Single-serving beverage machine with high-capacity and compact cooling-carbonation system

A single serving beverage machine system comprising:

• an insulated potable liquid storage tank having an interior volume that receives and retains a chilled potable liquid within the interior volume at about ice bath temperature;
• a liquid carbonator spaced within the interior volume of the insulated potable liquid storage tank and submerged therein and wherein the liquid carbonator is in fluid communication with a pressurized carbon dioxide source tank via a carbon dioxide supply conduit;
• a high pressure potable liquid pump configured to pump potable liquid from the interior volume of the insulated potable liquid storage tank through a potable liquid conduit to a spray nozzle within an interior volume of the liquid carbonator such that carbon dioxide is supplied at a carbon dioxide pressure from the carbon dioxide tank and carbonation occurs as the chilled potable liquid is delivered to the interior of the liquid carbonator by utilizing the high pressure potable liquid pump and wherein the high pressure potable liquid pump delivers the chilled potable liquid from the interior of the insulated potable liquid storage tank at a variable, but increasing pressure via the spray nozzle at a pressure greater than the carbon dioxide pressure throughout the process of carbonating the chilled potable liquid in the liquid carbonator, resulting in a carbonated chilled potable liquid;
• a cooling subsystem comprising a compressor, a condenser, a condenser fan associated with the condenser, a plurality of coolant conduits, and an evaporator coil wherein each of the components of the cooling subsystem are in coolant fluid communication with the other components of the cooling subsystem;
• and wherein the evaporator coil is positioned in an offsettingly wound and spaced apart relationship with the liquid carbonator such that the evaporator coil does not physically touch an exterior surface of the liquid carbonator submersed within the chilled potable liquid and the space between the evaporator coil and the liquid carbonator is at least substantially free of any other structure other than periodic frozen potable liquid adjacent the evaporator coil;
• a pod receiving system that receives a single serving beverage pod having an identification system on the beverage pod such that a reading system of the beverage pod reads the identification system and the single serving beverage machine system selectively delivers at least one of a hot potable fluid, the chilled potable liquid, and the carbonated chilled potable liquid to the single serving beverage pod to produce a finished beverage for a user of the single serving beverage machine;
• and
• a mechanical stirring device positioned within the interior volume of the insulated potable liquid storage tank and wherein carbon dioxide gas is constantly provided to the liquid carbonator from the carbon dioxide tank and wherein the liquid carbonator further comprises a carbonated water outlet positioned at the bottom of a rigid intake portion and extending upwardly from a position proximate a bottom of an interior of the liquid carbonator;
• wherein the stirring device is a motor driven magnetically coupled impeller assembly and wherein at least the bottom of the stirring device positioned within the interior volume of the insulated potable liquid storage tank has a plurality of radially outwardly extending and angled blades or a plurality of paddle surfaces.

A beverage machine system comprising:

• an insulated potable liquid storage tank having an interior volume;
• a pressurized carbon dioxide source tank;
• a liquid carbonator disposed within the interior volume of the insulated potable liquid storage tank and in fluid communication with the pressurized carbon dioxide source tank via a carbon dioxide supply conduit;
• a spray nozzle;
• a high pressure pump configured to urge liquid from the carbonator to the spray nozzle;
• and
• a cooling coil free of physical contact from but wound around the carbonator;
• wherein carbon dioxide is supplied at a carbon dioxide pressure from the carbon dioxide tank and carbonation occurs at a time when the high pressure pump delivers potable water to the interior of the carbonator;
• wherein the high pressure pump delivers the potable liquid from the interior of the insulated potable liquid storage tank via the spray nozzle at a pressure greater than the carbon dioxide pressure throughout the process of carbonating the water in the liquid carbonator;
• and
• a cooling subsystem that comprises a compressor, a condenser, a condenser fan associated with the condenser, and a plurality of coolant conduits;
• wherein the cooling coil is an evaporator coil of a first evaporator in coolant fluid communication with the other components of the cooling subsystem;
• wherein the compressor is a dual suction compressor having a first compressor suction inlet operably connected to the first evaporator via a first compressor suction inlet coolant conduit and a second compressor suction inlet operably connected to a second evaporator via a second compressor suction inlet coolant conduit;
• and
• wherein the compressor regulates a cooling capacity balance between both the first evaporator and the second evaporator.