BE1017473A5 - DEVICE AND METHOD FOR COOLING BEVERAGES. - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device (1000) and a cooling method for dispensing a beverage comprising: a source of refrigerant; a reservoir (10) adapted to contain said refrigerant fluid in liquid form in its lower part and to allow the evaporation of said refrigerant in gaseous form, and adapted to contain said gaseous refrigerant in its upper part; a first pipe (20) adapted to conduct said liquid refrigerant in said tank; a second pipe (30) capable of withdrawing the gaseous refrigerant from said tank (10); at least one conduit (40) capable of circulating said beverage to be dispensed inside said reservoir (10) and in heat exchange relation with the refrigerant in liquid and / or gaseous form.

Description

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR COOLING BEVERAGES

Object of the invention

The present invention relates to a device and a method for cooling and dispensing beverages. In particular, the invention relates to a device and a method for cooling and dispensing beer and other beverages in "flying pump".

BACKGROUND

[0002] Systems have long been known that are capable of dispensing beverages such as beer, sparkling wines, sodas, etc., while maintaining the drinks at a given temperature which may vary from one drink to another. other. In the case of beer, for example, it is known that below a temperature of -1.5 ° C it freezes and above 4 ° C it foams and that the tasting temperature depends on the type of beer (so depending on the type of beer, the temperature allows the drink to reveal its tastes, aromas and scents). Typically, two methods are known for cooling beverages.

The first method is that where a coil or a tank containing a drink, bathes either in an ice bath or in a chilled water bath by a conventional refrigeration unit. In this respect reference can be made to the apparatus described by the patent FR2684088. In the case where the coil or the tank is bathed in an ice bath, we can observe as main disadvantages: the low efficiency of heat transfer of the ice and its price, as well as the difficulty to obtain and transport blocks of ice whose longevity is limited. In the case where the coil or the tank is immersed in a refrigerated water bath by a conventional refrigeration unit, one can observe as main disadvantages of such an apparatus: the need to have a reservoir of large dimensions to contain the water refrigerated, the long filling time of the water tank (which is not easy for a distribution in "flying pump" j, as well as the time of cooling of the volume of water and therefore the important delay between serving the appliance and dispensing a first cooled drink.

[0004] The second method is that in which a reservoir containing a beverage is surrounded by an evaporator (thus in direct contact with the latter) of a conventional cooling circuit The reservoir is integrated in an insulated compartment and is cooled by heat exchange with the evaporator, in this respect reference can be made to patent US3712514, the main drawbacks of which are: the cooling time of the tank which must be cooled completely before dispensing, the important dimensions of the insulated chamber containing the tank and the evaporator, and the presence of air (with a very low heat exchange coefficient) between the tank and the evaporator.

[0005] FR 2815024 also discloses a refrigerated beverage dispenser in which the beverage is cooled by two cooling means. However this dispenser is suitable for a small flow of drinks. In addition, this document describes a method comprising both the method described by FR2684088 and that described by US3712514.

Also known by US5970732 a beverage cooling system in which a beverage is cooled by means of a heat exchanger. In this system, the heat exchange is carried out by direct thermal contact between the beverage and the coolant circulating inside this exchanger, these two liquids being separated by a metal surface. However, this system has the following drawbacks. The construction of such a system is complex and expensive, due to the presence of the set of plates arranged at a precise distance δ and difficult to achieve. Therefore, the cleaning inside the exchanger is practically unachievable due to the presence of inaccessible areas. In addition, this system involves high risks of contamination of the beverage by the refrigerant gas, due to a lack of sealing (thus a defect of a weld or perforation in the separation zone between the drink and the gas). In addition, the heat exchanger requires, for its own operation, a liquid separator 3. Due to the shape of the latter, the heat exchanger can not be easily heat-insulated. In addition, this system can only cool one drink at a time. So, in the case where a large draft is requested and a first barrel is empty, before being able to continue the distribution it is necessary to wait to replace the empty barrel with a full barrel, or to have a second exchanger waiting for use.

The invention aims to provide a cooled drink dispenser does not have all these disadvantages.

In particular, the invention aims to provide a beverage dispenser for cooling continuously and instantaneously a source of drink, including when the barrel containing a beverage is at high temperature, without having an intermediate between the refrigerant and the drink pipe. In addition, the object of the invention is to provide a beverage dispenser for cooling beverages without the need for water, ice, mass or stirring to create a reserve and heat exchange. The invention aims, finally, to provide a beverage dispenser for use in "flying pump", so a dispenser easily movable, easy to install and allowing the distribution of cooled drinks shortly after installation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a beverage dispenser for dispensing a beverage comprising: • a source of refrigerant (such as a conventional refrigerant circuit with, for example, R22, R404 or R407, or a bottle of liquefied gas containing, for example, CO 2, etc.); • a reservoir adapted to contain said refrigerant in liquid form in its lower part and to allow the evaporation of said refrigerant in gaseous form, and adapted to contain said gaseous refrigerant in its upper part; • a first pipe capable of conducting said liquid refrigerant in said tank (preferably in its lower part); A second pipe capable of withdrawing the gaseous refrigerant from said tank (preferably from its upper part); At least one duct adapted to circulate said ooiisson d'oisiriDuer inside said tank and in heat exchange relationship with the refrigerant in liquid and / or gaseous form;

Advantageously, said source of refrigerant is a conventional refrigerant circuit comprising: a compressor which compresses the refrigerant in the gas phase, and increases its temperature; • a condenser that lowers the temperature and condenses the refrigerant gas; Means, such as an expander or a capillary, capable of reducing the pressure of said refrigerant flowing through said first duct;

Advantageously, said compressor is a single-phase compressor, having a power of between 0.5 and 4 electrical HP.

In a preferred variant of the invention, the beverage dispenser further comprises: an auxiliary circuit connected to the cooling circuit by two connections, the first of which is located respectively between the output of the compressor and the condenser, and the second between the compressor inlet and the tank; • two check valves placed, respectively, between the first connection and the condenser, and between the reservoir and the second connection, able to close automatically if the refrigerant flows back from the condenser to said auxiliary circuit or auxiliary circuit to the tank; • a balancing valve, normally open when the compressor is off, placed inside the auxiliary circuit to balance the pressure inside said auxiliary circuit and closed when starting said compressor; • a magnetic valve, normally closed when the compressor is off, placed between the condenser and the tank, to stop the flow of refrigerant from the condenser to the tank and open when starting said compressor.

Advantageously, the drink dispenser comprises a thermostat adapted to measure the temperature inside said tank and to start or stop said compressor.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, said tank comprises inside a cylinder welded to the bottom of said tank and open on the top adapted to allow the collection of the refrigerant in gaseous form in the upper part of said tank and its evacuation by the second pipe to said compressor. This cylinder also increases, for a given refrigerant volume, the level of the latter inside the tank to improve the heat exchange between the fluid and the drink.

Advantageously, said at least one conduit is surrounded around said cylinder.

Advantageously, said duct is a coil, which may be stainless steel.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, said at least one duct is inserted into a tube to form a double wall duct to prevent any risk of leakage or contamination.

[0018] Advantageously, this tube is made of copper.

Preferably, the beverage dispenser comprises a safety pressure switch adapted to start or stop said compressor 50

The present invention finally relates to the use of a beverage pump dispenser pump.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Figure 1 is a simplified view of a beverage cooling device of the prior art.

[0022] Figure 2 shows a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of a beverage dispenser according to the invention.

Figure 3 shows a schematic view of a general mode of operation of the beverage dispenser of Figure 2.

FIG. 4 illustrates an advantageous embodiment of the dispenser of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED DEXECUTLON FORM OF THE INVENTION

Figure 1 is a simplified view of a beverage cooling device of the prior art wherein a pipe 100 (eg a coil) carrying a beverage is immersed in a water tank containing ice.

Figure 2 shows a general block diagram of a mode of operation of a beverage dispenser according to the invention. The distributor 1000 comprises: a source of refrigerant (such as a conventional refrigerant circuit with, for example, R22, R404 or R407, or a liquefied gas cylinder containing, for example, CO 2, etc.); A tank 10 insulated, in the form of a cylinder 28cm in diameter and 40cm high in sheet metal 4mm thick, adapted to contain said refrigerant in liquid form in its lower part and to allow the evaporation thereof, and to contain the gaseous refrigerant in its upper part; A first pipe 20 for transporting the refrigerant in liquid form in the lower part of the tank 10; A second pipe 30 capable of withdrawing the gaseous refrigerant from the upper part of the tank; A duct 40 able to circulate the beverage to be dispensed inside said tank and to cool it by heat exchange with the refrigerant in liquid and gaseous form.

Figure 3 schematically shows a preferred beverage dispenser in which the source of refrigerant is a conventional refrigerant circuit, according to the invention. The dispenser 1000 comprises: a refrigerant circuit 41 comprising: a single-phase compressor 50 of 2.25 hp (thus having a power of 4000 W at a 0 ° evaporation temperature) which compresses a refrigerant in the gas phase; a condenser 60 which, cooled by water or by outside air, lowers the temperature and condenses the refrigerant gas; a dehydrator 70 and a pressure reducer 80 which reduce the pressure of said refrigerant passing through the pipe 20 and going to the reservoir 10; a thermostat 90 adapted to measure the temperature inside said tank 10; • an auxiliary circuit 42 connected to the refrigerant circuit 41 by two connections 42a and 42b, the first between the output of the compressor 50 and the condenser 60, and the second between the inlet of the compressor 50 and the tank 10; Two check valves 43 and 43 'placed, respectively, between the connection 42a and the condenser 60, and between the reservoir 10 and the connection 42b; • a balancing valve 44, normally open, placed in the auxiliary circuit 42; A normally closed magnetic valve 45 placed between the condenser 60 and the tank 10.

This preferred beverage dispenser 1000 is used in the following manner. When the distributor 1000 is energized, and when the thermostat 90 controls the compressor 50 to start, it compresses the refrigerant gas phase. During the operation of the compressor 50, the magnetic valve 44, which is supplied in parallel with said compressor 50, is closed and therefore prevents the circulation of the refrigerant in the auxiliary circuit 42 and thus prevents the pressure equalization refrigerant entering and leaving the compressor 50. In the same way, during the operation of the compressor 50, the magnetic valve 45 is open, allowing free circulation of the fluid in the refrigerant circuit 41. The refrigerant gas phase, compressed by the compressor 50 passes through the condenser 60 which, cooled by water or by outside air, reduces its temperature and condenses it in liquid form. The refrigerant in liquid form passes through a dehydrator 70 and an expander 80 which ensure the proper filling of the reservoir 10 while controlling the good evaporation of the refrigerant. This first part of the cooling circuit is characterized by a high pressure of the fluid leaving the compressor 50 and entering the expander 80. When the fluid in liquid form enters the reservoir 10, passing through the expander 80 and the pipe 20, it will be deposited in the lower part of the tank 10 and boil by taking heat from its environment. The beverage circulating in the duct 40, typically a 21 m long stainless steel coil, inside the tank 10, is therefore cooled by the heat exchange between this duct 40 and the refrigerant in liquid and gaseous form. . In order to avoid any risk of leakage and contamination of the beverage, the duct 40 is, in one variant of the invention, inserted into a copper tube, that is to say forming a double wall duct having intermediate between the two walls at atmospheric pressure. The refrigerant in gaseous form is discharged through the pipe 30 which leads the latter to the compressor 50. The second part of the cooling circuit is characterized by a low pressure of the fluid leaving the expander 80 and entering the compressor 50.

When the compressor 50 is stopped, either when the temperature measured inside the tank 10 by the thermostat 90 reaches the required value, or when the distributor is de-energized, the magnetic valve 44 inside the circuit auxiliary 42 is open, while the magnetic valve 45 is closed and the two check valves 43,43 'automatically close any reflux of the refrigerant. In this way, it is possible to balance the pressure of the refrigerant inside the auxiliary circuit 42 without balancing the pressure (and therefore the temperature) inside the tank 10 and the condenser 60. The balancing between the high pressure of the fluid leaving the compressor 50 and the low pressure of the fluid entering the compressor 50 allows it to be able to restart easily after a stop and keep unchanged the temperature inside the tank 10 and the condenser 60. this mechanism can be used as a single-phase compressor compressor and avoid the use of a three-phase compressor requiring a three-phase outlet, which would limit the possibility of using the distributor pump flying. The single-phase compressor 50 has a power of between 0.5 and 4 CV.

As shown in Figure 4, in another embodiment of the invention the second pipe 30 may be replaced by a cylinder 31 welded into the bottom of the tank 10, open on the top allowing the output of the refrigerant in gaseous form. of the upper part of said reservoir 10. This cylinder 31 is placed inside the reservoir and is surrounded by the conduit 40 containing the drink. The presence of this cylinder 31 makes it possible to increase the level of refrigerant in liquid form contained in the tank 10, and thus to improve the heat exchange between the beverage and the refrigerant itself, and thus to reduce the cooling time of said drink inside the tank 10.

In another variant of the invention, the tank 10 may also provide several drink pipes 40, surrounded around the cylinder 11, without the need for other heat exchangers. This variant is particularly advantageous since it allows a large and continuous distribution of drinks.

Some electronic thermostats have the characteristic of a delay between the detection of a temperature threshold and their engagement, this delay of up to 10 s. To avoid the risk of excessive cooling and therefore of reducing the temperature below a threshold (typically 0 °), the dispenser 1000 comprises, in an advantageous variant of the invention, a safety pressure switch (not shown ) able to stop the compressor 50 when the pressure inside the tank 10 reaches the value corresponding to the required temperature value.

By means of the beverage dispenser, according to the invention, it is possible to build a compact and simple device. In addition, the dispenser of the invention makes it easy to meet safety standards imposing a double wall by inserting the conduit 40 stainless steel inside a tube, for example a copper tube. In addition, it has been experimented that the dispenser according to the invention can dispense after a few minutes a drink at a temperature of 2 °, while the barrel containing this drink is at 27 °.

Claims (11)

A beverage dispenser (1000) for dispensing a beverage comprising: - a refrigerant circuit (41) comprising: a compressor (50) which compresses the refrigerant in the gas phase, increasing its temperature, said compressor being a single phase compressor; • a condenser (60) which lowers the temperature and condenses the refrigerant gas; Means (80) capable of reducing the pressure of said refrigerant passing through said first pipe (20) - a tank (10) able to contain said liquid refrigerant in its lower part and to allow the evaporation of said refrigerant in gaseous form, and adapted to contain said gaseous refrigerant in its upper part; - A first pipe (20) adapted to conduct said liquid refrigerant in said tank (10); a second pipe (30) capable of withdrawing the gaseous refrigerant from said tank (10); - At least one conduit (40) adapted to circulate said beverage to be dispensed inside said reservoir (10) and in heat exchange relationship with the refrigerant in liquid and / or gaseous form. 2. Drink dispenser according to claim 1 characterized in that it further comprises: - a circuit (42) connected to said refrigerant circuit (41) by two connections (42a) and (42b), the first being respectively between the compressor outlet (50) and condenser (60), and the second located between the compressor inlet (50) and the tank (10); two check valves (43) and (43 ') placed, respectively, between the connection (42a) and the condenser (60), and between the reservoir (10) and the connection (42b), able to automatically close the refluxing said refrigerant from the condenser (60) to said circuit (42) or said circuit (42) to the reservoir (10); - a balancing valve (44), normally open when the compressor (50) is stopped, placed inside the circuit (42) to balance the pressure inside said circuit (42) and closed during starting said compressor (50); - a magnetic valve (45), normally closed when the compressor (50) is stopped, placed between the condenser (60) and the tank (10), to stop the flow of refrigerant from the condenser (60) to the tank (10) and open when starting said compressor (50). 3. Beverage dispenser according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that it comprises a thermostat (90) adapted to measure the temperature inside said tank (10) and to start or stop said compressor 50. 4. Beverage dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said reservoir (10) comprises inside a cylinder (31) welded to the bottom of said reservoir (10) and open on top, able to allow collecting the gaseous refrigerant in the upper part of said tank (10) and its evacuation through the second pipe (30) to said compressor (50). 5. Beverage dispenser according to claim 4, characterized in that said at least one conduit (40) is surrounded around said cylinder (31). Beverage dispenser according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said duct (40) is a coil. 7. Beverage dispenser according to claim 6, characterized in that this coil is made of stainless steel. 8. Beverage dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said at least one conduit (40) is inserted into a tube to form a double-walled conduit to prevent any risk of leakage or contamination. Beverage dispenser according to claim 8, characterized in that said tube is made of copper. 10. Beverage dispenser according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises a safety pressure switch adapted to start or stop said compressor 50. 11. Use of the beverage dispenser according to any one of claims 1 to 10 for dispensing drinks in a pump.