Apparatus and method for cooling a dispensed beverage
AssigneeMillerCoors, LLC
InventorPhilip Lucas
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus and method are provided for cooling a dispensed beverage. Direct cooling of the beverage is achieved by circulation of a refrigerant in contact with a reservoir that holds the beverage just prior to being dispensed. The reservoir is disposed within a dispense font. The open space within the font acts as an evaporator of a closed refrigeration loop thereby achieving cooling without having to use a separate heat transfer loop. A refrigeration subsystem is mounted directly adjacent the dispense font to provide a controlled flow of refrigerant to the open space within the font. Evaporated refrigerant is recycled in the refrigeration subsystem.
Claims19
An apparatus for cooling a beverage to be dispensed, said apparatus comprising:
- a liquid reservoir containing a quantity of the beverage to be dispensed;
- a supply line communicating with said reservoir for supplying a flow of the beverage to the reservoir;
- a dispense line communicating with said reservoir for dispensing the beverage;
- a spigot attached to said dispense line;
- a tap handle communicating with said dispense line and said spigot for controlling the dispensing of the beverage;
- a dispense font enclosing said liquid reservoir, said dispense font having an interior open space between said reservoir and an interior surface of the dispense font;
- and
- refrigeration means for cooling the beverage in the liquid reservoir, said refrigeration means including a compressor for compressing a refrigerant to a high pressure gas, a condenser connected to said compressor for condensing the refrigerant, and said condenser communicating with the open space within said font, said open space causing said refrigerant to evaporate thereby cooling the beverage within the liquid reservoir, and said refrigerant then flowing from said open space within said font back to said compressor.
An apparatus for cooling a beverage to be dispensed, said apparatus comprising:
- a liquid reservoir;
- a supply line connected to said liquid reservoir to supply the beverage to said liquid reservoir;
- a dispense line connected to said liquid reservoir for dispensing the beverage;
- a dispense font mounted over said liquid reservoir and sealing said liquid reservoir therein;
- and
- means for delivering refrigeration to an open space within said font and surrounding said liquid reservoir, said means for delivering refrigeration including a refrigerant that is delivered to said open space as a liquid, wherein said refrigerant evaporates forming a low pressure gas and thereby cooling said liquid reservoir, said refrigerant being evacuated from said open space for reuse after evaporation.
A method of cooling a dispensed beverage, said method comprising:
- providing a font and a closed refrigeration subsystem, said closed refrigeration subsystem including a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator, said evaporator defined by an open space within said font;
- providing a liquid reservoir disposed within said font and surrounded by said open space of said font;
- commencing a refrigeration cycle wherein a refrigerant passes from the compressor as a compressed gas, said refrigerant flowing to said condenser and said condenser condensing said refrigerant to a liquid, said refrigerant flowing through said open space within said font and evaporating within said open space;
- providing a flow of a beverage through said liquid reservoir;
- and
- wherein evaporation of said refrigerant within said open space cools the beverage by heat transfer from the beverage to the open space.
A method of cooling a dispensed beverage, said method comprising:
- providing a flow of a beverage through a dispense font;
- providing a flow of a refrigerant gas through an interior open space of said font to cool said beverage, said refrigerant being recycled to cool said beverage in a closed refrigeration loop and said open space enabling said refrigerant gas to evaporate to cool said beverage;
- and
- selectively controlling a temperature within said font to maintain said beverage at a desired temperature prior to dispensing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.