Chilled beverage dispensing system
AssigneeEmber Technologies, Inc.
InventorsClayton Alexander, Daren John Leith, Damian Lee, Rahul Mulinti, Erik Aaron Camacho Covarrubias, Mikko Juhani Timperi, Jacob William Emmert, Fangyi Gao
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A chilled liquid dispensing system includes a vessel with phase change material that can be charged by a thermoelectric module via a first heat sink. A liquid (e.g., beverage) can be pumped through a conduit submerged in the phase change material to cool or chill the liquid to a temperature below ambient temperature. The chilled liquid dispensing system can be incorporated into a liquid dispensing machine (e.g., beverage dispensing machine).
Claims19
A chilled liquid dispensing system, comprising:
- an insulated vessel having a chamber containing a phase change material;
- a conduit disposed in the chamber of the insulated vessel and having a portion submerged in the phase change material so that the phase change material is in thermal contact with an outer surface of the portion of the conduit, the conduit configured to receive therethrough a liquid at a first temperature above an ambient temperature that cools as it flows through the conduit and heat is transferred to the phase change material to cool the liquid to a second temperature below the ambient temperature;
- a first heat sink disposed in the chamber of the insulated vessel and submerged in the phase change material so that the phase change material is in thermal contact with an outer surface of the first heat sink;
- a thermoelectric module having one side in thermal communication with the first heat sink;
- and
- a second heat sink disposed outside the chamber of the insulated vessel and in thermal communication with an opposite side of the thermoelectric module,
- wherein the thermoelectric module is operable to charge or freeze the phase change material by pumping heat out of the phase change material via the first heat sink and into the second heat sink,
- wherein the first heat sink includes one or more heat pipes that are submerged in the phase change material, and
- wherein the first heat sink includes one or more fins extending from the one or more heat pipes, the one or more fins being submerged in the phase change material.
A chilled liquid dispensing system, comprising:
- an insulated vessel having a chamber containing a phase change material;
- a conduit disposed in the chamber of the insulated vessel and having a portion submerged in the phase change material so that the phase change material is in thermal contact with an outer surface of the portion of the conduit, the conduit configured to receive therethrough a liquid at a first temperature above an ambient temperature that cools as it flows through the conduit and heat is transferred to the phase change material to cool the liquid to a second temperature below the ambient temperature;
- a first heat sink disposed in the chamber of the insulated vessel and submerged in the phase change material so that the phase change material is in thermal contact with an outer surface of the first heat sink;
- a thermoelectric module having one side in thermal communication with the first heat sink;
- a second heat sink disposed outside the chamber of the insulated vessel and in thermal communication with an opposite side of the thermoelectric module;
- and
- a heat spreader attached to the first heat sink, disposed in the chamber and extending circumferentially about an axis of the insulated vessel,
- wherein the thermoelectric module is operable to charge or freeze the phase change material by pumping heat out of the phase change material via the first heat sink and into the second heat sink.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.