Claims
- 1. A self-contained, pneumatic beverage dispensing system, comprising:a carbonator tank for facilitating absorption of CO2 gas in water to produce carbonated water; a source of CO2 gas under high pressure, said source of CO2 gas being in fluid communication with said carbonator tank so as to fill said carbonator tank with CO2 gas; a source of water under high pressure, said source of water being in fluid communication with said carbonator tank so as to fill said carbonator tank with water; at least two liquid containers for containing liquids to be dispensed by said dispensing system, one of said liquid containers being in fluid communication with said source of CO2 gas; and a pneumatic pump system in fluid communication with said source of CO2 gas and the other of said liquid containers, wherein said pneumatic pump system receives high pressure CO2 gas from said source of CO2 gas and uses it to pressurize air that is supplied to said other of said liquid containers; and a beverage dispensing valve in fluid communication with said carbonator tank and said at least two liquid containers, said dispensing valve used to dispense carbonated water from said carbonator tank and the liquids contained in said at least two liquid containers.
- 2. The system of claim 1, wherein said source of water comprises a high pressure water tank.
- 3. The system of claim 1, wherein said source of water includes a low pressure water tank and a water pump in fluid communication with said water tank, said water pump being configured to receive high pressure CO2 gas from said source of CO2 gas and use it to increase the pressure of the water supplied to said water pump by said water tank.
- 4. The system of claim 1, wherein said pneumatic pump system comprises a pump having an outer tube which forms a first chamber and a second chamber that are separated by a dividing member.
- 5. The system of claim 4, wherein said pneumatic pump system further comprises first and second piston heads disposed within said first and second chambers, respectively, said piston heads being connected by a piston rod that extends from said first chamber, through said dividing member, and into said second chamber.
- 6. The system of claim 5, wherein said pneumatic pump system further comprises a master control valve that controls the direction of travel of said first and second piston heads within said outer tube of said pump.
- 7. The system of claim 6, wherein said pneumatic pump system further comprises first and second proximity switches located within said pump that can sense the position of at least one of said first and second piston heads.
- 8. The system of claim 7, wherein said proximity sensors are pneumatically operated and send a pneumatic signal to said master control valve when activated.
- 9. The system of claim 6, wherein said pneumatic pump system further comprises first and second gas supply lines that extend from said master control valve to said pump, said first and second gas supply lines being in fluid communication with said second chamber so as to be capable of individually transporting gas into or out of said second chamber depending upon the desired direction of travel of said second piston head.
- 10. The system of claim 9, wherein gas is selectively exhausted from said second chamber through said first and second gas supply lines, said exhausted gas passes through a diffuser before being exhausted to the atmosphere.
- 11. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said containers comprises a bottle and a bottle coupler.
- 12. The system of claim 11, wherein said bottle has a mouth and a shoulder adjacent said mouth.
- 13. The system of claim 12, wherein said bottle coupler comprises an outer member and an inner member that is slidingly disposed within said outer member.
- 14. The system of claim 13, wherein said bottle coupler further comprises a bottle release lever that is pivotally attached to said outer member and operably coupled to said inner member such that manipulation of said bottle release lever effects axial displacement of said inner member within said outer member.
- 15. The system of claim 14, wherein said inner member has first and second ends and a liquid passage, gas passage, and a vent passage, each passage extending from said first end to said second end of said inner member.
- 16. The system of claim 13, wherein said outer member has an opening that is sized and configured to receive said mouth and shoulder of said bottle.
- 17. The system of claim 16, wherein said inner member has an annular space formed at its second end that is sized and configured to receive said mouth and shoulder of said bottle.
- 18. A pneumatic pump system, comprising:a pump outer tube that is divided into a gas chamber and an air chamber by a dividing member; a gas piston head disposed in said gas chamber of said pump outer tube, said gas piston head being axially displaceable within said gas chamber; an air piston head disposed in said air chamber of said pump outer tube, said air piston head being axially displaceable within said air chamber; a piston rod having first and second ends, said piston rod extending through said dividing member into both chambers of said pump outer tube, said first end being connected to said air piston head and said second end being connected to said gas piston head such that axial displacement of said gas piston head will effect axial displacement of said air piston head.
- 19. The system of claim 18, further comprising a master control valve that controls the direction of travel of said gas piston head within said gas chamber.
- 20. The system of claim 19, further comprising first and second gas supply lines that are in fluid communication with said master control valve and said gas chamber, said first and second gas supply lines being connected to said pump at opposite ends of said gas chamber such that high pressure gas can be selectively ported from said master control valve to one of said first and second gas supply lines to control the direction of travel of said gas piston head.
- 21. The system of claim 20, further comprising first and second proximity sensors that sense the position of said gas piston head within said gas chamber to signal said master control valve as to which gas supply line to supply with high pressure gas.
- 22. The system of claim 21, wherein said first and second proximity sensors are pneumatically operated and end pneumatic signals to said master control valve.
- 23. The system of claim 18, further comprising an air supply line that is in fluid communication with said air chamber, wherein air from the atmosphere can be supplied to the air chamber through said air supply line.
- 24. The system of claim 23, further comprising an air output line that is in fluid communication with said air chamber, said air output line used to transport air pressurized by said system to an appropriate container.
- 25. A bottle coupler, comprising:an outer member having first and second ends; an inner member having first and second ends, said inner member being disposed within said outer member and being axially displaceable therein; a bottle release lever, said bottle release lever being pivotally attached to said outer member and being operably coupled to said inner member such that when said bottle release lever is manipulated, said inner member is axially displaced within said outer member.
- 26. The coupler of claim 25, wherein said inner member includes a gas passage, a liquid passage, and a vent passage, each passage extending from said first end to said second end of said inner member such that gas can be transported into a bottle to which said coupler is adapted to attach, liquid can be transported out of the bottle, and residual gas contained in the bottle can be vented therefrom.
- 27. The coupler of claim 26, wherein said inner member further comprises a needle valve that is in fluid communication with said gas passage and said vent passage, said needle valve being operable to selectively open said gas passage or said vent passage.
- 28. The coupler of claim 27, further comprising a needle valve lever pivotally mounted to said bottle release lever, and wherein said needle valve includes a needle that extends outwardly from said bottle coupler, wherein manipulation of said needle valve lever can depress said needle to toggle said needle valve between gas open and vent open positions.
- 29. The coupler of claim 26, wherein said liquid passage includes an interior reservoir.
- 30. The coupler of claim 29, wherein said liquid passage further includes a valve closure member that is used to close said liquid passage so that liquid cannot be delivered from said coupler to the bottle to which said coupler is adapted to connect.
- 31. The coupler of claim 25, wherein said outer member includes an opening formed at its second end that is adapted to receive a mouth and shoulder of a bottle to which said coupler is adapted to connect.
- 32. The coupler of claim 27, wherein said inner member has an annular space formed at its second end that is adapted to receive the mouth and shoulder of the bottle to which said coupler is adapted to connect.
- 33. The coupler of claim 25, wherein said bottle release lever is coupled to said inner member with a linking member.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/030,628, filed Nov. 8, 1996, and is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/965,711, filed Nov. 7, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,021,922.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (3)
Entry |
Anne O'Neill, “Beverage Cart with Ambition to Fly,” Atlanta Business Chronicle, May 21-27, 1999. |
A Revolution in the Air, Coming Soon: The World's First Onboard Post Mix Beverage Cart, Onboard Services The International Trade Publication for the Passenger Service and Duty-Free Magazine, vol. 31, No. 2, Apr. 1999. |
Sterling Beverage Systems, Inc., http://www.sterlingbeverage.com/, 1999 website. |
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60/030628 |
Nov 1996 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08/965711 |
Nov 1997 |
US |
Child |
09/353862 |
|
US |