Patent Application
20130068795
This application claims benefit to Application No. 10-2011-0094761, filed on Sep. 20, 2011 in the Republic of Korea, which is incorporated by reference herein.
The present disclosure is generally related to beverage systems and, more particularly, is related to beverage dispensing with rotary agitation.
In general, a beverage dispenser is an apparatus that is installed at an appropriate place, such as a restaurant or a lounge, for example, to assist a user in easily dispensing and drinking beverages with a simple operation of pushing a beverage discharge valve by hand or by using a cup.
With recent diversification in the kinds of beverages, and, moreover, due to a tendency of emphasizing health, high density juice beverages containing a great amount of pulp, such as puree, for example, have become popular.
However, in these juice beverages containing a great amount of pulp, the pulp may settle over time to the bottom of a container by gravity, which may cause an excessive amount of the pulp to be discharged upon discharge of beverage, or, on the contrary, may cause only juice to be discharged without discharge of the pulp.
To solve this problem, there has been proposed use of an agitation device in which an agitator impeller is rotatably installed in a dispenser, and is rotated by a motor to ensure that pulp is uniformly mixed in a beverage rather than being settled.
However, in the case of the above described agitation device using the motor, completely shielding the device from liquid to protect electric elements is necessary due to the use of electricity. For this reason, the agitation device suffers from several problems, such as complicated design and configuration, and is required to pass designated electricity safety criteria. Therefore, there are heretofore unaddressed needs with previous solutions in beverage dispensing.
Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems of beverage dispensing with rotary agitation. Briefly described, in architecture, one example embodiment of the system, among others, can be implemented as follows: a container in which a beverage is received; an agitator impeller mounted in the container, the agitator impeller being adapted to agitate the beverage by rotation thereof about a rotating shaft that is rotatably mounted on a surface of the container; a discharge valve mounted to one side of the container so as to communicate with the interior of the container, the discharge valve being adapted to discharge the beverage out of the container when operated by a user; and an agitator drive unit connected to the discharge valve and the rotating shaft of the agitator impeller, the agitator drive unit being adapted to rotate the agitator impeller in linkage with operation of the discharge valve.
Embodiments of the present disclosure can also be viewed as providing methods for beverage dispensing with rotary agitation. In this regard, one embodiment of such a method, among others, can be broadly summarized by the following steps: providing a beverage in a container; agitating the beverage with an agitator impeller, the agitator impeller adapted to agitate the beverage by rotation thereof about a rotating shaft that is rotatably mounted on a surface of the container; and rotating the agitator and discharging the beverage when a discharge valve is operated.
Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like elements throughout the several figures, and in which example embodiments are shown. Embodiments of the claims may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. The examples set forth herein are non-limiting examples and are merely examples among other possible examples.
The present disclosure relates to a beverage dispenser of a rotary agitation type, and more particularly to a beverage dispenser of a rotary agitation type in which a beverage, such as, for example, juice containing pulp, is automatically agitated in a mechanical manner when the beverage is discharged from the dispenser, which ensures uniform mixing of the pulp in the beverage, the beverage dispenser being usable everywhere without requiring electricity.
Example embodiments disclosed herein provide a beverage dispenser of a rotary agitation type, in which an agitator impeller may be mechanically rotated in linkage with a user operation of operating a beverage discharge valve without using electricity, which may ensure that a beverage within a container is agitated such that solid ingredients, such as pulp, for example, are uniformly mixed in the beverage, and the beverage dispenser of a rotary agitation type may be used everywhere without requiring electricity.
In accordance with the systems and methods of beverage dispensing with rotary agitation disclosed herein, the above and other objects may be accomplished by the provision of a beverage dispenser of a rotary agitation type, including a container in which a beverage may be received, an agitator impeller mounted in the container, the agitator impeller being adapted to agitate the beverage by rotation thereof about a rotating shaft that may be rotatably mounted on a surface of the container, a discharge valve mounted to one side of the container so as to communicate with the interior of the container, the discharge valve being adapted to discharge the beverage out of the container when operated by a user, and an agitator drive unit connected to the discharge valve and the rotating shaft of the agitator impeller, the agitator drive unit being adapted to rotate the agitator impeller in linkage with operation of the discharge valve.
Referring to
Container 10 may take the form of a cylindrical vessel in which the beverage, such as juice, may be received. Although the bottom surface of container 10 may be a flat surface, the bottom surface, of course, may be a curved surface, the center of which bulges upward as illustrated in the embodiment. Ring-shaped support member 15 may be coupled to the lower end of container 10.
Agitator impeller 30 includes hub 31 fixedly coupled to an upper end of rotating shaft 40, and a plurality of blades 32 radially extending from an outer circumferential surface of hub 31. Blades 32 may have an approximately L-shaped form, and are obliquely tilted by a predetermined angle with respect to a vertical axis. Agitator impeller 30 having the above described configuration may be rotated by agitator drive unit 50 to agitate the beverage in container 10, thereby acting to uniformly mix solid ingredients of the beverage, such as, for example, pulp, in the beverage.
As shown in the example embodiments of
The end of the connector 22 may be secured to a lateral wall surface of container 10 by means of first nut 23c that may be helically fastened inside container 10. Reference numerals 28a and 28b respectively denote an O-ring shaped seal to prevent the beverage from leaking through a coupling region between connector 22 and container 10.
The other end of connector 22 may be connected to one end of connecting portion 23a of valve body 23 by means of second nut 29b. In this case, a distal end of connecting portion 23a of valve body 23 may be inserted into connector 22 to thereby be firmly connected to connector 22. Moreover, to prevent valve body 23 from being rotated relative to connector 22, the distal end of connecting portion 23a of valve body 23 may be provided at an outer circumferential surface thereof with groove 23e, and C-shaped anti-rotation stopper 29a may be fitted into groove 23e.
Referring to
In an example embodiment, the movement converting mechanism includes housing 52 secured to the exterior of container 10, rack gear 53 which is connected at one end thereof to link member 51 and may be installed to perform rectilinear movement in one side of housing 52 by movement of link member 51, pinion gear 55 which may be fixedly coupled to rotating shaft 40 and is engaged with rack gear 53 so as to perform rotation, slide bar 54 which may be installed at the other side of housing 52 so as to be opposite rack gear 53, one end of slide bar 54 being connected to link member 51 such that slide bar 54 horizontally moves along with rack gear 53, and elastic member 57 which elastically supports slide bar 54 with respect to housing 52 and is adapted to return slide bar 54 and rack gear 53 to original positions thereof when external force is removed.
Link member 51 may be provided at a leading end thereof with laterally extending connection protrusion 51a. Connection protrusion 51a may be connected into connection hole 21 a formed in the lower end of operating lever 21 of discharge valve 20 so as to be rotatable relative to operating lever 21. Also, a trailing end of link member 51 may be provided with upwardly open pin connection recess 51b, into which hinge pin 58 may be inserted. Hinge pin 58 serves to connect rack gear 53 and a leading end of slide bar 54 to each other.
Housing 52 may have an approximately rectangular box shape. As housing 52 is coupled to housing cover 52a that may be fixedly coupled to support member 15 at the lower end of container 10, housing 52 may be secured around the lower end of container 10.
In an example embodiment, rack gear 53 takes the form of an elongated bar, on an inner surface of which gear teeth 53a are successively formed in a longitudinal direction. Rack gear 53 further has elongated longitudinal guide groove 53b, along which guide protrusion 52b protruding from a lateral surface of housing 52 is guided.
As described above, rack gear 53 and the leading end of slide bar 54 may be connected to the trailing end of link member 51 by means of hinge pin 58, so as to be rotatable relative to link member 51. Slide bar 54 may be adapted to slide along with rack gear 53 at an opposite side of rack gear 53, thereby serving to maintain balance.
Elastic member 57, used to elastically support slide bar 54, may be constituted by a tension spring, for example. In an example embodiment, as elastic member 57 is connected to slide bar 54 to apply elastic force to slide bar 54, slide bar 54 and rack gear 53 are automatically returned to original positions thereof when external force is removed after sliding movement of slide bar 54 and rack gear 53. However, alternatively, elastic member 57 may be connected to rack gear 53 to ensure that rack gear 53 is automatically returned to an original position thereof when external force is removed after movement of rack gear 53.
Although pinion gear 55 may be directly connected to rotating shaft 40, pinion gear 55 may be connected to rotating shaft 40 by means of one-way bearing 56 as proposed in an example embodiment. O one-way bearing 56 may be restricted in counterclockwise rotation as shown in the drawing, and thus causes rotating shaft 40 to be rotated along with pinion gear 55 when rack gear 53 moves rightward as shown in the drawing as the user moves operating lever 21. However, one-way bearing 56 may be freely rotatable in a clockwise direction as shown in the drawing, and thus does not cause rotation of rotating shaft 40 when rack gear 53 is returned to an original position thereof.
Sealing unit 60 may be installed at a connection region between rotating shaft 40 and the container 10 and may be adapted to rotatably support rotating shaft 40 while preventing leakage of the beverage out of container 10.
A lower end of rotating shaft 40 may be provided at an outer circumferential surface thereof with groove 41, into which E-ring 66 is fitted to prevent separation of rotating shaft 40.
Main seal 61 may be formed of a flexible material, such as rubber or silicon, and may be configured to come into close contact with the inner bottom surface and the outer lower surface of container 10 to prevent leakage of the beverage from through-hole 11 of container 10.
Auxiliary seal 63 may be closely fitted between shaft holder 62 and the outer circumferential surface of rotating shaft 40. Auxiliary seal 63 may serve to prevent leakage of the beverage between the outer circumferential surface of rotating shaft 40 and an inner circumferential surface of shaft holder 62. Auxiliary seal 63 preferably takes the form of an oil seal.
The beverage dispenser having the above described configuration may be operated as follows. If a user who wishes to drink a beverage pushes operating lever 21 of discharge valve 20 rearward by hand or by using a cup, operating lever 21 may be pivotally rotated about a contact point with valve cover 25 at the upper end thereof, thereby acting to upwardly push lever shaft 26 and consequently, gate seal 24. In this way, discharge path 23d of valve body 23 is opened, thereby allowing the beverage in container 10 to be discharged outward.
In this example embodiment, link member 51 connected to the lower end of operating lever 21 may be moved rearward by the rearward movement of operating lever 21, and rack gear 53 and slide bar 54, which are connected to link member 51, simultaneously slide rearward within housing 52. In this way, pinion gear 55 engaged with rack gear 53 may be rotated, thereby causing rotating shaft 40 to be rotated.
As rotating shaft 40 is rotated, agitator impeller 30 coupled to the upper end of rotating shaft 40 may be rotated to agitate the beverage, which ensures that the beverage containing solid ingredients, such as pulp, for example, is discharged in a uniformly mixed state with the pulp.
As is apparent from the above description, according to example embodiments, rotation of agitator impeller 30 using mechanical force may be realized in linkage with an operation of opening discharge valve 20 to allow the user to drink a beverage. As a result, the beverage within container 10 can be agitated only by mechanical operation without using electricity, which may avoid complexity in design and configuration due to the use of electricity, and may ensure that the agitator impeller is free from requirements in relation to electricity safety criteria.
Although technical features of the systems and methods of beverage dispensing with rotary agitation have been disclosed with reference to the accompanying drawings, the disclosure is given based on example embodiments for illustrative purposes and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Also, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure as disclosed in the accompanying claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2011-0094761 | Sep 2011 | KR | national |
