the ports;

c. a water actuator anvil extending from the water valve, and a syrup actuator anvil extending from the syrup valve;

d. a common actuator having a hammer for effecting concurrent opening of both the water and syrup valves, said actuator having

(1) a single fulcrum located in and by the valve body, said hammer being pivotable about said fulcrum, and

(2) a pair of adjustable hammerheads for effecting operative connection of the hammer against the anvils, said hammerheads being mounted to and carried by the hammer;

e. a nose on the water valve, said nose extending forward from the water actuator anvil and substantially beyond the front of the hammer and beyond the syrup valve actuator anvil;

f. an alternate manual actuator in front of both valve actuators, said alternate actuator being movably mounted to the dispensing valve by means for guiding the alternate actuator in a path past both of the hammerheads and past both of the valve actuator anvils; and

g. means on said alternate actuator for engaging only the nose of the water valve actuator regardless of which port the water valve is in, and for going past the syrup valve actuator regardless of which port the syrup valve is in, so that only the water valve is opened by the second actuator regardless of which port the water valve is in.