Beverage dispenser with electrically controlled clutch

A beverage dispenser comprising:

• a body having a bore with an inlet and an outlet and a valve seat therebetween;
• a valve stem having a seal mounted thereon within the bore and selectively engaging the valve seat to open and close the bore to a flow of beverage between the inlet and outlet;
• a slide in the bore and having an aperture through which the valve stem extends;
• a first spring biasing the valve stem with respect to the slide wherein the valve stem is urged to move the seal against the valve seat;
• a serving lever extending through an aperture in the body to engage the slide in the bore, and being pivotally connected to the body;
• a yoke having elements which engage both the slide and the valve stem in the first position of the yoke and which do not engage at least one of the slide and the valve stem in the second position of the yoke;
• and
• an actuator coupled to the yoke for moving the yoke between the first and second position in response to the actuator being energized.

A beverage dispenser comprising:

• a body having a bore with an inlet and an outlet and a valve seat therebetween;
• a valve stem having a seal mounted thereon within the bore and selectively engaging the valve seat to open and close the bore to a flow of a beverage between the inlet and outlet;
• a serving lever pivotally connected to the body;
• a clutch selectively couples and decouples the serving lever and the valve stem in response to a control signal, wherein only when the serving lever is coupled to the valve stem does movement of the serving lever produce movement of the valve stem which opens the bore;
• an activator that produces an electrical signal;
• and
• a control circuit connected to the actuator and responding to the electrical signal by and producing the control signal so that the clutch couples the serving lever and the valve stem for a given period of time.