Postmix beverage dispenser

• US 5,797,519 A
• Filed: 03/14/1997
• Issued: 08/25/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Coca-Cola Company (The Coca-Cola Company)
• Original Assignee: The Coca-Cola Company
• Inventors: Paisley, Gary V., Schroeder, Alfred A., Romanyszyn, Michael T. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): KAUFMAN, JOSEPH A
• Application Number:
  US08/818,054
• Time in Patent Office: 529 Days
• Field of Search: 222/1, 222/129.1, 222/129.2, 222/129.3, 222/129.4, 222/146.6
• US Class Current: 222/129.1
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/0032 using flow-rate sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/0864 in the form of a cooling bath
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/1215 combined with a counter
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/122 modulating a pumping rate
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 1/1293 Means for changing the ratio by acting on commands
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 2001/0811 provided with coded information
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 2001/0827 Bags in box
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 2210/00031 Housing
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 2210/00104 Cooling only

Abstract

A postmix beverage dispenser including a housing, a water bath, a refrigeration system, a concentrate package compartment, a cooling system for the compartment, and a potable water circuit including a cooling coil in the water bath. The concentrate packages are preferably bag-in-box packages with a flexible tube, and the dispenser includes a peristaltic pump driven by a gearhead motor with an encoder. A flow meter in the potable water line feeds information to the control system which controls the pump speed to control ratio. A ratio card is inserted into a slot in the door to tell the control system the ratio to use for each BIB package. A removable water nozzle improves mixing. An improved subassembly and method for making it is described. The potable water cooling coil is above the evaporator coil and separately removable from the water bath.

Claims

1. A postmix beverage dispenser comprising:

(a) a housing;

(b) a water bath tank in said housing for holding an ice-water bath;

(c) a refrigeration system in said housing for forming an ice bank in said tank;

(d) a potable water circuit in said housing including a potable water cooling coil located in said tank;

(e) a concentrate compartment in said housing including a plurality of concentrate package stations, each adapted to hold a removable concentrate package of the type having a flexible dispensing tube;

(f) a plurality of concentrate pumping units in said housing;

(g) said concentrate pumping units each including a peristaltic pump driven by a variable speed gearhead motor with an encoder;

(h) said potable water circuit including a solenoid/water meter assembly;

(i) a control system in said housing receiving signals from said water meter for varying the speed of said motor to provide the desired ratio of water to concentrate;

(j) means for inputting into said control system the desired water to concentrate ratio of the product in each of any concentrate packages located in said compartment; and

(k) wherein said inputting means includes a removable ratio card for each concentrate package, a separate slot in said housing corresponding one each to said concentrate package stations, and said control system including means for reading the ratio stored on said ratio cards.

2. The dispenser as recited in claim 1 wherein said housing includes a front door hinged to said housing and providing access to said compartment, and wherein each of said slots is located on the rear surface of said door in front of a corresponding one of said stations.

3. The dispenser as recited in claim 2 wherein each of said ratio cards includes a card holder and a removable flexible card having the ratio information thereon.

4. The dispenser as recited in claim 3 wherein said ratio information is stored on said card in the form of holes.

5. The dispenser as recited in claim 4 wherein said control system includes a pc board mounted on said door and said means for reading the ratio includes a series of pairs of spaced-apart IR emitter-receiver pins mounted on and extending out from said pc board, and said slots being located to position said holes on said ratio cards in-between said pairs of emitter-receiver pins.

6. A postmix beverage dispenser comprising:

(a) a housing;

(b) a water bath tank in said housing for holding an ice-water bath;

(c) a refrigeration system in said housing for forming an ice bank in said tank;

(d) a potable water circuit in said housing including a potable water cooling coil located in said tank;

(e) a concentrate compartment in said housing including a plurality of concentrate package stations, each adapted to hold a removable concentrate package of the type having a flexible dispensing tube;

(f) a plurality of concentrate pumping units in said housing;

(g) said concentrate pumping units each including a peristaltic pump driven by a variable speed gearhead motor with an encoder;

(h) said potable water circuit including a solenoid/water meter assembly;

(i) a control system in said housing receiving signals from said water meter for varying the speed of said motor to provide the desired ratio of water to concentrate;

(j) a system for cooling said compartment, said system including a compartment cooling coil located in said compartment, a fan/motor unit for circulating the air in said compartment through said compartment cooling coil, a pump in said water bath tank, an inlet water conduit extending from said pump to said compartment cooling coil and an outlet water conduit extending from said compartment cooling coil to said tank; and

(k) both of said conduits being either below said refrigeration deck or embedded in insulation, whereby neither of said water conduits can sweat and drip condensed water anyplace other than back into said tank.

7. A postmix beverage dispenser comprising:

(a) a housing;

(b) a water bath tank in said housing for holding an ice-water bath;

(c) a refrigeration system in said housing for forming an ice bank in said tank;

(d) a potable water circuit in said housing including a potable water cooling coil located in said tank;

(e) a concentrate compartment in said housing including a plurality of concentrate package stations, each adapted to hold a removable concentrate package of the type having a flexible dispensing tube;

(f) a plurality of concentrate pumping units in said housing;

(g) said concentrate pumping units each including a peristaltic pump driven by a variable speed gearhead motor with an encoder;

(h) said potable water circuit including a solenoid/water meter assembly;

(i) a control system in said housing receiving signals from said water meter for varying the speed of said motor to provide the desired ratio of water to concentrate;

(j) said refrigeration system including an evaporator coil located in the lower portion of said tank; and

(k) said potable water cooling coil being located entirely above said evaporator coil whereby it can be removed vertically upwardly from said water bath tank without requiring any work to be done on said evaporator coil.

8. The dispenser as recited in claim 7 wherein said refrigeration system includes a deck on top of said tank and an agitator motor mounted on said deck and an agitator shaft extending down from said agitator motor into said tank, with an agitator blade on the distal end of said shaft.

9. The dispenser as recited in claim 8 wherein said potable water circuit includes coupling means on each end of said potable water cooling coil whereby upon disconnecting said coupling means, said coil can be lifted up out of said tank when said deck has been removed.

10. A postmix beverage dispenser comprising:

(a) a housing;

(b) a water bath tank in said housing for holding an ice-water bath;

(c) a refrigeration system in said housing for forming an ice bank in said tank;

(d) a potable water circuit in said housing including a potable water cooling coil located in said tank;

(e) a concentrate compartment in said housing including a plurality of concentrate package stations, each adapted to hold a removable concentrate package of the type having a flexible dispensing tube;

(f) a plurality of concentrate pumping units in said housing;

(g) said concentrate pumping units each including a peristaltic pump driven by a variable speed gearhead motor with an encoder;

(h) said potable water circuit including a solenoid/water meter assembly;

(i) a control system in said housing receiving signals from said water meter for varying the speed of said motor to provide the desired ratio of water to concentrate; and

(j) a plurality of potable water outlet lines extending from said potable water cooling coil to a distal end thereof adjacent a respective one of said concentrate pumping units, each of said potable water outlet lines extending throughout its entire length either in said water bath tank, said compartment or in insulation, whereby said entire length is kept cold to provide excellent casual drink performance of said dispenser.

11. A postmix beverage dispenser comprising:

(a) a housing;

(b) a water bath tank in said housing for holding an ice-water bath;

(c) a refrigeration system in said housing for forming an ice bank in said tank;

(d) a potable water circuit in said housing including a potable water cooling coil located in said tank;

(e) a concentrate compartment in said housing including a plurality of concentrate package stations, each adapted to hold a removable concentrate package of the type having a flexible dispensing tube;

(f) a plurality of concentrate pumping units in said housing;

(g) said concentrate pumping units each including a peristaltic pump driven by a variable speed gearhead motor with an encoder;

(h) said potable water circuit including a solenoid/water meter assembly;

(i) a control system in said housing receiving signals from said water meter for varying the speed of said motor to provide the desired ratio of water to concentrate; and

(j) said potable water circuit including a plurality of removable nozzles connected to said housing adjacent respective ones of said pumping units, said water circuit including a manifold, a water line connecting said potable water cooling coil to said manifold, and a plurality of water conduits connecting said manifold to respective fittings, and said nozzles being removably attached to respective ones of said fittings, said nozzles each including a central opening for receiving said tube and a plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart water discharge ports each aimed inwardly toward the axis of said central opening.

12. The dispenser as recited in claim 11 wherein each of said nozzles includes a slot leading into said central opening.

13. The dispenser as recited in claim 12 wherein each of said nozzles includes a pair of flexible arms, one on each side thereof, and locking means on said arms for holding said nozzles in place.

14. A postmix beverage dispenser comprising:

(a) a housing;

(b) a water bath tank in said housing for holding an ice-water bath;

(c) a refrigeration system in said housing for forming an ice bank in said tank;

(d) a potable water circuit in said housing including a potable water cooling coil located in said tank;

(e) a concentrate compartment in said housing including a plurality of concentrate package stations, each adapted to hold a removable concentrate package of the type having a flexible dispensing tube;

(f) a plurality of concentrate pumping units in said housing;

(g) said concentrate pumping units each including a peristaltic pump driven by a variable speed gearhead motor with an encoder;

(h) said potable water circuit including a solenoid/water meter assembly;

(i) a control system in said housing receiving signals from said water meter for varying the speed of said motor to provide the desired ratio of water to concentrate; and

(j) means for inputting into said control system the desired water to concentrate ratio of the product in each of any concentrate packages located in said compartment.

15. A postmix beverage dispenser comprising:

(a) a housing;

(b) a water bath tank in said housing for holding an ice-water bath;

(c) a refrigeration system in said housing for forming an ice bank in said tank;

(d) a potable water circuit in said housing including a potable water cooling coil located in said tank;

(e) a concentrate compartment in said housing including a plurality of concentrate package stations, each adapted to hold a removable concentrate package of the type having a flexible dispensing tube;

(f) a plurality of concentrate pumping units in said housing;

(g) said concentrate pumping units each including a peristaltic pump driven by a variable speed gearhead motor with an encoder;

(h) said potable water circuit including a solenoid/water meter assembly;

(i) a control system in said housing receiving signals from said water meter for varying the speed of said motor to provide the desired ratio of water to concentrate;

(j) means for inputting into said control system the desired water to concentrate ratio of the product in each of any concentrate packages located in said compartment; and

(k) said housing including a removable splash plate and said control system including a control box located behind said splash plate, said solenoid/water meter assembly being located in the rear of said compartment, and said pumping units being accessible from the front of said dispenser, whereby the major components of said dispenser are serviceable from either the front or top of said housing.

16. A method for making a major subassembly of a postmix beverage dispenser, said portion comprising a water-bath tank, a separate concentrate package compartment, a plurality of water conduits external to both said tank and said compartment, and a layer of insulation surrounding said tank and compartment and conduits, comprising the steps of:

(a) forming said tank;

(b) forming said compartment;

(c) bonding said tank to said compartment;

(d) positioning said conduits in place; and

(e) foaming in place said layer of insulation surrounding said tank, said compartment and said conduits, to form a one-piece, structural subassembly.

17. A one piece, structural subassembly for a postmix beverage dispenser comprising:

(a) a water bath tank;

(b) a concentrate package compartment;

(c) said tank and said compartment being bonded together;

(d) a plurality of conduits external to said tank and said compartment; and

(e) a layer of foamed-in-place insulation surrounding said tank, compartment and conduits.