Refrigerated liquid dispenser having a shut-off valve

• US 5,249,706 A
• Filed: 08/03/1990
• Issued: 10/05/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: John Szabo
• Original Assignee: John Szabo
• Inventors: Szabo, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Huppert, Michael S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): DeRosa, Kenneth
• Application Number:
  US07/562,665
• Time in Patent Office: 1,159 Days
• Field of Search: 222/14, 222/16, 222/20, 222/54, 222/63, 222/146.6, 222/212, 222/214, 222/215, 222/209, 165/80.3, 165/76, 165/185, 417/412, 417/413, 251/4-10
• US Class Current: 222/20
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/0869 using solid state elements, e.g. Peltier cells
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/1231 Metering pumps
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/1234 to determine the total amount
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 3/041 operated by pinching action on flexible tubes
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 7/303 involving digital counting

Abstract

A dispenser for liquids having an insulated cool chamber to receive a liquid container with a flexible tube for flow of liquid, a heat exchanger or pump in the chamber to pump liquid along the tube, a shut-off valve in the chamber below the pump with an opening for the tube to pass to a dispensing point outside the chamber, a motor and shaft for driving the pump, and gears connected between the motor shaft and the pump, a revolution counter coupled to the motor shaft, and connected to a counter logic circuit to count each revolution of the motor shaft, and manual controls mounted on the chamber and connected to the shut-off valve and to the motor, and to the counter logic circuit so that the shut-off valve opens within the chamber and the motor is started thereby driving the pump within the chamber, and automatically stopping the motor shaft when the predetermined count is reached, thereby maximizing the accuracy of the volume of liquid pumped by the pump.

Claims

1. A dispenser for dispensing liquids in predetermined accurately measured dosages and comprising:

a chamber defining a storage compartment for receiving a liquid container;

and said chamber having a partition wall defining a pump and valve compartment;

an insulated door for said chamber giving access to said pump and valve compartment and to said storage compartment;

thermal insulation means in said storage compartment whereby to provide said chamber insulted on all sides;

heat exchanger means connected with said chamber and adapted to transfer heat from within said chamber, said storage adapted to receive said liquid container, said container having a flexible tube connected to a lower portion thereof, for flow of said liquid from said container;

peristaltic pump means in said pump and valve compartment of said chamber and rotatably operable to pump said liquid along said flexible tube;

pump housing means enclosing said pump and having releasable structure to permit introduction of and removal of said tube;

shut-off valve means at an exit point of said chamber and downstream of said pump means, said valve means comprising a housing having first and second openings and a recess between said first and second openings, a boss rotatably received in said recess and having a slot therethrough, said slot being alignable with said first and second openings in one rotative position of said boss and being rotatable from said one rotative position to another rotative position wherein said slot is misaligned with said first and second openings, said flexible tube having an end distal from said container and inserted through said first and second openings and said slot, whereby when said boss is in said one rotative position, fluid flow is permitted through said flexible tube, and when said boss is in said another rotative position fluid flow through said tube is precluded;

power-operated means located exteriorly of said chamber for operating said shut-off valve means;

motor means located exteriorly of said chamber for driving said pump means and having a motor shaft adapted for rotating at the speed of said motor means;

a revolution counter coupled to said motor shaft and connected to a counter logic circuit whereby to count each revolution of said motor means, whereby to obtain a precise count of the revolutions of said motor means, said counter logic circuit being adapted to generate a count signal when a predetermined count of said revolutions of said motor means is reached, and,

manual control means mounted on the exterior of said chamber and connected to said shut-off valve and to said motor means, and connected to said counter logic circuit, whereby upon operation of said manual control means, said boss is moved to said one rotative position and said motor shaft is operated for a predetermined count of said counter logic circuit, thereby driving said pump means within said pump and valve compartment a prescribed number of revolutions and said counter logic circuit automatically stopping said motor shaft when said predetermined count is reached and said boss is concurrently moved to said another rotative position whereby, in turn, to maximize the accuracy of the rotation of said pump means and thus the accuracy of the dosage of liquid delivered thereby.

2. A dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein said peristaltic pump means has at least two roller cams, and a movable housing for receiving said tube.

3. A dispenser as claimed in claim 1, including a removable receptacle for receiving said liquid container, said receptacle defining a bottom, side walls, an a back wall, and having tube opening means in said bottom wall for passage of said tube therethrough, sensing opening means in one of said side walls and said back wall, and temperature sensing means secured in said chamber, having a probe portion adapted to enter said sensing opening in said receptacle, whereby to continuously sense the actual temperature of the contents of said container.

4. A dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein said motor means and said power operated means are located exteriorly of said insulated chamber, and wherein a gear shaft operatively coupled to said motor shaft passes through said partition wall of said chamber for operation of said pump means within said pump and valve compartment of said chamber, and wherein said power-operated means is operatively connected through said partition wall of said chamber to said shut-off valve, within said pump and valve compartment.

5. A dispenser as claimed in claim 1 and wherein said heat exchanger means includes:

a thermal electric device responsive to electrical power to cause a temperature differential thereacross;

a heat exchanger plate portion mounted on the hot side of said thermal electric device;

a plurality of parallel grooves formed in said plate portion, each groove having a tapered cross-section;

a plurality of heat exchanger fins;

an edge portion on each said fin formed with a cross-sectional configuration in the form of a taper matching the taper of said grooves, and wherein the angle of said taper is designed to procure frictional retention of said tapered edges of said fins in said grooves;

opening means formed in said insulative means said heat exchanger plate portion being secured to a wall in said opening means whereby to transfer heat from said chamber through said wall.

6. A dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein said power-operated means comprises:

a solenoid having a reciprocable rod;

a crank arm attached to said rod and translating reciprocations of said rod into rotations of said crank arm;

a stem attached generally perpendicularly to said crank arm at one end thereof and to said boss at another end thereof;

whereby reciprocation of said reciprocable rod results in rotative movement of said boss.