IL95362A - Dispenser apparatus for carbonated soft drink bottles - Google Patents

Description

p np¾ra >pinp:ib now in i rin Dispenser Apparatus for carbonated soft drink bottles 95362/2 The present invention relates to beverage dispensers , particularly of the type disclosed in my European Patent No..3771 5 , the contents of which being hereby incorporated by reference, (hereinafter referred to as " PET bottles dispensers").

The PET bottles dispenser, is designed to serve pre-prepared carbonated beverages supplied in family size PET bottles , in contradistinction to restaurants and bars installations, where the soft drink is prepared by mixing water and syrup and adding pressurized C02 gas to the mixture at the point of dispensing.

Within the housing of the dispenser unit (see Fig. 1), a plurality of pressure chambers is provided, within which the bottles are accommodated. Upon applying external air pressure onto a media surrounding the bottles (eg. water) the bottles become crimped and their contents are dispensed via a dispensing valve or spout. Once completely, squeezed and exhausted, the lid of the dispensing apparatus must be opened, and the bottle exchanged for a fresh one.

According to the previous design, in order to be used in the PET bottles dispensers, the. bottle or bottles had to be individually handled, namely, opened and then communicated directly or intermediately by a special adaptor (see part 96 in Fig. 7 of the above mentioned EU Patent ) with the dispensing spout.

This procedure is quite cumbersome and may hinder the mercantability of the units to the public at large.

It is the main object of the invention to simplify the procedure of exchanging exhausted bottles in the PET bottles dispensers.

It is a further object of the invention to provide means for automatically connecting individual, exchanged bottles, to the installation without any further ancillary operation .

It is a still further object of the invention that the automatic connection and release of the bottles be achieved by the application of air pressure into the pressure chamber, which pressure must anyhow be supplied to further operate the apparatus .

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a plug fitting the mouth of the bottles, so that only bottles originally manufactured by authorised manufacturers will be suitable for use as replacement bottles.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide means for assuring a neat, symetrical deformation of the bottles in order to facilitate their retrieval out of the presssure chamber, for replacement.

According to the invention there is provided an apparatus for dispensing of beverages contained in PET bottles comprising one or more pressure chambers provided with openable lids, within which the bottles are replaceably stored, and means for charging the chamber with pressurized air, causing the squeezing of the bottles to dispense the beverage upon the opening of a dispensing spout communicating with the interior of the bottles, characterized in that the bottles are closed by a screw-on plug comprising an integrally formed tearable diaphragm, and that the lid is provided with a piercing needle adapted to tear the diaphragm when the lid is in its closed position, so as to establish communication with the dispensing spout. .

Y The piercing needle is preferably mounted to a plunger reciprocable within a cylinder provided at the inner side of the lid, said pressurized air causing the displacement of the plunger and piercing of the diaphragm by the said needle.

The reciprocating movement of the needle and associated members function to seal the beverage outlet conduit in the upper, inoperative position of the needle,, and to open same after a sealed engagement is attained between the needle and the bottle plug immediately prior to rupture of the diaphragm.

These and other constructional features and advantages of the present invention will become more clearly,, understood in the light of the ensuing description''Όΐ a preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of example, only, with reference to the accompanying drawings , wherein - Fig. 1 is a general, three-dimensional view of the complete PET bottles dispenser apparatus; Fig. 2 illustrates the ultimate state of a squeeze exhausted bottle; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross section of a pressure chamber constructed according to the principles of the present invention; Fig. 4 is a section taken along line IV-IV of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an enlarges cross sectional view of the bottle plug shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a fragmental view of a check valve provided on the pressure chamber lid as shown in Fig. 3; and Fig. 7 is a schematic, cross-sectional top view of the inner assembly of the apparatus of Fig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 1 the apparatus denoted 10 is generally box-shaped having base housing section 12 and a top housing section 14. The top section 14 is provided with one or more (three in the illustrated example) dispensing spouts 16a, 16b, 16c, each adapted to dispense a different sort or brand of carbonated drink. In this respect, the apparatus 10 does not differ from that shown in Fig. 10 of above mentioned EU Patent namely, it includes a plurality of pressure chambers immersed in water cooled by refrigerating means and having the necessary connections to a source of pressurized air, water and electricity as requires for its operation.

Fig. 2 shows a bottle having been squeezed and exhausted by use of the apparatus 10, namely being a PET bottle 20 with an especially designed screw on cap or plug 22 details of which will be given below.

Turning now for more detail to Fig. 3, each pressure chamber, generally designated 24, is in the form of the cylindrical vessel 26 with a lid 28 hinged to the vessel 26 by pin 30. A clasp or other locking device 32 is provided for closing the lid, and seal ring 34 is provided to seal the lid 28 onto the vessel 26.

The vessel is further provided with a drain outlet 36 with tap 37 connected to drain accumulating reservoir 38.

PET bottle 20, filled with beverage, normally carbonated soft drink and closed by the plug 22, is placed within the vessel 26 of the chamber 24, and is preferably centered by three leaf-springs 40a, 40b, 40c (see Fig. 4)'. This arrangement is recommended for the further object, namely to allow insertion of bottles having different volumes into one and the same vessel (eg of 1,2, or 3 lits . ) .

As better seen in Fig. %, the plug 22 is made of a yieldeable material such as plastic and comprises a first section 42 with female screw thread fitting the thread of the bottle 20. Further overlying the section 42 is a cap U section 44 with a circular sealing' lip 4/¥ to assure the sealing of the bottle mouth 20a. There is further provided a cylindrical, open-top portion 48 with an inner bore 49,· preferably provided with integrally formed sealing ribs 50. The bore 49 is closed at its bottom by a ruptureable diaphragm 52, preferably attached to the portion 44 through weakened, tearing line 54 which may by attained by providing a cirular recess 56, as shown.

As' already mentioned, this special type of capped bottle plug is considered to be advantageous in the context of the present invention, since only bottles originally filled and offered for sale by an authorized beverage manufacturer may be employed for use with the apparatus 10; such manufacturer who sponsors and distributes the apparatus will be thus assured that only bottles of their brand will be used and will therefore promote sales of their products and not of others.

Evidently, other types of caps could be designed, fulfilling the requirements as will be clarified below.

Referring back to Fig. 3 it is shown that the lid 28 is provided with an inlet fitting 60 connected to the pressurized air source of the apparatus (not shown) leading through a bore 62 to the other side of the lid 28.

Centrally located and projecting from the inner side of the lid 28 a cylinder 64 is formed. Within the cylinder a plunger 66 is reciprocable, carrying a hollow piercing needle 68 having a pointed end 68a and a tubular portion 68b sealed inside bore 70 by O-rings 70a.

The bottom side of the cylinder 64 is simply closed by a cover 72 with a central opening 72a which fits the outer diameter of the tubular portion 48 of the cap 22. The bottom plate 72 freely rests within the bore of the cylinder 64 by a split-ring 74; if necessary orifice 76 is made as shown; likewise an orifice 78 is provided passing through the plunger 66.

Further provided on the lid is a check-valve 80 5"" details of which are better seen in Fig. j&f. Hence, the check valve 80 has a through-going bore 82, a valve-seat section 84 and a valve member 86 in the form of a ball, which ball is made of a light weight, floatable material. The ball is retained in its downward, gravity-induced position against split-ring 88.

Finally, the lid is provided with a third passage 90 leading to an outlet fitting 92 of the dispensed beverage, from which it is carried by a flexible hose section 94 into a coil pipe 96 surrounding the vessel 26. At its end 96a, the beverage is fed by conduit 97 to one of the spouts 16. Preferably a pressostat device 98 is provided for preventing the ingress of air into the conduit 97 in "the reverse direction, should pressure within the system drop below a predetermined value. This is important in view of the fact that any penetration of air into the system will cause foaming of the carbonated beverage, which is considered to be a significant problem in the current art of carbonated beverage dispensers .

The beverage is served into cups or the like denoted 100 placed upon a sink 102. The sink is connected to the drain collector 38 by line 104 as shown; The check valve 80 is also connected by conduit 106 to the drain 38.

As further seen in Fig. 7, the compression chambers 24 are arranged in pairs, 3 pairs are shown, connected in parallel by header conduit 108 to their common dispensing valve 16, all chambers being immersed in water 110 cooled by coil 112 of the refrigeration system (not shown).

Operation of the apparatus will now be briefly described.

Bottle 20 with the cap 22 is placed within the vessel 26 while the lid 28 is open. The central location of the bottle is ensured by springs 40. Once the lid 28 is closed and locked by the clasp 32 the piercing needle is brought, into register with the bore 49 of the cap 22. Pressure is admitted to the system through bore 62. The pressure will first build up within the space above the plunger 66. Due to the tiny passage presented by the orifice 78, some pressure will leak to the other side of the plunger 66, nevertheless the plunger as a whole will descend, first releasing the passage 90 and, upon further decent, rupture the diaphragm 52. At first, the needle 68 communicates with the check valve 80 and then later on, also with the outlet 92 once bore 90 is gradually opened. It should now be evident that the check valve is installed to release a certain amount of compressed C02 (perhaps also a small amount of air) which is inevitably found at the top of every bottle.

Simultaneously, as vessel 26 becomes pressuirzed and PET bottle 20 is squeezed, a small amount of the liquid beverage will begin to flush upwards, filling both the passages leading to the check valve 80 and to the outlet 92. At this point the check valve starts to operate, namely the floatable ball 86 thereof will, close against the valve seat 84 and force the beverage to flow only through outlet 92. In the meantime, as pressure continues to be supplied through orifice 78, orifice 76 and/or around the plate 72, vessel 26 will also become further pressurized thereby effecting the squeezing operation of the PET bottle 20 until equilibrium state is attained between the vessel 26 and the pressure source.

This equilibrium is maintained until the respective valve 16 is opened, resulting in delivery of the beverage and a consonant pressure drop within the bottle 20. As pressure is further introduced to achieve a new equilibrium following reduction in the volume of beverage, the bottle will be gradually squeezed, initially at the points of contact the leaf springs, thereby attaining the star-shape deformed state shown in Fig. 4.

After complete exhaustion of the PET bottle 20 (see Fig. 2), incoming pressure at the pressure inlet 60 may be relieved and the appartus vented. As a result, the relatively high ambient pressure trapped and prevailing within the vessel 26, will act in the opposite direction so as to displace the plunger 66 upwards. The needle will retract from the bore 49 of the cap 22 and resume is uppermost position, where its upper end 68b seals the bore 90. Now when the pressure is relieved from the vessel 26 the lid can be opened, the expent bottle may be retrieved and disposed of, and a new bottle charged so that the' process of dispensing its contents may be repeated in the same manner.

It is thus assured that the refilling procedure of the apparatus will be most convenient, not involving any ancillary operations such as opening the bottle, mounting special adaptors, etc. etc., Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that numerous changes and modifications may be applied to the exemplified embodiment of the invention without departing from its scope as defined in and by the appended claims.

Claims (16)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An apparatus for dispensing of beverages contained in PET bottles comprising: - one or more pressure chambers provided with openable lids, within which the bottles are replaceably stored, and - means for charging the chamber with pressurized air, causing the squeezing of the bottles to dispense the beverage upon the opening of a dispensing spout communicating with the interior of the bottles characterized in that the bottles are closed by a screw-on plug comprising an integrally tearable diaphragm, and that the lid is provided with a piercing needle adapted to tear the diaphragm when the lid is in its closed position, so as to establish communication with the dispensing . spout .

2. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the needle is mounted to a plunger reciprocable within a cylinder provided at the inner side of the lid, said pressurized air causing the displacement of the plunger and piercing of the diaphragm by the said needle.

3. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the plunger comprises pressure restricting means allowing passage of the pressure into the chamber only upon completion of piercing of the diaphragm.

4. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the pressure restricting means consist of an orifice extending through the plunger^".

5. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the pressure chamber is in the form of a cylindrical vessel and the lid is hinged therto.

6. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 5 wherein the needle extends and fits into a guide bore formed in the lid, the bore branching into a first passage leading to the said dispensing spout, and a second passage provided with a check valve.

7. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the entrance to the first passage is located such that it becomes open/closed by the displacement of the needle beyond a predetermined distance of its stroke.

8. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the check valve is responsive to shut the second passage against liquid flowing upstream thereof.

9. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 8 wherein the check valve comprises a ball valve member, valve. member retaining means and a valve seat located above the valve member when resting against the retaining means, the ball being of a light-weight, floatable material .

10. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the plug is made of plastic, having a first section with female screw thread conforming the screw thread of the bottle mouth, a partition section overlying the first section, a circular slit defining a tearing line of the diaphragm, and a second section extending upright of the diaphragm forming sealed sliding guide passage for the piercing needle.

11. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 5 wherein the vessel is immersed in cooled water, the beverage being adapted to flow through a cooling coiled pipe surrounding the vessel.

12. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein each chamber is provided with means for centering the position of the bottle thereinside.

13. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 13 wherein the centering means comprise at least three leaf springs equally distanced from each other, such that the bottle is forced to squeeze at the contact points of the springs into a star-shaped, deformed state.

14. The apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims, further comprising a drain collector connected to the check valve, to a sink provided undeside the dispensing spout, and to a drain outlet at the bottom of the pressure chamber.

15. An apparatus for dispensing of beverages substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings .

16. A PET beverage bottle plug substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. For the Applicant DANIEL FREIMANN, Advocate 2-8106