Beverage dispenser

June 29, 1965 _s. _c. baker 3,191,402

BEVERAGE DISPENSER

Filed April 10, 1963

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ATTORNEY

United States Patent Office

3,191,402

Patented June 29, 1965 rl

3,191,402

-BEVERAGE DISPENSER

Stephen Cj Baker, Deti/oit, Mich,,; assignor to.Su-Εν, Inc., Birmingham, Mich., a corporation of Michigan

Filed Apr. 10,1963,. Ser. No. 272,045 ,3QIaims. (CI. 62—39?)

This invention relates, to beverage, dispeners in general and more particularly to a portable dispenser for bottled beverages.

Bottled beverages are. currently available, in. small eight ounce to large half-gallon .sizes. Normally, the . smaller sizes are purchased because.: of the greater ease in handling and storage.despite the. economy .of the larger containers.

Almost all bottled beverages must: be kept cool, once chilled, or they .become, .flat and, tasteless. Also, despite numerous , ingenious bottle capping, devices, the beverages in a recapped bottle is seldom as palatable as. when first opened.

The smaller beverage bottles, thus, offer man conveniences to the, purchaser . and ultimate consumer. They may be, stored,at room.temperature and only the quantity needed is required to .be .kept in cold, storage for any length .of time. The . small, size is much more convenient to store in . a refrigerator and .once, removed it is seldom returned since its contents is normally used up in, a couple, of servings. Thus, every, other serving is usually from , a fresh bottle and recapping and. storage problems are at a minimum.

In comparison, large containers , require more room in the ordinary refrigerator, and usually stand, higher than the regular shelf height. The contents of .a larger bottle is seldom used up in one or. two servings and it usually has to be recapped and returned, to cold storage. When the beverage, in a large, container goes flat there is much more waste. Further the greater amount of beverage in the larger container requires more refrigeration to be sufficiently chilled for, good, drinking pleasure.

The greater convenience of smaller bottles for consumable beverages also extends to portable cooling boxes .. and dispensers as presently known.

Most portable cooling boxes include insulated storage compartments in which beverage containers are disposed with ice packed tightly thereabout. The , smaller bottles are more easily arranged in such compartments and the ..smaller amount of beverage in each container is copied more, quickly. The larger bottles are awkward to handle and must be recapped and worked back into ice after each .serving.

It is an object of this invention to provide a,portable storage and dispenser unit for all sizes of bottled beverage, and more particularly : one which is particularly suited to handle the .larger and-more.economical beverage containers.

It is an object of this invention to provide an integral storage and dispenser unit -wherein the beverage container may -be received at room -temperature and immediately dispensed in a chilled and most palatable condition.

The portable dispenser unit of this invention contemplates separate dry storage of one or more bottles of the same or different beverage, the use of cooling coils in a separate chilling compartment, pressurized connections for flowing beverage directly from a bottle container through the cooling coils and to a dispensing spigot, and proportionate means assuring suitable cooling simultaneously with drawing the beverage from their containers.

Among other objects of this invention is to provide a compact storage and dispenser unit which is lightweight and readily portable, simple in construction for ease and economy in production, sturdy for long serviceable use, '2 and easy, to use by any and all members of the household.

These and other objects and advantages to -be gained in the practice of this invention will be better-understood and appreciated upon a reading of the following speci5 fication. in .regard to a preferred embodiment of the invention and having reference to the accompaying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the beverage dispenser unit of this invention with a part thereof broken 10 away.

, FIGURE 2 is an end perspective view of the beverage dispenser of FIGURE 1 with the end cover removed.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the beverage dispenser , of FIGURES 1 and 2.

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the beverage dispenser shown by the other drawing figures with the cover members removed.

The beverage dispenser unit 10 shown by the drawings is a .two-bottle-gallon capacity unit. Two separate half20,, gallon: bottles of, beer or other beverage-may' be conveniently transported by this unit for dispensing the bottled beverage at the pleasure of the consumer.

The beverage dispensing .unit includes a'portable box 12 which -is formed to provide a separate storage com25 pariment 14 and an insulated cooling compartment'16. A handle 18 is provided on the box in a balanced dis. position between the two compartments.

The box 12 is made of galvanized sheet metal suitably . and attractively painted. It includes side walls 29 inter30 connected by a front wall 22, bottom wall 24 and a dividing wall, 26 disposed-parallel and spaced from the front wall' 22. The dividing wall thus serves to separate the box into, the respective storage and cooling compartments 14 and 16.

A sheet metal box 28, smaller in size than the compartment space 16 and open at its upper end, is disposed in the compartment space to provide spaced walls between, which is disposed insulation material 30. The box is scaled to the upper edges of the side, front and dividing 40 walls of the outer box 12 and is fluid tight for cooling fluid retaining purposes, as will later be described.

A double walled and insulated cover 32, with a suitable handle 34, is used to close the compartment space:16.

The storage compartment space 14 is closed by a hinged 45 cover 36 which is formed by the top wall 38 and back wall 40 of the box unit. The side edges of the cover 36 are supported on the upper and back edges of the side Walls .20. The weight of the cover keeps: it closed and a lip flange 42 on the bottom wall 24 serves as a stop.

Within the storage compartment 14 is disposed a pressure chamber member or tank 44. A valve stem inlet :46 is provided for manual pressurizing of the tank, as by a tire pump or other pressure means. . A CO₂ cartridge holder 48 . is provided on a connection 50 to the /pressure 55 chamber and a pressure gauge 52 is similarly connected to/the=tank for reading the pressure condition of the-tank.

As will be subsequently appreciated, the pressure chamber member or tank 44 serves, as a reserve or header tank to assure even .pressure distribution in the dispensing of 60 the bottled beverage provided by the disclosed unit.

A regulator valve 54 is provided in the pressure chamber line 50, over the cartridge holder connection, and, if desired, a line pressure gauge 56 may also be included. A shut-off and safety valve 58 is finally provided between 65 the .pressure chamber connection and/the pressure line 60 to the beverage bottles to be charged. In those instances in which two beverage bottles are used this valve may be of the two-way or selective type.

One or more beverage retaining bottles 62 can be dis70 posed within the storage compartment space 14. As shown by the drawings, the pressure chamber member or tank 44 is preferably disposed centrally against the com3,191,403 .

ti/J partment dividing wall 26, and in this manner, two large size beverage bottles 62 may be disposed next adjacent each other near the front of the storage compartment space.

A sealing cap 64 is provided on each beverage bottle 5 62. . The pressure line 6C' extends through the closure or sealing cap 64 and suitable conduit means 66 extend down into the bottle for transferring the beverage out of the bottle and to the cooling compartment space 16.

Within the cooling compartment space 16 is provided a ₁₀pair of interwound cooling coils 68 and 7®. Each of these coils is connected by suitable conduit means 72 and 74 to the different beverage bottles 62.

The inner box 28 is subsequently filled with ice and water 76 to provide the necessary coolant to chill the jr beverage flowing through the cooling coils. Each of the coils includes an outlet connection 78 and 80 respectively which are engaged to either a separate or a selective spigot 82 as shown.

A drain outlet §4 is provided through the bottom of ₂₀the coolant retaining box 28 and a suitable drain hose 86 is connected to the drain outlet and extends to a height above the water level in the cooling compartment space.

The beverage dispensing unit 10 is best used in the following manner: ₉.

Standard half-gallon beverage bottles 62 are conven- ° iently stored in the storage compartment space 14. The bottles may be kept at room temperature and need not be chilled nor, for that matter, opened until required to be - placed into service. ⁹0

Prior to tapping either of the beverage bottles, the cooling compartment space 16 is filled with ice and water sufficiently to cover the cooling coils 68 and 70. Thereafter, the pressure chamber reserve tank 44 is suitably charged through either the valve stem inlet 46 or by means ₃₅of a CO₂ cartridge activated within the cartridge holder 48. The tank pressure is checked as a safety precaution, the valve 54 is regulated to provide the proper line pressure, if not preset, and the line pressure gauge 56 is checked, if such a gauge device is provided. ,₁₍₎

One of the beverage bottles 62 is next opened and the sealing cap 64 is engaged on the neck of the bottle.

Immediately thereafter the valve 58 may be opened and, the spigot 82 operated to bleed air from the system and immediately thereafter draw a cool and refreshing beverage for the consumer’s immediate pleasure. °

It will be appreciated that two separate beverage bottles 62 may be connected in the system at the same time. When one bottle is empty the regulator valve 58 may be switched over to draw from the other bottle. Likewise, _g„ bottles of different beverages may be used and the spigot 82 selectively operated to draw from one or the other.

In all instances, it will be appreciated that the effective length of the cooling coils 68 and 70 provides adequate chilling of the beverage passing therethrough, in the _r~ normal course of such passage and assures consistent °' and continuous drawing of an adequately cooled drinking beverage from a source kept at room temperature.

A relative weight balance may be maintained between the storage and cooling compartments 14 and 16 by the amount of cooling water retained in the cooling space. That is, the weight of the beverage bottles 62 and their contents, the pressure tank 44 and its valves and connections, may be balanced by the amount of water retained in the coolant chamber during transportation of the dispenser unit 10. The drain hose 86 may be lowered, as shown in phantom outline, to drain off excess water and give a relative balance at any time. The cooling capacity of the unit may be later brought to maximum by filling the cooling coil space with water from any convenient source.

The portable beverage dispenser 10 has many uses. It may be conveniently used at home in the kitchen, bar or recreation room. It may be used in cars and trucks to provide liquid refreshment during long trips. It is ideal for camping and beach outings. It may be used commercially to dispense bottled beverages which are infrequently requested or as a portable party table unit on a wheeled cart which may be located near a group of people so that they may draw a cool and refreshing beverage as desired and without over-solicitous attention by a waitress or other attendant.

Although a preferred embodiment of this invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be appreciated that certain modifications and improvements are within the scope of the teachings set forth. Accordingly, such of these improvements and modifications as are within the spirit of the invention and are not specifically excluded by the language of the hereinafter appended claims are to be considered as inclusive thereunder.