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US 6,708,741 B1Granted
Beverage dispenser
AssigneeOcean Spray Cranberries, Inc.
InventorsMartin F. Berry, Gorm Bressner, Detlef Westphalen, Zebulon S. Robbins, III, David Beittel, Bill Wright
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In embodiments a beverage dispenser includes a beverage cabinet, a mechanically operable, gravity-fed piston valve that can be controllably opened and closed to dispense beverage in a generally downward direction, a valve actuator supported on the cabinet below the valve and coupled to the valve and a beverage flow path to direct beverage from the valve to a receptacle.
Claims33
A beverage dispenser comprising
- a beverage cabinet including a shelf assembly adapted to support a bulk beverage container having a bottom and a first side,
- a mechanically operable, gravity-fed piston valve adapted to engage with the first side of the container, wherein the valve can be controllably opened and closed to dispense beverage from the container in a generally downward direction,
- a valve actuator supported on the shelf assembly below the valve and coupled to the valve, and
- a beverage pathway lumen extending from the valve below the shelf assembly to direct beverage from the valve to a receptacle during dispensing,
- wherein the actuator has a pivoting element extending below the valve, the pivoting element including an upper member engaging the valve and a lower member which can be moved to actuate the valve, and
- the actuator includes a body attached to the shelf assembly and to which the pivoting element is articulated, the beverage pathway extending through said body.
3 more elements
A beverage dispenser, comprising:
- a cabinet adapted to receive a bag-in-box container and a shelf assembly at a bottom of the container for supporting the container, the container having a bottom and a first side,
- the container including a gravity fed piston valve extending from the first side of the container, wherein the valve can be controllably opened and closed to dispense beverage from the container in a generally downward direction,
- a valve actuator coupled to the valve including a valve body attached to the cabinet below the valve, and
- a beverage pathway lumen extending through the valve body to direct beverage from the valve to a receptacle during dispensing,
- wherein the beverage pathway is defined by a tube removably attached to the valve, and
- the tube extends through an opening in the valve body and the tube includes a retaining region having a cross-section larger than the opening.
3 more elements
A beverage dispenser, comprising:
- a beverage cabinet including a shelf assembly for support of a bulk beverage container, the container having a bottom and a first side, the container including a mechanically operable, gravity-fed piston valve extending from the first side of the container, wherein the valve can be controllably opened and closed to dispense beverage in a generally downward direction, and
- a valve actuator supported on the shelf assembly and coupled to the valve,
- wherein the actuator includes a body attached to the shelf and to which the pivoting element is articulated, a beverage pathway tube extending through said body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.