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US 2008/0289357 A1Published application
Liquid nitrogen cooled beverage dispenser
OwnerRobert M. Skobel, Daniel Daveyinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Liquids to be dispensed as “frozen” or “slush” beverages are rapidly cooled to a suitable target viscosity or percentage of frozen, by maintaining a flow of liquid nitrogen through one or more heat exchangers, counterflowing the beverage to be cooled from a reservoir to a dispenser, and controlling the flow of liquid nitrogen to achieve the target viscosity or percentage of frozen of the beverage to be dispensed.
Claims7
A beverage dispensing system comprising:
- a container for receiving and dispensing a beverage;
- a heat exchange device supported on and at least partially surrounding the container;
- and
- a controller for adjusting the flow of an initially liquid cryogen through the heat exchange device and there by substantially cooling the beverage.
1 more element
A beverage dispensing system comprising:
- a beverage reservoir container, wherein the beverage reservoir container holds a beverage;
- a dispensing reservoir that receives beverage from the beverage reservoir and selectively dispenses the beverage;
- a tank containing a cryogen;
- a heat exchanger connected to the tank, wherein the cryogen flows through the heat exchanger and wherein the heat exchanger is supported on and at least partially surrounding the dispensing reservoir;
- at least one sensor within the dispensing reservoir that senses the viscosity of the beverage;
- and
- at least one controller that adjusts the flow of the cryogen through the heat exchanger according to the at least one sensor to achieve a desired percentage of frozen of the beverage.
4 more elements
A beverage dispensing system comprising:
- a beverage reservoir container a beverage;
- a dispensing reservoir that receives beverage from the beverage reservoir and selectively dispenses the beverage;
- a tank containing a cryogen, wherein the cryogen is selected from the group consisting of:
- nitrogen, argon, helium, and neon;
- a heat exchanger connected to the tank, wherein the cryogen flows through the heat exchanger and wherein the heat exchanger is supported on and at least partially surrounding the dispensing reservoir, and wherein the cryogen vents out to the atmosphere after flowing through the heat exchanger;
- at least one sensor within the dispensing reservoir for monitoring the viscosity of the beverage and for generating a corresponding output;
- and
- at least one controller for adjusting the flow of the cryogen through the heat exchanger responsive to the output of the sensor.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.