Beverage dispensing nozzle

• US 5,203,474 A
• Filed: 06/19/1990
• Issued: 04/20/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: IMI Cornelius Incorporated (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Alco Standard Corp. (Ricoh Company Limited)
• Inventors: Haynes, Joel E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Huson, Gregory L.
• Application Number:
  US07/540,243
• Time in Patent Office: 1,036 Days
• Field of Search: 222/129.1, 222/129.2, 222/129.3, 222/129.4, 222/459, 239/419, 239/419.3, 239/424, 239/427.3
• US Class Current: 222/129.1
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/0044 for mixing inside the dispensing nozzle
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/005 with means for converging streams

Abstract

An improved nozzle for beverage dispenser assures a high flow rate (for example, approximately 6 oz/sec or more), while maintaining a high quality beverage. An accumulator chamber reduces the turbulence of the incoming liquid to reduce carbonation loss. The nozzle converts high upstream liquid velocities to very low liquid velocities within the nozzle without an attendant high pressure loss across the nozzle. The nozzle is provided with a syrup accumulator chamber and a wide orifice syrup diverter which allow syrup to gently mix with a first portion of soda water substantially simultaneously during the dispense cycle and at substantially the same relative velocity. Thereafter the mixture of syrup and the first portion of soda water is mixed with a second portion of soda water.

Claims

1. A nozzle for a beverage dispenser for dispensing a beverage comprising a first liquid and a second liquid comprising:

separating means for separating the first liquid into a first portion and a second portion;

first mixing means for forming a mixture of the second liquid and the first portion of the first liquid;

second mixing means for mixing said mixture and the second portion of the first liquid; and

inlet conduit means for the second liquid having an inlet and an outlet and a diverter provided therein having an apex at its top and a base at its bottom with its apex being directed to the outlet of the inlet conduit means.

2. A nozzle for a beverage dispenser for dispensing a beverage comprising a first liquid and a second liquid comprising:

separating means for separating the first liquid into a first portion and a second portion;

first mixing means for forming a mixture of the second liquid and the first portion of the first liquid;

second mixing means for mixing said mixture and the second portion of the first liquid;

accumulator chamber means having a wall which defines a port being sized s that the exit rate of the first liquid is less than the entering rate so that the accumulator chamber accumulates the first liquid during a part of the dispense cycle; and

inlet conduit means for the second liquid having an inlet and an outlet and a cone-shaped protrusion provided therein having an apex at its top and a base at its bottom with its apex being directed to the outlet of the inlet conduit means.

3. In nozzle for beverage dispenser having a source of a first liquid and a source of a second liquid for dispensing a beverage comprising the first liquid and the second liquid, the improvement comprising a first conduit having an inlet coupled to the first liquid source and an outlet;

a second conduit for the second liquid having an inlet coupled to the second liquid s and outlet; and

a cone-shaped shaped protrusion having at its top and base at its bottom with its base being located adjacent the first liquid conduit outlet and its apex being directed toward the outlet of the second conduit for evenly distributing the second liquid about the circumference of the cone-shaped protrusion to mix the second liquid with the first liquid, said protrusion being spaced from the second conduit outlet so to restrict the second conduit outlet to delay the outflow of the second liquid from the second conduit outlet and to define a accumulator chamber for the delayed second liquid in the second conduit.

4. A nozzle in a beverage dispenser for mixing a plurality of liquids in a dispense cycle, comprising:

an accumulator chamber for a first liquid entering at a first rate during the dispense cycle, and an outlet which includes a wall which defines a plurality of spaced orifices arranged in a circular pattern, said orifices being sized so that the exit rate of the first liquid is less than the entering rate so that the accumulator chamber accumulates the first liquid during a part of the dispense cycle;

a separator chamber having an inlet coupled to the outlet of the accumulator chamber, said separator chamber having inner and outer outlets to separate the first liquid into inner and outer portions, each separator chamber outlet including a wall which defines a plurality of spaced orifices arranged in a circular pattern with the separator chamber outer outlet orifices being positioned outside the circular pattern of the inner outlet orifices;

a body having a bulb-shaped outer surface, an annular-shaped discharge orifice centrally located at the bottom of the body and an interior cavity which defines a cone-shaped protrusion having an apex at its top and a base at its bottom;

a plurality of outer conduits for the first liquid outer portion, each outer conduit having an inlet coupled to a separator chamber outer outlet orifice and an outlet directed at the bulb-shaped outer surface of the body, said outer conduit outlets being circumferentially arranged about the body so that the first liquid outer portion is directed to flow downwardly about the circumference of the bulb-shaped outer surface of the body toward the discharge orifice of the body;

an inlet conduit for the second liquid having an outlet directed at the apex of the cone-shaped protrusion so that the second liquid flows downwardly about the circumference of the cone-shaped protrusion; and

a plurality of inner conduits for the first liquid inner portion, each inner conduit having a first inlet coupled to a separator chamber inner outlet orifice, a second inlet coupled to the body cavity adjacent the base of the cone-shaped protrusion and an outlet coupled to the discharge orifice of the body, said inner conduit second inlets being circumferentially arranged about the base of the cone-shaped protrusion so that the second liquid is directed to flow into the inner conduit second inlets and be mixed with the first liquid inner portion in the plurality of inner conduits;

wherein the mixture of the first liquid inner portion and the second liquid is discharged from the bottom discharge orifice of the body in a central column and the first liquid outer portion is discharged from the nozzle in a cone-shaped column around the central mixture column.

5. The nozzle of claim 4 further comprising inside channel blocking means provided in the separator chamber for reducing the flow quantity of the first portion of the first liquid flowing into the inner conduits.