Beverage dispense

#The present invention relates to the dispensing of beverages and in particular to the dispensing of beverages which form a head. It is therefore of particular relevance to the dispense of beer, including lager, ale, porter and stout, but is also relevant to the dispense of other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages with a dissolved gas content.

#There are many types of beverage which form a head when dispensed into a drinking vessel such as a glass, and in many circumstances there is a need to control the size of the head. This can be simply to meet the tastes of the person who will drink the beverage, or it can be to meet legal requirements, in particular where a beverage with a head is being sold by volume in a drinking vessel.

#It is known, for example from WO 01/36582, to dispense a beverage into a drinking vessel using a dispensing apparatus in which the vessel is supported on a stand or table, and a predetermined volume of beverage is dispensed into the vessel from a dispense nozzle. However there are various factors which can affect the size of the head on a beverage dispensed in this way. This can be a problem because the amount of head on some beverages sold by volume is controlled by law, and also because the size of head on some beverages is a matter of personal taste and it is therefore desirable to be able to provide the customer with exactly the amount of head he or she prefers.

#FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a beverage dispense apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention;

#FIG. 2 shows the direction of dispense of the beverage in the apparatus of FIG. 1;

#FIG. 3 shows an alternative direction of dispense of beverage;

#Referring to FIG. 1, in a first embodiment of the invention, a beverage dispensing apparatus comprises a font 10 arranged to be mounted on a drinks bar. The font 10 comprises a housing 12 and a horizontal table 14 rotatably supported in the housing, a motor 16 for rotating the table, a nozzle 18 for dispensing beverage, and a beverage supply system 20. The beverage supply system 20 comprises a supply pipe 22 a metering device 24, a control valve 26 for diverting beverage from the supply pipe 22 to the nozzle 18, and a pump 28 for pumping the beverage to the nozzle 18 and controlling the pressure of the beverage at the nozzle.

#In order to dispense a measure of beverage into a glass 30, the glass, which is of circular cross section, is placed on the table 14, which has an annular lip 14a on it to locate the glass in the centre of the table, and the system activated. The motor 16 rotates the table 14 at a constant speed of 45 rpm, which rotates the glass 30 about its central axis X-X which is vertical. The pump 28 pumps beverage towards the valve 26, which opens to dispense the beverage into the glass 30. The beverage is emitted from the nozzle as a continuous stream 32 which impacts the side 34 of the glass 30 and runs down it to the base 36 of the glass. As the glass fills, the beverage 38 in it rotates with the glass and the beverage running down the side 34 of the glass is also carried round with the glass to a limited extent. Therefore when the beverage running down the glass reaches that in the glass, the rotation helps to smooth the flow of the beverage. This helps to reduce the size of the head that will build upon the beverage.

#Referring to FIG. 2, the nozzle 18 is arranged such that the stream 32 of beverage is projected in a direction which is radial with respect to the glass 30, but angle downwards. The stream of beverage therefore travels in a radial plane which extends radially from the central axis X-X of the glass 30. Therefore when the stream of beverage impacts on the side of the glass it has components of motion in the radial direction and in the vertical direction, but not in the direction in which the side 34 of the glass is travelling. Therefore any motion in that direction of the beverage running down the side of the glass is imparted to the beverage by the glass.