CA1207289A - Cooling system for soft drinks - Google Patents

Cooling system for soft drinks

Info

Publication number
CA1207289A
CA1207289A CA000427457A CA427457A CA1207289A CA 1207289 A CA1207289 A CA 1207289A CA 000427457 A CA000427457 A CA 000427457A CA 427457 A CA427457 A CA 427457A CA 1207289 A CA1207289 A CA 1207289A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
coils
discharge heads
water
reservoir
liquid
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA000427457A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
James G. Maynard
Thomas W. Mcmacken
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Brown (ha) Ltd
Original Assignee
BROWN (H.A.) LTD.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by BROWN (H.A.) LTD. filed Critical BROWN (H.A.) LTD.
Priority to CA000427457A priority Critical patent/CA1207289A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1207289A publication Critical patent/CA1207289A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67DDISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/08Details
    • B67D1/0857Cooling arrangements
    • B67D1/0858Cooling arrangements using compression systems
    • B67D1/0861Cooling arrangements using compression systems the evaporator acting through an intermediate heat transfer means
    • B67D1/0864Cooling arrangements using compression systems the evaporator acting through an intermediate heat transfer means in the form of a cooling bath
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67DDISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/0015Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught the beverage being prepared by mixing at least two liquid components
    • B67D1/0021Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught the beverage being prepared by mixing at least two liquid components the components being mixed at the time of dispensing, i.e. post-mix dispensers
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67DDISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D2210/00Indexing scheme relating to aspects and details of apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught or for controlling flow of liquids under gravity from storage containers for dispensing purposes
    • B67D2210/00028Constructional details
    • B67D2210/00047Piping

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Devices For Dispensing Beverages (AREA)

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Dispenser units are provided having multiple discharge heads and providing improved cooling of the potable liquids dispensed by the dispenser to permit greater flow of chilled liquids. Multiple coils are connected so that a first head having a greater demand receives potable liquid from more than one coil and a second head having a lesser demand also receives liquid from the same coils thereby maximising the use of the coils to cool potable liquid.

Description

This invention relates to soft drink dispensers of the type which chill potable liquids and then mix these liquids with syrups to provide flavoured drinks at discharge heads.
Sot drink dispensers are used in fast food outlets and are located on a countertop near the point of Yale. The dispenser has a number of discharge heads provlding different sot drinks each of which can be dispensed from a ~ele~ted one of these heads by engaging a container such as a piper cup with a trigger located under the head AS lon9 as the trigger is forced backwards, drink will flow from the outletO
Because the dispenser is noEmally located on a countertop, it is important that its size be kept to a minimum.
Generally the dispenser consists of a reservoir containing multiple coils for cooling potable liquids one coil per dlscharge head, and in this reservoir a refrigerating system creates a block of ice and water is forced around the ice and cooling coils to chill the liquids. The amount of chill depends on the temperature of the water, the rate of flow through the coils, and the surface area of the coils exposed to the cooling water. Evidently, if the rate of flow of potable liquids is to increase to provide more drinks, then the unit will tend to be bigger in order to provide more coils and hence a greater surface area of the coils exposed to the cooling water.
It is an object of the present invention to minimize the size of a dispenser unit having multiple discharge heads while providing improved cooling of the potable liquids ~728~31 dispensed by the dispenser to permit greater flow of chilled liquids. To achieve this, the present invention uses multiple coils connected so that a first head having a greater demand receives potable liquid from more than one coil and a second head having a lesser demand also receives liquid from the same coils thereby maximizing the use of the coils to cool potable liquid.
he invention will be better understood with reference to the following description waken in combinatlon with the ; drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic flow char showing the paths followed by potable liquids and syrups to form drinks which issue rom discharge heads in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 2 is a side view, partly in section, and showing the internal arrangement of coils used in cooling the liquids and syrups;
FigO 3 is an exploded perspective view of the coils showing their relationships to one another, and a reservoir which on assembly contains the coils;
Fig. 4 is a top view of the assembled coils; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of part of a coil down to a larger scale and a retainer used to hold the coil in position in the reservoir.
Reference is made first to Fig. 1 to describe the flow paths of potable liquids and syrups through a dispenser according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. This ~Z~7~

figure will be described first to explaln the flow paths of the liquids and syrups and then the structure of the dlspenser will be described with reference to the other figures.
Accvrding to the preferred embodiment, the potable liquid is carbonated water which is suppliled to the dispenser from a carbonator tank 20 which feeds liquid through two tubes 22, 24 to respective junction pieces 26~ 28 having pairs of outlets 30, 32 and 34, 36. respective ~oo:Ling cowls ~8, 40, 42, and 44 are attached to the outlets and shown diagramatically in FigO 1. These coils lead chilled liquid to collectors 46 and 48 which in turn feed pairs of tubes 50, 52 and 54, 56 leading to discharge heads 58, 64, 60, and 66. A fifth discharge head 62 receives liquid from a coil 68 fed by a tube 70 directly from a water source through a control valve 720 Accordingly, in the preferred embodiment, the discharge heads 58~ 60 and 64, 66 receive carbonated water whereas the head 62 receives still water.
The discharge heads also receive syrup from respective containers 74, 76, 78~ 80, and 82. TheSe syrups are fed through coils, 84t 86, 88, 90, and 32 to the respective discharge heads where they are mixed with the liquids either carbonated or still originating from the carbonator 20 or through the water tube 70.
An important consideration in this invention is the amount of use each of the heads 58 to 66 receives. It is common practice in devices of this type to provide one brand of soft drink which is used significantly more frequently than any of the others. In fact, in many instances, the two end discharge to ~4~ 2~

heads will account for a very large percentage of the sales of drinks from the equipment. In the present invention, discharge head 58 would be arranged to carry the most freguently used drink and head 66 to carry the next most frequently used drink.
In many instances, the same drink will be provided in both of these heads and the other heads will dispense a lesser amount of drink.
In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the cooling coils are arranged to cool in pairs Jo tha$ they combine with one another to cool the Yost used drink at say, head 58 and a lesser used drink at say head 64. For instance the coils 38 and 40 receive carbonated water from the junction piece 26 fed by the tube 22 and both coils cool carbonated water and then feed the chilled water into a collector 46 which distributes the water prom both of the coils into the tubes S0 and 52b In normal use, because the head 58 is discharging much more liquid than the head 64, both coils 38 and 40 are contributing to the .. cooling of liquid leaving the head 58 so that thy full surface area of both of these coils is available for cooling what liquid When an occasional use is demanded of head 64, then this may be on its own in which case both coils 38 and 40 are contributing, or it it is at the same time as the head 58, there will be a slight pressure drop and for that particular usage, the coils 38 and 40 will have to contribute to output at both heads 58 and 640 This occasional use in this format will have minimal effect on the overall ability of the coils 38 and 40 to feed sufficient chilled liquid to the head 58. Similarly, heads )7~

60 and 66 receive chilled liquid via collector 48 which receives the liquid from coils 42 and 44 and the greater demand will be satisfied by the head 66 which receives liquid cooled by both ox the coils 42 and 44.
The head 62 is conventional in that it is fed by a single coil 68 but this head is provided simply to complete the dispenser equipment which normally demands a still water supply which can be dispensed from the head either alone or in combination with a concentrate or syrup of some kind rom the syrup container 78.
Having described the general operation of the dispenser with reerence to Fig. 1, reference is next made to Fig. 2 to describe the structure of the dispenser.
As seen in jig. 2, discharge head 58 (and the others behind it1 are positioned above a drip tray 94 so what the user can position a cup under the head and actuate flow by moving a trigger 96 in the direction of the arrow. the discharge heads and the drip tray are attached to the wall of a reservoir 98 which is encased in stainless steel and insulated to contain water in which the various cooling coils are immersed On top of the reservoir 98, a refrigeration unit 100 is provided having a conventional condenser 102 associated with a fan 104, fan motor 106, and compressor 108. For simplicity, the conventional detail associated with these parts has been omitted. Also contained above the eeservoir 98 is an impeller motor 110 for driving a vertical shaft 112 carrying ak its end an impeller 114 for stirring water in the reservoir. The impeller is positioned 72~3~

centrally within refrigerating coils 116 associated with the refeigeration unit 100 and is driven Jo cause water to move downwardly so that it 10ws down inslde the refrigerating coils 116 and up the outside of these coils. The result is that the refrigerating coils 116 became are encased in ice which provides a smooth surface area over which the water flows to conduct heat from the cooling coils feeding the discharge heads to the refrigerating coils 116.
As seen in Figs. 2 and 3 the cooling coils are made up in groups for location in the reservoir 98. In order oE
assembly in the reservoir, coils 38 and 42 are at the bottom of the reservoir and above them, coils 40 and 4~0 The coils 38 and 40 are positioned within the coils 42, 44 and similarly, the water coil 68 is positioned inside the syrup coils 84, 86, 88, 90 and 92 which are positioned one above the other as shown.
This arrangement of coils leaves space in the middle of the reservoir for the refrigerant coils 116 which are positioned about the impeller 114 to create an annular block of ice about which water is driven in the direction of the arrows by the impeller 114. As the water flows, it passes between the individual coils thereby cooling the potable carbonated water as well as the still water and syrups. The block of ice effectively forms a heat sink so that it will change in si2e if there is a significant continuous demand over and above the average requirement. When there are no demands for drinks, the size of the ice will stabilize and maintain the water about it at a substantially constant temperature.

7~

As seen in Figs 4 and 5, the coils are held in position by uprights 120 which are notched to receive individual coil and are shaped to receive a vertical rod 122 (as seen best in Fig 5) to wrap the coils in ths notches of the upright.
These uprights serve both to space the toils in a group of coils and also to retain a particular group of coils in relationship to another group In use it is anticipated that the discharge heads will be used with different demands although the end discharge heads could be serving the same drink from the same type of syrup.
Quite often this is the case and the end heads are used so that the person serving the drinks can pick up two paper cups and place one under each head using both handsO The other discharge heads will be used less frequently and it is anticipated that the center head will be capable o discharging water or water mixed with some kind of conzentrate coming from the container 78.
In most instances, the end discharge heads will be used and these are served respectively by the pairs of coils 38, 40 and 42, 44~ Consequently, the full surface area of these coils is available for cooling. In the event thaw one of the heads J
say head 58 and another head such as head 64 are Jo serve drinks at the same time, then they will both receive cold carbonated water rom the coils 38, 40 via the connector 46. This demand will be greater than the average and the flow rate may be reduced slightly compared with the flow rate while either of the discharge heads 58 or 64 is being used alone. However, by this ~2~

arrangementl maximum cooling is available most of the time when the well used head 58 is operated. Consequently, the number of coils needed in the system is reduced thereby reducing the size of the equipment. This is because in a conventional manner each of the heads will have to be coupled to coins providing a surface area somewhat equivalent to that provided by the comb;nation of coils 38 and 40 or 42 and 44.
It is evident that the number of discharge heads can be varied and that the arrangement of coils will depend upon the number of heads and the requirements of the apparatus. however in general the discharge heads will receive carbonated :Liquid from a connector which in turn receives the carbonated water from more than one coil. Such variations are within the scope of the invention as described and claimed.which can be dispensed from the head either alone or in combination with a concentrate or syrup of SQme kind from the syrup container 78.
Having described the general operation of the dispenser with reverence to Fig. 1, reference is next made to Fig. 2 to describe the structure of the dispenser As seen in Fig. 2, discharge head 58 (and thy others behind it) are positioned above a drip tray 94 so thaw the user can position a cup under the head and actuate flow by moving a trigger 96 in the direction of the arrow. the discharge heads and the drip tray are attached to the wall of a reservoir 98 which is encased in stainless steel and insulated to contain water in which the various cooling coils are immersed. On top of the reservoir 98, a refrigeration unit 100 is provided having a conventional condenser 102 associated with a fan 104, fan motor 106, and compressor 108. For simplicity, the conventional detail associated with these parts has been omitted. also contained above the reservoir 98 is an imp,eller motor 110 for driving a vertical shaft 112 carrying at its end an impeller 114 for stirring water in the reservoir. The impeller is posit~o~ed centrally within refrigerating coils 116 as ociated with the refrigeration unit lOQ and is driven to cause water to move downwardly so what it flows down inside the refrigeEating coils : 116 and up thy outside of these coilsO The result is that the refrigerating coils 116 become encased in ice which provides a smooth surface area over which the wates flows to conduct heat from the cooling coils feeding the discharge heads to the rerigerating coils 116.
As seen in Figs. 2 and 3, the cooling coils are made up in groups for location in the reservoir 98. In order of assembly in the reservoir, coils 38 and 42 are at the bottom of the reservoir and above them, coils 40 and 44. The coils 38 and 40 are positioned within the coils 42, 44 and similarly, the water coil 68 i5 positioned inside the syrup coils 84, 86, 88, 90 and 92 which are positioned one above the other as shown This arrangement of coils leaves space in the middle of the reservoir for the refrigerant coils 116 whîch are pQsitioned about the impeller 114 to create an annular block of ice about which water is driven in the direction of the arrows by the impeller 114. As the water flows9 it passes between the individual coils thereby cooling the potable carbonated water as
2~!~

well as the still water and syrups The block of ice effectively forms a heat sink so that it will change in size if there is significant continuous demand over and above the average requirements. When there are no demands for drinks, the size of the ice will stabilize and maintain the water about it at a substantially constant temperaturen As seen in Pigs. 4 and 5; the coi.Ls are held in position by uprights 120 which are notched to receive individual coils and shaped to receive a vertical rod 122 (as seen best in Fig. 5) to trap the coils in the notches of the uprights. These uprights serve both to space the coils in a group of coils and also to retain a particular group of coils in relationship to another groupO
In use, it is anticipated that the discharge heads will ba used with different demands although the end discharge heads could be serving the same drink from the same type of syrup.
Quite often this is the case and the end heads are used so that the person serving the drinks can pick up two paper cups and place one under each head using both hands. The other discharge heads will be used less frequently and it is anticipated that the center head will be capable of discharging water or water mixed with Rome kind of concentrate coming from the container 78.
In most instances, the end discharge heads will be used and these are served respectively by the pairs of coils 38, 40 and 42, 44. Consequently, the full surface area of these coils is available for cooling. In the event that one of the heads, say head S8 and another head such as head 64 are to serve drinks 8~9 at the same time, when they will both receive cooled carbonated water from the coils 38~ 40 via the connector 46. This demand will be greater than the average and flow rate may be reduced slightly compared with the flow rate while either of the discharge heads 58 or 64 is being used alone. However, by this arrangement, maximum cooling is available most of the time when the well-used head 58 is operated. Consequently, the number of coils needed in the system is reduced thereby reducing the size of the equipment. This is because in a conventional manner each of the heads would have to be coupled to coils providing the surface area somewhat equivalent to thaw provided by the combination of coils 38 and 40 or 42 and 44.
It is evident that the number o discharge heads can be varied and that the arrangement of coils will depend on the number of heads and the requirements of the apparatus. However in general the discharge heads will receive carbonated liquid from a connector which in turn receives the carbonated water from more than one coilO Such variations are within the scope of the invention as described and claimed.

Claims (5)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. Apparatus for dispensing at least one beverage from a plurality of outlets, a first of the outlets responding to a greater demand than that required from a second of the outlets, the apparatus comprising:
a reservoir for containing water;
first and second discharge heads associated one with each of said outlets, the discharge heads being associated with the respective first and second outlets;
a refrigerator system including a refrigerator coil contained in the reservoir to freeze the water locally about the coil;
first and second cooling coils extending about the refrigerator coil for receiving potable liquid and cooling this liquid as the liquid flows through the cooling coils;
a collector receiving the potable liquid from the cooling coils; and means coupling the receptor to the discharge heads so that potable liquid from both coils is available from the receptor at one or both of the discharge heads as required by the demands on these discharge heads.
2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the refrigerator system includes impeller means to circulate water in the reservoir about the cooling coils.
3. Apparatus for dispensing beverages from a plurality of discharge heads, the apparatus comprising:

a reservoir for containing water;
a refrigerator system mounted on the reservoir and including a central impeller, refrigerator coils about the impellor to freeze the water locally to form an annular block of ice, and means operable to drive the impeller to move water about the ice;
a plurality of cooling coils positioned about the ice in the water for chilling potable liquid flowing through the coils;
means coupling the cooling coils to respective discharge heads so that those of the discharge heads responding to the greatest demand draw chilled potable liquid from two of the coils and some of those with less demand draw potable liquid from one of the coils responding to the greatest demand;
further cooling coils coupled to the discharge heads for chilling flavoured concentrates; and means coupling the further cooling coils to the discharge heads for mixing with the chilled potable liquid to make beverages in response to demands at the discharge heads.
4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 in which there are two discharge heads responding to the greatest demand and two discharge heads responding to the lesser demand.
5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 in which the cooling coils are arranged in outer and inner groups.
CA000427457A 1983-05-04 1983-05-04 Cooling system for soft drinks Expired CA1207289A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000427457A CA1207289A (en) 1983-05-04 1983-05-04 Cooling system for soft drinks

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000427457A CA1207289A (en) 1983-05-04 1983-05-04 Cooling system for soft drinks

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1207289A true CA1207289A (en) 1986-07-08

Family

ID=4125170

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000427457A Expired CA1207289A (en) 1983-05-04 1983-05-04 Cooling system for soft drinks

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CA (1) CA1207289A (en)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1121325A1 (en) * 1998-09-15 2001-08-08 IMI Cornelius Inc. Beverage dispenser
EP1121322A2 (en) * 1998-08-18 2001-08-08 Lancer Partnership, Ltd. Beverage dispenser with enhanced cooling efficiency
EP1310752A1 (en) * 2001-11-08 2003-05-14 CELLI S.p.A. Device for the geometric stabilisation of dual plan spiral evaporators for drink distribution systems
WO2006123199A1 (en) * 2005-05-19 2006-11-23 Dieau - Edafim Multiple chilled alcoholic beverages dispenser system

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1121322A2 (en) * 1998-08-18 2001-08-08 Lancer Partnership, Ltd. Beverage dispenser with enhanced cooling efficiency
EP1121322A4 (en) * 1998-08-18 2002-04-24 Lancer Partnership Ltd Beverage dispenser with enhanced cooling efficiency
EP1121325A1 (en) * 1998-09-15 2001-08-08 IMI Cornelius Inc. Beverage dispenser
EP1121325A4 (en) * 1998-09-15 2001-12-12 Imi Cornelius Inc Beverage dispenser
EP1310752A1 (en) * 2001-11-08 2003-05-14 CELLI S.p.A. Device for the geometric stabilisation of dual plan spiral evaporators for drink distribution systems
WO2006123199A1 (en) * 2005-05-19 2006-11-23 Dieau - Edafim Multiple chilled alcoholic beverages dispenser system

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