MXPA06005232A - Table top refrigerated beverage dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

A self-contained beverage chilling apparatus including a refrigerant cooling system comprising a refrigerant reservoir in a fluid communication with a cold plate, a refrigerator accumulator, a compressor and a refrigerant condenser mounted within a housing unit. The housing unit further included beverage inlet means in fluid communication with the cooling system cold plate, and beverage dispenser means in fluid communication with the cold plate wherein the beverage to be dispensed is chilled to a desired temperature as it passes through the cold plate to the beverage dispensing means.

Description

BACKGROUND FOR REFRIGERATED DRINK TABLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to beverage dispensing systems employing cooling subsystems, and more particularly to a self-contained table beverage dispenser incorporating a cooling plate. cooled with refrigerant to cool the drink. Description of the Prior Art In a large number of restaurants, taverns, canteens and clubs in which beer is sold in the bar, beer kegs are stored in a cold room where they can be kept at a reduced temperature along with other perishable foods and other beverages. These cold rooms are typically maintained at a temperature of approximately 4.4 ° C (40 ° F). Beer is conducted from cold rooms to server towers in the bar where plastic tubes or beer lines extend into a thermally insulated jacket, or trunk line. The distance between the cold room and the tower can be up to 1.5 meters and up to 60 meters, depending on the plane of the establishment in question. To move the beer through the lines, those systems require a pressurization subsystem that pushes a beer from the cold space through the full length of the beer line to the tower for its serving. The pressurization sub-system introduces a gas such as nitrogen or carbon dioxide into the beverage, pressurized the beverage to allow it to be pumped through the beer lines. As the beer is in communication from the cold room to the dispensing tower, it gets heat from the ambient atmosphere and is heated to a temperature above 4. 4 ° C (40 ° F) original. Even wrapped in thermally insulated trunk line, the 25 meter trip of the beer on the trunk line can result in the temperature of the beer increasing 4.6 ° C at the end of the trunk line. So when the lengths of the beer lines from the cold room to the assortment towers is not At a minimum, the beer spout system will traditionally include one or more glycol-containing glycol coolers in recirculation lines made of plastic tubing that extend into the thermally insulated trunk line carrying the beer lines. The presence of the lines Glycol recirculation can reduce beer heating by five to six degrees, resulting in such low final temperatures of 5.5 ° C (42 ° F) or a two-degree increase of the cold room to the end of the trunk line . Trunk lines can lead to the part The upper end of a counter of a support cabinet such that its downstream ends terminate below the counters, where it is connected with balance lines extending from the end downstream of the trunk line to the supply tubes. adjacent to the respective supply valve. During the practice the beer flowing from the beer lines through the balance lines and stainless steel pipes can be expected to warm up between 1 and 2 ° C (2 and 4 ° F). According to this in the previous example, beer that is initially at 4.4 ° C (40 ° F) in the cold room is heated to 5.5 ° C (42 ° F) at the end downstream of the trunk line, and then heat to approximately 7.2 ° C (45 ° F) by the time it reaches the dispensing valve. When the beer is charged with gas such as carbon dioxide to move the beer through the different lines the gas is introduced or dissolved in the fluid and resides in a stable state at temperatures below or at approximately -1.1 ° C (30 ° C). ° F). This is the gas does not bubble out of the fluid but is carried in the fluid and gives the drink its distinctive effervescence when consumed. However, as the temperature of the beer increases above -1.1 ° C, without an increase in pressure in the system, the gas gradually becomes more unstable and begins to bubble or foam on top of the beer that is flowing. The additional warming of the beer increases the foaming effect since the gas bubbles coalesce and propagate downstream, and the foaming is subsequently exacerbated by disturbances in the beer such as the turbulence generated when the beer is stocked from the dispenser valve. When the beer is heated to 7.22 ° C or more when the normal ambient pressure is exposed, the gas becomes unstable and so much foam is produced that when it is dispensed through the valves it frequently can not be served in the jars. As a result, the beer dispensed through the valve must be discarded as garbage, resulting in a significant erosion of the profits themselves. In the recent past, beer suppliers using systems such as those described above invented the inclusion of coated heat exchangers in the beer distribution systems just before the dispensing valves, to cool the beer to a low temperature in the downstream and trunk lines. The heat exchangers are cold cast aluminum or aluminum alloy plates incorporating tubular stainless steel beer coils to communicate beer from the end downstream of the trunk lines to the upstream end of the balance lines. Inside the cold plates next to the beer coils there is a series of refrigerant recirculating coils that are used to extract the heat of the beer in a heat exchange relationship. Typically the refrigerant used in those systems has been glycol. The cold glycol removes the cold from the chiller plate and the beer lines inside the chiller plate in a continuous manner to reduce the temperature of the beer entering the balance lines. If the glycol is cooled to for example -1.66 or -2.2 ° C where the chiller plate enters it can be expected that the beer flowing through the chiller plate will cool to approximately -1.6 ° C. In this case, when the beer Exit from the chill plate will be conducted to the dispensing valve by means of the balance lines and will be stocked at approximately -1.6 ° C. At this temperature the generation of the foam can be minimal if attention and care is taken when the supply is made through the dispensing valve and the profits can be retained. A system such as the one described above is described in United States Patent no. 5,694,787, entitled "Cold beer dispenser tower for the top of a counter" issued on December 9, 1997, and of which the present inventor is a co-inventor. Patent 787 discloses a coil unit or a basket that recirculates glycol includes an elongated tubular glycol inlet and tubular outlet sections having upstream ends connected to an upstream manifold and a downstream end connected to a downstream manifold. Although the system described in the '787 patent provides an over-the-counter cooler and dispenser apparatus, the use of a glycol reservoir and a glycol pump are required which require significant space and require adequate maintenance for efficient operation. Therefore, there is a need for a cold beverage dispenser system on the table that is compact, easy to maintain and does not require the use of a tank or a glycol pump. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a beverage supply system for supplying cold drinks consisting of a housing with one or more beverage inlet connection extending from the housing and one or more beverage spouts extending from the accommodation. A beverage cooling system is placed inside the housing, the cooling system contains a device containing a coolant supply, a cooling plate in fluid communication, the coolant reservoir in which the refrigerant lines extend through the chiller plate. The cooling system also includes an accumulator, a compressor, a refrigerant condenser and a thermal expansion valve placed between the coolant reservoir and the chiller plate to adjust the flow of the refrigerant depending on the temperature of the chiller plate, where the Drink lines extend between the beverage inlet connections and the beverage dispenser outlets, the beverage lines pass through the chiller plate in a heat exchange relationship with the refrigerant lines. An electronic control system is provided to control the operation of the beverage cooling system. The electronic control system includes an on / off switch that controls the operation of the beverage dispenser, and a pressure switch that controls the operation of the compressor. A second pressure switch is provided to control the beverage evaporator coil, and liquid line coil and a time delay relay. A manual defrost switch is provided to operate a defrosting line in case the chiller plate freezes. Alternative embodiments of the present invention may use a different cooling system in which the system is controlled or monitored by means of a thermostatic control that monitors the temperature of the chiller plate. Alternatively, the flow of refrigerant to the chiller plate can be controlled by means of a hot gas valve diverting the flow of refrigerant from the chiller plate or a pressure switch connected to the suction side of the compressor. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of the present invention; Figure 2 is a diagram of the cooling system of the refrigerant of the present invention; Figure 3 is a diagram of the electrical control system of the present invention; Figure 4 is a front view of the basket of coils for beverage lines used in the chiller plate in one embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 5 is an end view of the coil basket shown in Figure 4, Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view of an alternative configuration of the coolant cooling system of the present invention. Figure 7 is a diagram of a second alternative configuration of the coolant cooler system of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a diagram of the third alternative configuration of the refrigerant cooling system of the present invention. Figure 9 is a diagram of a fourth alternative configuration of the coolant cooler system of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The self-contained and independent beverage dispenser 1 of the present invention is shown in Figure 1. Although the present invention will be described in the context that the beverage to be stocked is beer, it should be understood that the invention It is not limited to beer. The dispenser of the present invention can be used to cool and serve any other beverage described. The beverage dispensing outlets 10a and 10b extend from the front end of the housing 14. The beverage dispensing outlets may be beer taps or other dispensers known in the art. A spill tray of the beverage 16 is placed below the dispensing exits 10a and b. The beverage dispenser 1 may be mounted on the surface of a counter or other supporting surface. The beverage inlet connections (not shown) are provided in the back part 18 of the obvious spout 1. The beverage spout 1 can be easily installed in the desired location. It is only necessary to take the drink lines from the deposit of the drink, this is the beer keg to the place of connection to the drink dispensing unit. A refrigerant cooling system 20 is contained within the housing to provide a self-contained beverage dispenser that does not require a separate glycol cooler and pump as required by the prior art systems. The refrigerant cooling system 20 of the present invention is shown in Figure 2. The cooling system 20 includes a receiver 22 which acts as a reservoir for the refrigerant, which is in fluid communication with the chiller plate 24 by means of the refrigerant line 25. The refrigerant cooling lines extend through the plate 24 to cool the corresponding beverage lines which also extend through a chiller plate 24. The chiller plate used is a standard chiller plate known to experts in the art in which the beverage and coolant lines can be wound around the chiller plate to increase the length of the lines placed inside the chiller plate. The cooling system 20 also includes an accumulator 26, a compressor 28 and a refrigerant condenser 30. As shown, the refrigerant leaves the chiller plate 24 and flows into the accumulator 26 through the refrigerant line 27. From the accumulator 26, the refrigerant travels to the compressor 28 through the refrigerant line 29. The refrigerant flows from the compressor 28 to the condenser 30 via the refrigeration line 31. The operation of the refrigerant system is described below in connection with Figures 2 and 3. The refrigerant in a preferred embodiment is used type 404a, enters the compressor 28 at a point A as a low pressure gas and is discharged from the compressor as a high pressure gas at point B. It enters the upper part of the condenser 30 at one point C. The refrigerant is cooled in the condenser, emerging as a liquid under high pressure and passes through a dryer 32 (which retains unwanted dirt, scale and moisture) in the va Liquid line valve 34, which opens when the chiller plate 24 is hot enough to require cooling as determined by means of the pressure switch PSW2. The refrigerant still in a high pressure liquid state, flows through the valve of the liquid line and enters the receiver tank 22, which serves as a storage tank for the refrigerant at point D. At point E, the refrigerant comes out of the receiver tank, passes through a viewing glass 36 (where the bubbles are observed if the system has a lack of refrigerant) and faces the thermal expansion of the valve 38. A potential difference is provided through the thermal expansion valve. This valve includes a sensing bulb that measures the degree of superheat of the suction gas that leaves the chiller plate and expands or contracts to allow the flow of refrigerant to be varied according to the needs. The refrigerant leaving the thermal expansion valve is in the liquid state at low pressure. In the thermal expansion valve 38 there is a small equalizing tube 39 connected to the outlet of the cooling plate 24. The equalizing tube 28 helps to equalize the pressure between the inlet and outlet sides of the cooling plate 24. After passing through of the thermal expansion valve 38, the refrigerant enters plate 24 at point G. As the liquid refrigerant enters the chiller plate it undergoes a much lower pressure due to the suction created by the compressor and the pressure drop across the valve. expansion. Thus, the refrigerant tends to expand and evaporate. By doing this, the liquid refrigerant absorbs the energy (heat) from the beverage lines inside the chiller plate 24. 1 n The low pressure gas 2 leaving the chiller plate 24 finds the valve of the evaporator 40, whose function is to trap the refrigerant in the chiller plate, helping to maintain the chiller plate while absorbing the heat of the beverage, this is beer in a preferred embodiment. From the evaporator valve 40, the gas passes into the accumulator 26, while preventing the liquid refrigerant from passing directly into the compressor and continuing back to the compressor 28. The thermal expansion valve 38 mentioned above is used instead of a capillary tube in order to provide an improved response to the cooling requirements of the chill plate 24. The electric control system 50 is illustrated in figure 3. The cooling on / off SW switch SW1 provides power to the entire system when oppressing manually the switch. The pressure switch SW2 monitors the pressure of the refrigerant in the compressor and drives the compressor fan and the condenser (not shown) when the pressure drops to a predetermined level 15 psi in a preferred embodiment, and drives the compressor back and forth. fan when the pressure returns to a second predetermined level, 30 psi in a preferred embodiment. The PSW2 pressure switch will normally be adjusted to monitor the refrigerant pressure with a range on the low pressure side of the compressor and shut off the compressor and condenser fan (Not shown) when the pressure drops to approximately 10 to 20 psi and turns on the compressor now goes to approximately 25 to 30 psi. The pressure switch SW3 monitors the pressure of the refrigerant in the chiller plate for beverages. When the pressure falls to a predetermined level, about 62-65 psi in a preferred embodiment, the pressure switch SW3 cycles off the beverage evaporator coil, the liquid line solenoid coil and the TM-1 delay relay. When the refrigerant pressure rises to a second predetermined level, approximately 72-75 psi in a preferred embodiment, switch SW3 cycles the solenoid valve of the beverage evaporator (beer), the liquid line solenoid and the delay relay. in time TM-1. A SW4 push-button defrost switch SW4 is provided to cycle the hot gas solenoid and cycle the condenser fan to give hot gas to the chiller plate if the chiller plate freezes. The pressure switch SW3 responds to the temperature of the chiller plate 24 for reading the pressure of the refrigerant as it is discharged from the chiller plate. When the chiller plate heats up enough, the liquid line valve and the evaporator valve open, allowing the refrigerant to flow through the system. When the chiller plate is cooled sufficiently, these valves will close, trapping most of the refrigerant in the system but allowing the gaseous refrigerant to be pumped from the accumulator to the compressor. The pumping of the accumulator in the compressor extends the life of the compressor preventing it from having to start against a high pressure differential. The TM-1 time delay relay causes the liquid line valve and the evaporator valve to remain open for approximately 10 seconds after the pressure switch SW3 instructs them to close. Allows some time for the system to stabilize and prevent short compressor cycles. As shown in Figure 2, a defrosting valve 42 is installed between the compressor discharge tube and the inlet of the chiller plate. A manually operated momentary switch SW4 can be deployed to open the defrost valve, which allows the high pressure gas from the compressor to be pumped into the chiller plate to defrost in the event of freezing. To prevent damage to the system, the switch should not be operated for more than two minutes.

The refrigerated beverage system described herein is capable of producing 16-ounce (0.47-liter) extractions continuously at an assortment temperature of approximately -1.1 ° C based on an entry temperature of the beverage (beer) of approximately 15.5 ° C already the ambient temperature of 21.1 ° C. An alternative configuration to the cooling system with refrigerant is shown in figure 6. In this mode a thermostatic control is provided to control the temperature of the liquid that is cooling through the chiller plate. The cooling system of the refrigerant 100 of this embodiment includes a refrigerant condenser 130, a dryer 132, chiller plate 124, accumulator 126, heat exchanger 150, and compressor 128. The refrigerant condenser 130 is in fluid communication with the plate chiller 124 by means of refrigerant line 125 and capillary line 127. As with the embodiment shown in figure 2, the refrigerant exits plate 124 and travels to accumulator 1226 by means of refrigerant line 131. The quench system 100 shown in Figure 6 is a critical load type system that uses just enough refrigerant to fill this system. As in the previous embodiment, the refrigerant, preferably the type 404a, enters the compressor 128 at point i as a low pressure gas and is discharged from the compressor as high pressure gas at point Bl. It enters the capacitor at point C_. The compressor 128 is in fluid communication with the condenser 130 by means of the refrigerant line 134. The operation of this mode of the cooling system is similar to the system described in connection with FIG. 2. The refrigerant is cooled in the condenser 130 and leaves the condenser in the form of a high pressure liquid, passing through a dryer 132. From the dryer 132 the refrigerant flows through the capillary line 127 to the heat exchanger 150 and from the heat exchanger 150 to the plate chiller 124. As the refrigerant passes through the chiller plate 124 it cools the liquid flowing through the heat exchanger 150 and the beverage lines (not shown). The refrigerant then leaves the chiller plate 124 and flows into the accumulator 26 through the compressor 128. Bypassing the refrigerant through the heat exchanger 150 as it flows from the accumulator 126 to a compressor 128 the refrigerant pressure is reduced avoiding the excess accumulation of liquid in the compressor 128. As shown in Figure 6, the heat exchanger 150 consists of a coil 150a formed in the capillary line 127 and the coil 150b formed in the refrigerant line 133. The coils 150a and 150b are placed together in a heat exchange relationship. The use of shrinkable wrap or other mechanical means known to those skilled in the art may be joined by means of welding. The operation of the compressor 128 is controlled by means of the thermostatic control 152 that is provided on the chill plate 124. Depending on the desired temperature of the cold beverage the thermostatic control 152 is cooled to a predetermined temperature value. By way of example, the coolant cooler system 100 of this embodiment can be used to produce frozen shots of an alcoholic beverage at -15 ° C. To produce very cold beverages at this temperature using the 404a type in the refrigerant the thermostatic control 152 will be set to start the compressor when the temperature reaches -13 ° C and turn off the compressor when it has reached -16 ° C and the compressor pressure would be set at approximately 38 psi. When the thermostatic control registers a chill plate temperature of -13 ° C (this is the chiller plate being heated) the compressor 128 is activated resulting in the discharge of high pressure gas at point B, and the transmission of the refrigerant gas through the refrigerant line 134 to the condenser 130. When the temperature of the chiller plate 124 reaches a predetermined temperature, such as -16 ° C, the thermostatic control 152 causes the compressor 128 to turn off. One skilled in the art will recognize that the system can be set at different on and off temperatures depending on which beverages are being cooled or how close one wishes to keep the beverage at a predetermined temperature. Alternatively, in. Instead of using a thermostatic control, the temperature of the liquid being cooled can be controlled by monitoring the gas pressure of the hot refrigerant. The refrigerant cooling system that monitors the hot gas pressure of the refrigerant shown in Figure 7. The refrigerant cooling system 200 of this embodiment includes a refrigerant condenser 230, the dryer 232, the chiller plate 224, accumulator 226, heat exchanger 250, hot gas valve 256 and compressor 228. Coolant condenser 230 is in fluid communication with chiller plate 224 by means of refrigerant line 225 and capillary line 227. As in the case of the embodiment shown in figure 6, the refrigerant leaves the chiller plate 224 and travels to the accumulator 226 by means of the refrigerant line 231. As in the case of the previous mode, the refrigerant, preferably the 404a type, enters the compressor 228 at point A2 as a low pressure gas and discharged from the compressor as a high pressure gas at point B2. It then flows to the condenser 230 via the refrigerant line 234 and enters the condenser at the point C2. The operation of this mode of the cooling system is similar to the system described in connection with Figure 6. The refrigerant is cooled in a condenser 230 and leaves the condenser as a high-pressure liquid, passing through the dryer 232. From the dryer 232 the refrigerant flows through the capillary line 227 to the heat exchanger 250 and the heat exchanger 250 to the chiller plate 224. As the refrigerant passes through the chiller plate 224 it cools the liquid flowing through the Drink lines included inside the chiller plate. The refrigerant then leaves the chiller plate 224 and flows to the accumulator 226, through the heat intercalator 250 and to the compressor 228. As shown in FIG. 7, the bypass line 225 is provided between the capillary tube 227 and the refrigerant line 234. The bypass valve for hot gas 256 is provided in the bypass line 255. Depending on the desired temperature of the desired beverage, as well as the freezing point of the beverage, the hot gas valve 256 is fixed to a predetermined pressure value. By way of example, the refrigerant cooling system 200 of this embodiment can be used to produce very cold shots of alcoholic beverages at -15 ° C, as well as to cool a beverage such as a beer at a temperature of -1.7 ° C. producing a frozen beverage at a temperature of -15 ° C the hot gas valve 256 would be set at a back side pressure of about 250-270 psi. To produce cold beverages at a temperature of approximately -1.7 ° C, the hot gas valve would be set at a back side pressure of approximately 150 psi. The cooling system 200 of this embodiment is a critical load type system in which just enough refrigerant is provided to fill the system with the use of or the need for a refrigerant tank. During operation the cooling system operates continuously with the refrigerant circulated continuously through the chiller plate. This continuous operation could lead to a "freezing" of the chiller plate depending on the beverage being cooled. This is avoided by providing the bypass valve 256 in the bypass line 255. The bypass valve 256 is adjusted to open when the hot gas pressure of the rear side reaches a certain predetermined pressure. When the hot gas back pressure reaches the pre-set level, the hot gas valve 256 opens and the refrigerant is drawn through the bypass line 255 back to the condenser 230 and not through the cooling plate 224. This prevents the chiller plate from cooling to a level that it could cause the chiller plate to freeze the beverage flowing through the beverage lines inside the chiller plate. When the temperature of the chill plate increases to a predetermined level, the change in the back pressure of the hot gas will cause the gas valve 256 to close. This in turn, re-introduces the flow of refrigerant through the chiller plate 224. Still another refrigerant system is shown in Figure 8. As shown in this embodiment the temperature of the liquid being cooled is controlled by monitoring the detailed compressor suction pressure. The refrigerant cooling system 300 of this mode includes the refrigerant condenser 330, the dryer 332, the refrigerant plate 324, the accumulator 326, the heat exchanger 350 and the compressor 328. The refrigerant condenser 330 is in fluid communication with the refrigerant plate 324 by means of the refrigerant line 325 and the capillary line 327. As in the embodiment shown in figure 6, the refrigerant leaves the refrigerant layer 324 and travels to the accumulator 326 by means of the refrigerant line 331. From the accumulator 326 the refrigerant flows through the heat exchanger 350 to the low pressure inlet A3 in the compressor 328. As in the above embodiment, the refrigerant preferably the 404a type, enters the compressor 328 at the point A3 as a low gas pressure and it is discharged from the compressor as a high pressure gas at point B3. Then enter the capacitor at point C3. The operation of this embodiment of the cooling system is similar to the system described in connection with Figure 6. The refrigerant is cooled in the condenser 330 and leaves the condenser in a high-pressure liquid passed through the dryer 332. From the dryer 332 the refrigerant flows through capillary line 327 to heat exchanger 350 and from heat exchanger 350 to cooling plate 324. As this refrigerant passes through cooling plate 324 and flows to accumulator 326 then to the compressor 328. The operation of the compressor 328 is controlled by means of a pressure switch 358 which monitors the pressure on the suction side (A3) of the compressor 328. Depending on the desired temperature of the cooled beverage the pressure switch 358 it is set at a predetermined pressure setting. By way of example, the refrigerant coolant system 300 of this embodiment can be used to produce frozen shots of an alcoholic beverage at -15 ° C. To produce beverage cooled to this temperature the pressure switch 358 would be set at 38 psi. When the refrigerant pressure in the gas line 331 on the suction side of the compressor reached 38 psi. When the refrigerant pressure in the gas line 331 on the suction side of the compressor reached 38 psi, the switch 358 will turn off the compressor 328. When the pressure reaches a predetermined level the pressure switch 358 will turn on the compressor to set the pressure 358 in a predetermined pressure range that is equal to the predetermined temperature range, by way of example + 1.2 ° C. Finally, an additional embodiment of this refrigerant system is shown in Figure 9. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment shown in Figure 7. In this embodiment, the refrigerant cooling system 400 includes a refrigerant condenser 430, the dryer 432, the chiller plate 424, the accumulator 426 and the compressor 428. The condenser of the refrigerant 430 is in fluid communication with the chiller plate 424 by means of refrigerant lines 425, the dryer 432 and the capillary tube 427. As in the above embodiments, the refrigerant leaves the chiller plate 424 and travels to the accumulator 426 via the refrigerant line 431. From the accumulator 426 the refrigerant flows through the heat exchanger 450 to the compressor 428. As shown in Figure 9, the regulator of pressure 460 is provided between the chiller plate 424 and the accumulator 426. The pressure regulator 460 is controlled by means of the pressure control 462 which allows adjustment of the system pressure values to give rise to different beverage temperature settings . As shown in Figure 9, a bypass line 455 is provided between the capillary tube 427 and the refrigerant line 434. The hot gas bypass valve 456 is provided on a bypass line 455. Depending on the desired temperature of the cooled beverage the hot gas valve 456 is adjusted to a predetermined pressure value. By way of example, the refrigerant cooling system 400 of this embodiment can be used to produce cooled shots of an alcoholic beverage at 15 ° C, as well as to cool a beverage such as a beer at a temperature of -1 ° C. the cold drink at a temperature of -15 ° C the hot gas valve 456 would be set at a subsequent pressure of about 250-270 psi. To produce the cold beverage at a temperature of about 1 ° C, the hot gas valve would be set at a back side pressure of about 150 psi. The cooling system 400 of this embodiment is also a critical load type system in which just enough refrigerant is provided to fill the system with the use of or the need for a coolant reservoir.

During operation, the cooling system operates continuously with the refrigerant that is continuously circulated through the cooling plate. As with the hot gas bypass valve system shown in Figure 7, the continuous operation of the cooling system 400 could lead to a freezing of the chiller plate depending on the beverage being cooled. This is avoided by providing a bypass valve 456 on the bypass line 455. The bypass valve 456 is set to open when the hot gas pressure on the rear side 456 reaches a certain predetermined level. When the hot gas back pressure reaches the predetermined level the hot gas valve 456 opens and the refrigerant is drawn through the bypass line 455 back to the condenser 430 rather than through the chiller plate 424. This prevents the The chiller plate is cooled to a level that causes the chiller plate to freeze the beverage that passes through the beverage lines formed inside the chiller plate. When the temperature of the chill plate rises to a predetermined level, the change in the back pressure of the hot gas will cause the hot gas valve 456 to close. This in turn reintroduces the flow of refrigerant through the chiller plate 424. To provide greater precision or control over the system temperature in this mode the pressure regulator 460 is provided between the chiller plate 424 and the accumulator 426. The regulator Pressure 460 allows the operator to control the refrigerant pressure as it leaves the chiller plate that is being cooled by the chiller plate. By adjusting the pressure regulator 460 to a certain predetermined pressure the time that the refrigerant is retained inside the chiller plate 424 can be controlled thereby increasing or decreasing the time in which the refrigerant is in refrigerant coupling with the beverage. To increase the time pressure regulator 460 it is set at a higher pressure and to reduce the time it is set at a lower pressure. A pressure control unit 462 is provided in such a way that the operator can more easily adjust the pressure regulator 460 as the bypass valve 456. Suitable pressure control units, such as those sold by Laco, are known to those skilled in the art. experts in the art. In another alternative embodiment of the invention, a chiller plate is described in copending patent application no. of series 10 / 6,44,728 entitled Basket of serpentines that has the same inventor as the present one, which can be used. The description of the request no. of series 10 / 6,33,728 is incorporated by reference. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, this chill plate uses a basket of beverage line coils having a plurality of Y-shaped clips or connectors to take a single line of entry and separate it into a plurality of lines within the chiller plate and then reduce the plurality of return lines to a single line of output. This allows a greater exposure of the beverage to the refrigerant lines inside the chiller plate to maximize the cooling effect of the chiller plate on the beverage. The beverage line circulation system shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 includes an inlet 50 formed with a connector portion 58 that connects to the beverage line. The inlet 50 further includes a portion of straight pipe 60 leading to a cylindrical compartment 65 with a longitudinal axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of the straight pipe portion 60. The cylindrical compartment 65 includes two outlets 75 on the equally spaced bottom surface of the pipe. the central inlet location, and each outlet 75 is welded to an inlet pipe element 80 receives an equal distribution of beverage flow entering cylindrical compartment 65. Here the internal diameter of each intermediate segment 80 is smaller compared to the inner diameter of the straight pipe section 65, and the pair of intermediate segments 80 constitute a first stage.

The two intermediate segments 80 at the end of the bend 88 each end in a Y connector or spacer clip 90 that subsequently divides the flow in each intermediate segment 80 into two smaller beverage tubes 95. Again, the outputs 98 of the Y-connector 90 are equidistantly spaced from the inlet 94 to equalize the flow between the two beverage tubes 95. It may be necessary to stagger the placement of the Y-90 connectors in the vertical direction as shown in the figure. 5 in order to minimize the profile of the basket 10, since the Y 90 connectors have a width greater than the width of the two beverage tubes 95. The placement of the two Y-90 connectors in the same vertical place could unnecessarily widen the basket 10 at one point, and slightly stagger the position of the connectors Y provides a more compact configuration the creation of four beverage lines 95 of the two intermediate segments 80 forms the second stage. The four beverage tubes 95 are preferably placed substantially in a common plane as shown in Figure 5, and assimilated in the cluster of the refrigerant conduits. Because the flow of beverage has been reduced in two stages, each stage exactly doubles the lines of the previous stage, the resulting flows are equally balanced and each line of beverage (beer is subjected to the same conditions of heat exchange.

The four tubes 95 that conduct the beverage converge into two intermediate outlet segments 115 in the same manner as described in the input stage two. That is, two Y-connectors 120 each one muting two beverage tubes 95 into an intermediate segment 115 having an inner diameter greater than the inner diameter of the heat exchange tubes 95. The two intermediate outlet segments 115 feed a cylindrical compartment 120. along a bottom surface thereof, wherein the inlets 118 to the cylindrical compartment 120 are equally spaced from a centrally disposed outlet 125. The outlet 125 feeds a single straight pipe section 130 leading to a beverage outlet 140. of the chiller plate with the connector portion 142 that bears the end of a beverage line connecting the chiller plate to the beverage spout 10a, b shown in Figure 1. When describing the above-mentioned circulation system, the term "connector" And or divisor should be broadly interpreted as a fluid dividing member that has either an entry line and two exit lines, or s entry lines and an exit. Thus the cylindrical compartments described with respect to the division of the first stage and consolidation should be considered as connectors Y for the purposes of this application. Likewise, flow clips or dividers that provide a 2-to-1 flow division or flow consolidation are also properly considered Y-connectors. Each stage of the subdivision of the flow of the beverage is preferably accompanied by a reduction in the inner diameter of the downstream pipe, but in a preferred embodiment the cross-sectional area of the two downstream pipes is greater than the cross-sectional area of the upstream pipe. This increase in the flow capacity of the downstream pipe results in an encouragement of the flow of fluid through the chiller plate which leads to more efficient heat exchange conditions. This is the residence time of the beverage in the chiller plate increases and thus the efficiency of the heat exchange is improved when compared to a faster beverage flow. Although the above description describes two stages of subdivision of the beverage forming four discrete beverage tubes 95, the present invention can be extended to a third stage of subdivision in which the four beverage tubes are replaced with four transition tubes incorporating each one a Y connector in a staggered position to each other to give eight individual beverage conduits in a manner similar to that described above. The use of eight beverage lines increases the available contact area with the refrigerant lines and can further reduce the beverage flow in the manner described above. However, the manufacture of smaller tubes can be more expensive and increase the overall cost of the chiller plate. further, because the pipe walls are minimized in the beverage portion of the basket to facilitate heat transfer, smaller tubes may be susceptible to blockages that can block the flow and negatively impact thermal transfer. Those skilled in the art will recognize that additional subdivision steps may be provided to allow additional beverage lines if desired. The number of final beverage lines N can be characterized as N = 2s, where S is the number of stresses and S is greater than or equal to 2. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment described herein but should be conform to the full extent and scope of the appended claims.

Claims (14)

1. CLAIMS 1. A dispensing system for refrigerated drinks to serve cold drinks consisting of: a tank containing a refrigerant supply; a chiller plate in fluid communication with the coolant reservoir, in which the coolant lines extend through the chiller plate; an accumulator; a compressor; a coolant condenser, and a thermal expansion valve placed between the coolant tank and the chiller plate to adjust the coolant flow depending on the temperature of the chiller plate. A dispensing system for refrigerated beverages according to claim 1 in which the refrigerant is pumped from the reservoir through an expansion valve and the chiller plate into the accumulator from where it passes through the compressor and is then pumped through of the condenser of the refrigerant and return to the tank. 3. A refrigerated beverage dispensing system of claim 1 further comprising a pressure switch for controlling the compressor on / off operation depending on the measured refrigerant pressure inside the chiller plate. 4. A dispensing system for chilled beverages according to claim 3 in which the beverage lines extend through a chill plate are in heat exchange relationship with the refrigerant lines. A dispensing system for refrigerated beverages according to claim 3 further comprising a time delay relay for delaying the restart of the compressor for a predetermined period of time after the compressor has been turned off by the pressure switch. 6. A dispensing system for refrigerated drinks according to claim 1 further comprising a defrosting deflection circuit. 7. A beverage dispensing system to supply cold drinks that presents: a lodging; one or more beverage inlet connections extending from the housing; a cooling system of beverages placed inside the housing, the cooling system consists of: a tank containing a supply of refrigerant; a chiller plate in fluid communication with the coolant reservoir, in which the coolant lines extend through the chiller plate; an accumulator; a compressor; a refrigerant condenser, and a thermal expansion valve placed between the refrigerant tank and the chiller plate to adjust the refrigerant flow depending on the temperature of the chiller plate, in the lime beverage lines extend between the inlet connections for beverages and the outlets for the supply of beverage, the beverage lines pass through the chiller plate in a heat exchange relationship with the refrigerant lines. 8. A dispensing system for refrigerated drinks for serving cold beverages consisting of: a reservoir containing a refrigerant supply; A chiller plate in fluid communication with the coolant reservoir, the chiller plate consists of: a coolant duct having an inlet, an outlet and a heat exchange section between the inlet and the outlet, the heat exchange section is shape with a reciprocating pattern; and a beverage circulation system consisting of an inlet, an outlet and a plurality of conduits in a heat exchange relationship with the conduit leading to the refrigerant, the beverage circulation system further comprises a plurality of fluid divider stages. on an upstream side of the beverage circulation system starting at the inlet, and a plurality of fluid consolidation stages on a downstream side of the beverage circulation system terminating at that outlet, each divider stage doubles exactly the numbers of ducts immediately upstream of the divider stage and each consolidation stage halves exactly the number of ducts immediately below the divider stage, where each divider stage and each consolidation stage includes a T-shaped coupling to divide equally the flow of the upstream side to join the flow of the downstream side of the drink in the circulating system; an accumulator; a compressor; a coolant condenser, and a thermal expansion valve placed between the coolant tank and the chiller plate to adjust the coolant flow depending on the temperature of the chiller plate. 9. A beverage dispensing system for serving cold drinks consisting of: a lodging; one or more inlet connections for the beverage that extend from the housing; a cooling system for beverages placed in the cooling system housing: a reservoir containing a supply of refrigerant; A chiller plate in fluid communication with the coolant reservoir, the chiller plate consists of: a coolant duct having an inlet, an outlet and a heat exchange section between the inlet and the outlet, the heat exchange section is shape with a reciprocating pattern; and a beverage circulation system consisting of an inlet, an outlet and a plurality of conduits in a heat exchange relationship with the conduit leading to the refrigerant, the beverage circulation system further comprises a plurality of fluid divider stages. on an upstream side of the beverage circulation system starting at the inlet, and a plurality of fluid consolidation stages on a downstream side of the beverage circulation system terminating at that outlet, each divider stage doubles exactly the numbers of ducts immediately upstream of the divider stage and each consolidation stage halves exactly the number of ducts immediately downstream of the divider stage, where each divider stage and each consolidation stage includes a T-shaped coupling to divide equally the flow of the upstream side to join the flow of the downstream side of the drink in the circulating system; an accumulator; a compressor; a refrigerant condenser, and a thermal expansion valve placed between the refrigerant tank and the chiller plate to adjust the refrigerant flow depending on the temperature of the chiller plate, in which the beverage line extends between the inlet connections of the refrigerant. beverage and beverage supply outlets, the beverage lines pass through the chiller plate in a heat exchange relationship with the refrigerant lines. 10. A dispensing system for refrigerated drinks for serving cold beverages that has a: a refrigerant condenser; a chilling plate; a heat exchanger; an accumulator; a compressor; and a thermostatic control, in which the cooling system is filled with a critical charge of refrigerant and in addition the refrigerant is cooled in the condenser and flows from the condenser through the heat exchanger to the chiller plate and through the chiller plate to the accumulator through the heat exchanger and to the compressor in which the refrigerant leaves the compressor and a higher gas pressure and flows back to the condenser. 11. A dispensing system for refrigerated drinks for serving cold beverages that has a: a refrigerant condenser; a chilling plate; a heat exchanger; an accumulator; a compressor; and a gas bypass valve within a bypass line placed between the heat exchanger and the chiller plate, in which the cooling system is filled with a critical charge of refrigerant and in addition where the cooling system is filled with a critical refrigerant charge and in which the cooling system operates continuously with the refrigerant circulating through the system and where the bypass valve is set at a predetermined back pressure and when the auxiliary pressure has been reached the bypass valve opens and diverts the flow of refrigerant from the chiller plate to the condenser. 12. A dispensing system for refrigerated drinks for serving cold beverages that has a: a refrigerant condenser; a chilling plate; a heat exchanger; an accumulator; a compressor having a suction inlet and a discharge inlet; and a pressure switch connected to the suction inlet on the compressor, in which the cooling system is filled with a critical charge of the refrigerant and further in which the pressure switch is set to a predetermined setting to turn the compressor on or off depending on the pressure measured at the suction inlet. 13. A dispensing system for chilled beverages according to claim 11 further comprising a pressure regulator for controlling the pressure of the refrigerant as it exits the chiller plate. A dispensing system for chilled beverages according to claim 13 further comprising means for controlling the pressure regulator and the bypass valve.