US2070398A

US2070398A - Beverage cooling apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2070398A
Application number: US53851A
Authority: US
Inventors: Freund Edward
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1935-12-11
Filing date: 1935-12-11
Publication date: 1937-02-09
Anticipated expiration: 1954-02-09

Description

Feb. 9, 1937. E, FREUND 2,070,398

I BEVERAGE bQOLING APPARATUS Filed Dec; 11, 1955 0.0.000. o .0. so 0 0 0-. o o 0.00. q... 0 0. e0 0.. .0

VENTOR.

ORNEY.

name rave, .1931

Iran s'rras PATENT oFi-i ca 12 Claims.

My invention relates to beverage cooling apparatus and more particularly to coolers employed in connection with dispensing apparatus. In the systems now generally in use the beverage is conveyed through pipe lines extending from the container to a dispensing bar where block-tin tubing is arranged in coils in a cooler box or refrigerating chamber, the most common method of cooling being to fill the chamber with cracked ice. This tubing usually of three-eighths inch bore is arranged in a flat coil laid upon the bottom of he cooler box and the cracked ice is packed upon the coil. These coils usually consist of-about fifty feet of tubing and the quantity of beverage contained in each coil under icing is approximately equal to thirty-six fluid ounces, or the contents of approximately five tumblersof the customary size in use at dispensing bars. This method therefore provides a very limited quantity of beverage under refrigeration, and when service is rapid, the temperature of the beverage soon rises above the desired degree, resulting in constant variations in temperature and requiring frequent re-icing and even with frequent re-icing the temperature of the beverage still varies rapidly owing to the limited quantity in the coils under ice. To overcome this objection additional cooling is provided in refrigerators where the containers are stored, but this provision does not entirely overcome the temperature variations because of the distance the pipe line extends from the container to the coils in the cooling box at the dispensing bar. In either case refrigeration is costly because of the frequent attention required and the amount of ice consumed.

In other dispensing systems one or more tanks are employed through which the beverage is caused to flow from the supply container or barrel to the dispensing faucet. These tanks are placed in cooling chambers to reduce the temperature of the beverage, but owing to the large volume in such tanks the cooling is relatively slow and the temperature varies with the rate of withdrawal. Furthermore in such tanks a considerable air space remains due to air compression -as the tank fills with beverage, and when this pressure exceeds a predetermined degree due to the pressure from the supply container a vent valve automatically opens allowing air to escape which carries with it the gas which escapes from the beverage causing the beverage to lose its sparkle and run flat.

It is also customary in beverage dispensing systerns to employ air or gas pressure to force the erage and loss of time in arriving at the desired fill for a tumbler.

One object of my invention is to provide a refrigerator for dispensing bars arranged in two sections, in one of which storage space is provided for cooling bottled beverages, etc., and the other section for cooling draft beverages. Another object is to provide a cooler fordraft beverages whereby a more uniform, rapid and efflcientcooling of the beverage is obtained. A further object is to reduce the foaming of the draft beverage when drawn from the dispensing faucet.

.In carrying my invention into effect I provide a refrigerator having several compartments, one for the draft beverage cooler and others for storage of bottled beverages, and an ice chest having perforated walls centrally located relative to the storage compartments and extending the entire height and depth of said compartments. The. ice chest will be filled with cracked ice which will always move toward the bottom as it melts, permitting refilling without disturbing the contents, and whereby the surrounding air will be uniformly chilled. In the refrigerating chamber for cooling the draft beverage I provide a cooler having one or more sections or chambers in the form of relatively long and wide, but very shallow flat tubes through which the beverage flows in a thin wide stream. These tube sections are disposed in the refrigerating box in such manner as to present a relatively large surface area to the cooling medium. These cooling sections will provide a much larger fluid capacity than the ordinary coil of tubing, will cool the beverage much more rapidly and uniformly and therefore consume much less ice, and owing to the shape will greatly reduce the foaming of the beverage when drawn from the dispensing faucet.

The cooling sections or chambers are preferably made of light gauge tinned sheet copper in the form of a shallow flat tube, the length being approximately three times the width, or more, and

the depth three-eighths of an inch, or the same of these chambers and their height will vary according to the cooling efiect desired, but if for instance, the length were sixteen inches, the

height five inches, and the depth three-eighths of an inch, inside measurement, the capacity of the chamber would be thirty cubic inches, or sixteen and two-thirds fluid ounces, equivalent to the capacity of twenty-three feet of the usual threeeighths tubing. In the preferred arrangement I employ these sections connected in series of two or more thus multiplying the beverage capacity in the cooler, and when for instance, three sections are'connected in series, a capacity equal to sixty-nine feet of tubing is obtained, or fifty fluid ounces of beverage, and still provide as much space for ice and much more effective cooling than would be possible with that length of tubing. Thus my improved arrangement as compared to the usual fifty feet of coiled tubing results in an increase of approximately forty per cent in beverage capacity in the cooler and a reduction of approximately eighty per cent in the weight of material employed.

I have found in practice that by the use of the long, narrow and relatively high, cooling sections the cooling effect is not only more rapid and uniform, but by arranging the inlet and outlet connections at the lower corners of the sections, the foaming effect when drawing beverage at the dispensing faucet is greatly reduced. This I believe is due' to the form and dimensions of the cool-er section, that is, the relatively small lateraldiameter, larger vertical diameter and long length of the chamber, and the natural tendency of the foam to rise while the flow of fluid is more rapid along the lower 'part of the chamber, that is, the direct line from inlet to outlet, and causing the foam to accumulate in the upper part of the chamber. I further find that when two. or more of these chambers are connected in series the foaming effect is successively reduced in each section. Furthermore, when a fresh container of beverage is connected to the system it is usual to open the dispensing faucet to start the flow of beverage and with my cooling sections connected in the line all air will be driven out of the system, and thereafter practically no air will be present in the cooling sections which will therefore fill completely with beverage and prevent any tendency of the beverage gases escaping from the liquid and thereby retaining the natural sparkle and avoiding flatness when drawn from the dispensing faucet.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which, Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a dispensing bar or cabinet with the front and side of the casing partly broken away to show the cooling sections; Figure 2 an enlarged crosssection of the cooling sections; and Figures 3 and 4 schematic views illustrating modified arrangements of the cooling sections.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Figure 1, my improved refrigerator cabinet I is shown having doors 2, a drain shelf 3 formed in one or more sections of perforated sheet metal under which is a drain pan having a drain pipe (not shown) connected to the main drain pipe 4. The lower section of cabinet I is divided into two

storage compartments

5 and 6 having removable shelves I spaced from the walls of the compartments as shown at 8 to permit circulation of air. Between these two compartments is an ice chest having perforated sheet metal walls 9 on four sides, the front and rear walls of this chest being set in to provide spaces In to permit air circulation. The water from the melting ice drains into pan II and through outlet 12 into drain pipe 4.-

The ice chest 9 extends the entire height of

compartments

5 and 6 and as shown also extends the entire depth, although this latter dimension might be less to allow for storage space on all four sides of the ice chest. I find that with this arrangement the cooling effect is more rapid and uniform and the ice consumption is greatly reduced. Furthermore, an ice chest arranged in the manner indicated for the use of cracked ice may be recharged more readily; the ice packs more closely without voids; and recharging requires no removal of small lumps.

The upper part of the cabinetl is arranged into a separate refrigerating chamber l3 in which is placed the cooling sections IQ for draft beverages to be dispensed from faucet l4. Only one draft beverage line is shown with a single dispensing faucet, but it will be understood that any number of beverage lines with cooler sections is and faucets It may be employed, in which case the entire refrigerator will be longer, or only chamber I3 may be longer, and the beverage cooling units 1 9 may be disposed in groups of two or three sections, each group connected in series and placed in the chamber 13 as indicated schematically in Figures 3 and 4. Chamber I3 is a metal lined box having a drain pipe IS with overflow hole 16 to maintain the water from melted ice at the level of said hole. Above the chamber I3 is the usual perforated drain plate I! which covers a drain pan set into the top of chamber l3 and having a drain tube 18 entering drain pipe 15.

In the drawing I have illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 3, three

cooling sections

19 ,19" and l9 connected in series. These cooler sections are preferably made of light gauge tinned sheet copper of any desired length and height, and quite narrow, the latter dimension being preferably the same as the diameter of the block-tin tubing connected to the supply line, usually threeeighths of an inch. These sections are positioned and suitably spaced parallel to each other and rest on their bottom edges in the refrigerating chamber l3. In the preferred form these sections have their end walls 20 slanting or curved downward as shown in Figure l and terminate in or are provided with nipples to whichcouplings 2| are secured. To the first or inlet section l9 is connected a supply tube 22. This tube will be of the usual three-eighths block-tin tubing and enters chamber I3 from or near the top and is coupled to the inlet end of section Ill by coupling 2| as shown in Figure 1. The supply tube 22 is connected outside the chamber l3 to the usual supply pipe leading from the beverage container stored at a convenient point or ina storage refrigerator, but since the supply system forms no part of the present invention same is not illustrated. The outlet from cooler section I9 is a block-tin tube 23 of three-eighths bore and is coupled to the inlet end of section IS". The outlet tube 23 from section I!) is coupled to the inlet end .it flows from the cooler sections and reduce the velocity of flow to the faucet, and whereby the beverage is caused to issue from the faucet in a relatively-slow flowing solid stream instead of a rapid flowing jet or squirt as would be the case if the bore of the faucet and the tubing leading j natural gas content prevents frothing of the bevimage as distinguished from the natural foaming due to the gas content, and consequently a tumbier may be filled with the desired volume without having to remove or wait for the froth to subside. The tube 24 may be-quite shortbut I prefer to use a length of about eight or ten feet extending between the outlet end of the last cooler section i9 and the dispensing faucet l4, and in practice I arrange this tube in a coil either underneath the cooler sections I 9 as shown in Figure 2, or coiled around the ends of the sections as illustrated in Figure 3.

For a dispensing bar having a number of dispcnsing faucets It, the refrigerating chamber 83, as above stated, will be longer as customary, and the cooler sections it will be arranged end to end. That is, if for instance, two faucets H are provided, there will be two sets of cooler sections is, l9 and l9 arranged in longitudinal alignment, and each set arranged as in Figure 1. When more than two faucets are employed, for instance three, a third set of sections may be added in the same manner and the box l3 made correspondingly longer, or the individual sections l9 may be longer and arranged in tandem as illustrated in Figure 4. This latter arrangement is preferred for dispensing. bars having a larger number of faucets since the sections are very narrow and six lines of cooler sections may readily be placed .in the refrigerating chamber is of the customary width faucets connected to the ordinary block-tin tube diii coolers, three hundred feet of tubing would be required weighing with connections a over onehundred and fifty pounds. This plus the weight of the usual amount of ice required necessitates a refrigerator box construction capable of sustaining a weight of upwards of. three-hundred pounds. It will readily be seen, therefore, that with my improved cooler sections of light gauge copper with small amount of tubing required for connections this weight will be greatly reduced and that consequently the refrigerator box construction may be accordingly modified and greatly reducing liability of damage and need for repairs.

I have found in practice that by the 'use of cooler sections as illustrated, the cooling effect is much more rapid than would be possible with the customary block-tin tubing of equal fluid capacity, and that by reason of the cooler sections being immersed in iced water the cooling is more uniform and requires much less icing.

What I claim is:

1. In a beverage dispenser, the combination of a cooling, chamber and beverage conveyer within said chamber, said conveyer comprising a supply tube entering said chamber, a discharge tube for connection to a dispensing faucet, and'a flatsided tubular section of greater length .than height and having downwardly tapering ends connected between said tubes.

2. In a beverage dispenser, the combination of a cooling chamber and beverage conveyer within said chamber, said conveyer comprising a supply tube entering said chamber, a discharge tube for connection to a dispensing faucet, and two or more fiat-sided tubular sections of greater length than height having downwardly tapering ends connected in series between said tubes.

3. In a beverage dispenser, the combinatibn'of a cooling chamber,.a dispensing faucet mounted thereon, and a beverage conveyer within said chamber, said conveyer comprising a supply tube entering said chamber, a discharge tube connected to said faucet and having a bore of smaller diameter than the outlet orifice of said faucet and sided tubular section of greater length than width and relatively small cross-section connected between said supply and discharge tubes.

4. In a beverage dispenser, the combination of a cooling chamber, a dispensing faucet mounted thereon, and a beverage conveyer within said chamber, said conveyer comprising a supply tube entering said chamber, a discharge tube connected to said faucet and having a bore of smaller diameter than the outlet orifice of said faucet and of smaller bore than the supply tube, and a fiat-sided tubular section of greater length than width and relatively small cross-section arranged on edge and having downwardly tapering ends connected between said supply and discharge tubes.

5. In a beverage dispenser, the combination of a cooling chamber, a dispensing faucet mounted thereon, and a beverage conveyer within said chamber, said conveyer comprising a supply tube entering said chamber, a discharge tube connected to said faucet and having a bore of smaller diameter than the outlet orifice of said faucet and of smaller bore than the supply tube, and two or more flat-sided tubular sections of greater length than width and relatively small cross-sectionconnected in series between said supply and discharge tubes. I

6. In a beveragedispenser, the combination of a cooling chamber, a dispensing faucet mounted thereon, and a beverage conveyer within said chamber; said conveyer comprising a supply tube entering said chamber, a discharge tube connected to said faucet and having a bore of smaller diameter than the outlet orifice of said faucet and of smaller bore than the supply tube, and two or more flat-sided tubular sections of greater length than width and relatively small cross-section arranged on edge and having downwardly tapering ends connected in series between said supply and discharge tubes.

'7. A cooling apparatus for liquids having in combination a cooling chamber, inlet and outlet pipes for the liquid to be cooled, and a liquid chamber connected between said pipes having approximately parallel vertical walls of greater length than height and spaced approximately equal to the bore of the inlet pipe whereby the liquid within said chamber will be presented for cooling in a long, wide and thin stream of relatively small volume and large area.

8. A cooling apparatus as defined in claim '7 having the inlet and outlet ports of the liquid chamber at the bottom edge thereof at opposite ends and in longitudinal alignment to provide straight line flow of liquid along the bottom of the chamber.

9. A cooling apparatus for liquids having in combination a cooling chamber, inlet and outlet pipes for the liquid to be cooled, and a plurality of separate liquid chambers having approximately parallel vertical walls of greater length than height and spaced internally approximately equal to the bore of the inlet pipe and coupled in series between said pipes whereby the liquid to be cooled will flow successively through said chambers and of smaller bore. than the supply tube, and a flatand thin streams of relatively small volume and large area.

10. A cooling apparatus as defined in claim 9 having the inlet and outlet ports of the liquid chambers at the bottom edges thereof at opposite ends and in longitudinal alignment to provide straight line flow of liquid in each chamber along the bottom thereof. p

11. In a dispenser for gas containing beverages, a oonveyer comprising a supply pipe, a discharge pipe and dispensing faucet connected thereto, and a liquid chamber connected between said pipes having approximately parallel vertical walls of greater length than height and spaced approximately equal to the bore of the supply pipe and having the inlet and outlet ports at the bottom edge thereof at opposite ends and in longitudinal along the bottom of the chamber, and whereby be presented for cooling in successive long, wide .the foam due to the gas content will rise in said section and reduce the foaming at the discharge faucet when opened for discharge.

'12. In a dispenser for gas containing beverages, a conveyer comprising a supply pipe, a discharge pipe and'd'i'spensing faucet connected thereto, and a plurality of separate liquid chambers having approximately parallel vertical walls of greater length than height and spaced internally approximately'equal to the bore of the supply pipe and coupled in series between said pipes and having the inlet and outlet ports at the bottom edge thereof at opposite ends and in longitudinal alignment to provide straight line flow of liquid along the bottom of each chamber and whereby the foam due to the gas content of the beverage will rise in each chamber and cause decreased foaming successively in each chamber and reduce the'foaming at the discharge faucet when opened.

. EDWARD FREUND.