US3160324A

US3160324A - Drink mixing and dispensing assembly

Info

Publication number: US3160324A
Application number: US219430A
Authority: US
Inventors: Nixon Phillip
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1962-08-27
Filing date: 1962-08-27
Publication date: 1964-12-08
Anticipated expiration: 1981-12-08

Description

Dec. 8, 1964 P. NIXON DRINK MIXING AND DISPENSING ASSEMBLY 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 27. 1962 INVENTOR ark/r 6 diff Dec. 8, 1964 P. NIXON 3,160,324

DRINK MIXING AND DISPENSING ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 27, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 f! /6 J7 ff Z @R\\ h J4 5 15 j] l2 "Hu 1! 1 4 Z 41 if I INVENTOR.

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Dec. 8, 1964 P. NIXON 3,160,324

DRINK MIXING AND DISPENSING ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 27. 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

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United States Patent 3,160,324 DEREK MDQING AND DHSPENSDI'G ASSEWLY Phillip Nixon, 6410 Glendale Drive, Glenviemlll. Filed Aug. 27, 1962, Ser. No. 219,430. 9 Claims. (Cl. 222-144.5)

This invention relates to a liquid mixing and dispensing assembly, and particularly relates to a plurality of liquid containers adapted to deliver their contents into a receiving chamber.

An object of this invention is a mixing and dispensing assembly in which liquid may be selectively delivered from a given container into a receiving chamber.

Another object is a liquid mixing and dispensing assembly wherein liquid is transferred through a valve from a plurality of containers into a common receiving chamber where it is mixed and dispensed.

Another object is an assembly of liquid containers having valves to open the containers, and means to selectively actuate each valve so that liquids are transferred from the associated container into a receiving chamber.

Another object is an assembly with a plurality'of liquid containers having aligned valves actuated by a selector board with pivotable arms.

Another object is a mixing assembly having liquid containers with aligned valves of sufficient dimension so that selective arms in a set of arms straddling the valves may differentially actuate the valve to meter fluids from the containers into a receiving chamber.

Another object is a liquid mixing and dispensing assembly wherein the liquid from a plurality of containers is transferred by separate conduits, in a receiving chamber, to a common point of egress.

Another object is a liquid mixing and dispensing assembly in which a plurality of containers have their contents selectively and directly transferred into a receiving chamber having separated manifold ducts which lead to a common egress.

Another object is a liquid mixing assembly for alcoholic beverages such as cocktails in which different liquors are transferred by a selector means in metered amounts from liquid containers to a receiving and mixing chamber from which it is dispensed into a cocktail glass or the like.

The foregoing objects are attained along with other objects which will become apparent by the invention which will be described in detail and which is shown in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the mixing and dispensing assembly,

FIGURE 2 is an elevational end view of the assembly, FlGURE 3 is a topplan view of the assembly, FIGURE 4 is a view along line 4-4 of FIGURE 3, FIGURE 5 is a side view partly in section of the assembly,

FIGURE 6 is an end view partly in section of ,a modified assembly, and

' FIGURE 7 is a view along line 77 of FIGURE 6.

The same numbers in the different figures will refer to the same elements, structures, or concepts.

in FIGURE 1 a plurality of paired liquid containers such as 16, 11 and 12, 13 are shown aligned and supported by opposed standards or supports l5, 16. The liquid containers may be securely fixed 'to one another as by welding or the like, which means are not shown. The standards may also be securely fixed to the end container they abut by welds, a bolt, a screw or the like. A selector board generally shown as lit straddles the liquid containers and is seated at its opposite ends in recesses 19 and 20 of the standards. A bolt or screw ll may he used to secure the opposite ends of the selector board to the supports. An ice compartment 23 or other cooling means may be placed next to the liquid containers to keep the contents cool.

Below the aligned containers is a receivingchamber 24 which directly receives liquids from the difierentcontainers. A spigot or the like 25 may be used to dispense the liquids from the receiving chamber into a receptacle such as a cocktail glass 26.

The containers are shown here as paired units and such containers have closures such as 28 and 29 which may be removed to fill the containers with different or the same liquids. The paired containers have offset or extending portions such as 30, 31 and 32, 33. The offset portions are shown to hold the actuating covers such as at 34 and 37 of preferably hollow valve pistons such as 35. The valve is shown reciprocated within a cylinder 36. The actuating valve cover is normally urged upwards by a coil spring 38. The valve piston is shown'with a closure 39 at the upper end and the lower end is modified into spaced discs such as 41, 42, 43 and 44. The various discs close a valve opening 47 by coacting' closely with an annular gasket, seal or the like 48. When the valve piston is depressed, a given disc will intercept the annular seal and provide a close fitting seal. The amount of liquid which will be transferred from the container into the receiving chamber will be determined by the degree of piston movement and the selected disc which finally seals the contents ofvthe container.

The receiving chamber may have an electric motor or other motive means 50 to drive a mixing element such as a rotating blade 51 so that the liquids transferred from the containers to the receiving chamber may be well mixed before being dispensed out of the receiving chamberby in which are fixed spaced pivot pointsor pivot rods 53 g and 54 towards opposite portions of the casing, and pivot rod 55 intermediate the ends of the casing. A set of movable arms 58 and an oppositely extending set 59 are pivoted at their ends to the intermediate pivot rod. A set of movable arms 60 are pivoted at their end to one end pivot rod and another set of movable arms 61' are pivoted at their ends to the opposite end pivot rod. Each movable .arm has atleast one depending finger positioned somewhere along its length and such finger may be of various lengths to differentially depress the valve in its associated container.

In FIGURE 5 several arms are illustrated to teach the manner of depressing the underlying valve. Arm 61' is pivoted at 62 to the intermediate pivot rod andhas' a depending finger 63 to contact actuator cover 64 and thereby depress valve 65 so that a given amount of liquid is transferred from its associated container and into the receiving chamber. An upright contoured tab or the like 66, which may have identifying indici a, may be used to depress the movable arm into engaging action with the actuator cover. Another arm 71 is shown pivoted at 72 to an end pivot rod, and a depending finger 73 is shown positioned to engage actuator cover 74 of valve 75.

It is seen that the diiferent arms in a given set may have diiferentlengths, that is, the shorter arms actuate the covers closest to their pivot point and the longer arms actuate the covers further removed. It is intended that the individual arms or sets of arms may be disposed in difierent ways or to form different patterns. Thus, the arms could all be of equal length and the contoured tabs could be specially or selectively placed to facilitate actuation of the underlying valves. A particular operation may be more easily performed with arms of varying length as generally indicated in the drawings. It is also provided that some of the arms such as 78 may have several dependingfingers 79 and 80 to respectively actuate covers 81 and S2 to depress pistons 83 and 84. Thus, the movemerit of one arm will transfer the liquids from two containersinto the receiving chamber. It is further intended that depending fingers on a single arm may differ in size or length so that the same movement of the movable arm will discharge a larger amount of liquid from a container associated with a longer finger and a smaller amount of liquid from a container associated with a smaller finger. Other variations are possible. I

The modified embodiments of FIGURES 6 and 7 show a specialized receiving chamber assembly. The container 86 has a removable closure 87 held between supportsor standards such as the one shown at 88. The valve within the container, which is not shown, transfers liquids into a manifold casing 89 and then into a receptacle 9%) which a finger which makes contact with the actuator cover when the arm is depressed. The finger will depress the actuator cover and thepiston underneath so the valve opens and the liquid in the container is transferred into the receiving chamber.

Several fingers on several arms may contact the same actuator cover so that different amounts of liquid may be metered from the container into the receiving chamber. Thus, if one part of the liquid in the associated container'is intended to be transferred to the receiving chamber, an arm may be depressed with a depending finger having a length standardized to deliver one part of the liquid. If three parts of the liquid are desired, another arm maybe selected having a finger thereon of greater length adapted to depress the valve so that the uppermost disc, for example, on the piston stem moves down to the valve opening. By selecting the appropriate arm having the appropriate finger size, various and wellknown cocktail mixtures may be transferred to the receiving chamber. For example, a dry martini may be prepared. by depressing an arm which delivers three parts of gin from a gin container or, alternatively, depressing an arm three times which has a finger that normally delivers one pant of gin from the container. Another arm may be depressed to deliver one part of dry Vermouth from a dry Vermouth container. For the more popular cocktails, among which a martini may be included, one arm may be designedto have two fingers in separated conduits or ducts and therefore precludes;

mixing of the liquids until they are discharged at the point of egress. various containers is highly desirable and important, especially where the final mixture will be ingested. The delivered liquid will have its inherent taste qualities unaffected by a different liquid which previously traveled the same duct.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows:

A liquid mixing and dispensing assembly is now provided whichis quick and convenient in operation. One particular utility is mixing and dispensing alcoholic beverages such as cocktails. A number of paired containers may be present in the unit and each one of the con or flavor or the like. A particularly useful embodi- Such separated delivery of liquids from the ment for the liquid containers is an opposed pair of A number of such paired such as 15 and 16 to provide a length of aligned valve I assemblies. I

The valve assembly in each container is di'sposedso that when it is depressed, the bottom of the containers open and the liquid contained therein is transferred to a receiving chamber 24; The valve assembly includes a wide cylinder 36 having a closely lcoacting actuator cover 34 and a smaller piston 35. A spring or the like 38'normally urges the actuator cover upwards. The'bottomof the valve has a series of spaced discs such as 41-44 which permit different amounts of liquid Within the container to be metered out of the container. The actuator container has a dimension substantially greater than the piston within the cylinder so that the various movable arms in a given set of arms may contact the cover and actuate the valve to open position. 7

The various arms are part of the selector board and include different sets of arms such as 58, 59, 60 and 61 which are pivoted at their ends to pivot points or rods such as 53 and 54 at opposite ends of the selector board, and at 55 which is intermediate the ends of the selector board, Each arm has at least one depending so that a longer finger contacts the actuator cover on the gin container and a shorter finger contacts the actuator cover on the dry Vermouth container. The arms and fingers may therefore be varied in number, size and arrangement to get combinations which correspond tov many drink mixtures.

. The receiving chamber may be modified so that the liquids from the different containers are separately transferred to a common receptacle. In FIGURES 6 and 7, the receiving chamber is modified in that a'manifold casing portion 89 has separated conduits such as extending from the valve opening in the liquid container to a point of common egress such as 96 which leads to a receptacle 90. The liquid contents in the container are transferred into an' adjoining well 93 of the manifold casing and thereafter conveyed in the conduit to the point of common egress. Each liquid container may empty its content into an adjoining well and such liquid may be separately conveyed to the point of common egress. The liquids will be combined or commingled for the first time in a common receptacle where they may be mixed or transferred to another mixing receptacle. Such a manifold casing in the receiving chamber has the important advantages of not permitting mixing of the various liquids'in the chamber. When used for dispensing liquor beverages, such a manifold casing will prevent contamination,so to say, of a presently dispensed liquor mixture by a prior taste-incompatible liquor. f

The foregoing invention can now be practiced by those skilled in the art. Such skilled persons will'know that the invention is not necessarily restricted to the particular embodiments presented herein. The scope of the invention is to be defined by the terms of the following claims as given meaning by the preceding description.

I claim.

1. A liquid mixing and dispensing assembly which includes, in combination, a plurality of adjoining'liquid containers, a valve associated with each container, each of said valves having an actuating surface, all of said surfaces being in an aligned relationship, said valve adapted to open its associated container, a receiving chamber positioned to directly collect liquids from each of the containers, said receiving chamber having a conduit directly conveying liquid from each valve opening to a common egress in the receiving chamber, a selector board for the adjoining containers, said board straddling the aligned actuating surfaces and a selector means on the board to selectively actuate said valve and directly transfer liquid from the associated container into the receiving chamber.

2. The liquid assembly of claim 1 further characterized by and including a removable receptacle fixed to the receiving chamber at the common egress.

3. The liquid assembly of claim 1 further characterized in that dilferent selector means open the valves to different degrees to meter the amount of liquids transferred from the containers into the conduits of the receiving chamber.

4. A liquid mixing and dispensing assembly which includes, in combination, a plurality of adjoining liquid containers, a valve associated with each container, each of said valves having an actuating surface, all of said surfaces being in an aligned relationship, said valve adapted to open its associated container, a receiving chamber positioned to directly collect liquids from each of the containers, a selector board straddling the adjoined actuating surfaces of the adjoining containers, said board having a plurality of arms pivoted at their ends, and depending members on the arms positioned to move the actuating surface of the valve when the arms are depressed, whereby actuation of the valves transfers liquids directly from the associated container into the receiving chamber.

5. The liquid assembly of claim 4 further characterized in that the depending members are of different lengths so that the actuating surface is moved to different degrees to meter the amount of liquid transferred from its associated containers into the receiving chambers.

6. The liquid assembly of claim 4 further characterized by and including identifying tabs on the arms so that a desired and predetermined metered amount of liquid may be transferred from its associated container to the receiving chamber.

7. A liquid mixing and dispensing assembly which includes, in combination, a plurality of adjoining liquid containers, each of said valves having an actuating surface, all of said surfaces being in an aligned relationship, a valve associated with each container, said valve adapted to open its associated container, a receiving chamber positioned to directly collect liquids from each of the containers, a selector board positioned on the adjoining containers having plural arm sets pivoted at one of their ends, said arm sets pivoted towards the opposed portions of the selector board and intermediate said opposed portions, at least one depending finger on each arm posi tioned to depress an actuating surface of a container to actuate the valve to open position, each actuating surface dimensioned to receive contact from a plurality of actuating arms, and said depending fingers having different lengths to differentially depress a valve and thereby meter the amount of liquids transferred from the associated containers into the receiving chamber.

8. A liquid mixing and dispensing assembly which includes, in combination, a plurality of liquid containers aligned side to side, a valve associated with each container, each of said valves having an actuating surface, all of said surfaces being in an aligned relationship, each said valve adapted to differentially open its associated container at the bottom thereof, a receiving chamber positioned below the aligned containers to directly collect liquids from each of the containers, said receiving chamher having a plurality of conduits connecting each valve opening to a common egress, a selector board spanning the top of the aligned containers and straddling the aligned actuator surfaces, plural sets of actuating arms pivoted at their ends on the selector board, at least one depending finger on each arm positioned over each valve actuating surface which is dimensioned to receive contact from a plurality of depending fingers, and said fingers having diiferent lengths to meter different amounts of liquid from the associated containers when the arms are depressed.

9. A liquid mixing and dispensing assembly as in claim 8 further characterized in that each actuating surface is dimensioned to receive contact from a plurality of actuating arms and more than one finger is positioned to selectively depress each actuating surface so that different, predetermined volumes of liquid may be trans ferred from the container to the receiving chamber.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 693,248 2/02 Einstein 222-284 X 734,394 7/03 Arneson 222-284 X 1,180,344 4/16 Valentine 222-1293 X 2,072,938 3/37 Berg 222-284 X 3,097,763 7/63 Aluotto 222-1445 X LUPO, Primary Examiner,

Claims

1. A LIQUID MIXING AND DISPENSING ASSEMBLY WHICH INCLUDES, IN COMBINATION, A PLURALITY OF ADJOINING LIQUID CONTAINERS, A VALVE ASSOCIATED WITH EACH COMTAINER, EACH OF SAID VALVES HAVING AN ACTUATING SURFACE, ALL OF SAID SURFACES BEING IN AN ALIGNED RELATIONSHIP, SAID VALVE ADAPTED TO OPEN ITS ASSOCIATED CONTAINER, A RECEIVING CHAMBER POSITIONED TO DIRECTLY COLLECT LIQUIDS FROM EACH OF THE CONTAINERS, SAID RECEIVING CHAMBERS HAVING A CONDUIT DIRECTLY CONVEYING LIQUID FROM EACH VALVE OPENING TO A COMMON EGRESS IN THE RECEIVING CHAMBER, A SELECTOR BOARD FOR THE ADJOINING CONTAINERS, SAID BOARD STRADDLING THE ALIGNED ACTUATING SURFACES AND A SELECTOR MEANS ON THE BOARD TO SELECTIVELY ACTUATE SAID VALVE AND DIRECTLY TRANSFER LIQUID FROM THE ASSOCIATED CONTAINER INTO THE RECEIVING CHAMBER.