Claims
- 1. A water carbonator system, comprising:
- a generally upright reservoir having upper and lower end;
- means for introducing water into said reservoir via a water inlet disposed generally at one of said upper and lower ends of said reservoir, said water inlet including nozzle means for passing an inlet water stream into said reservoir;
- an elongated impeller shaft extending generally centrally and vertically within said reservoir;
- means for rotatably supporting said shaft for rotation about its own axis within said reservoir;
- drive means for rotatably driving said shaft about its own axis, said drive means including a vaned impeller disk disposed in a position generally adjacent to said water inlet and adapted to be driven rotatably by the inlet water stream passing through said nozzle means into said reservoir, whereby said rotationally driven vaned impeller disk correspondingly rotatably drives said impeller shaft;
- a plurality of vaneless impeller disks carried on said shaft in vertically spaced relation for rotation therewith;
- refrigeration means including cooling coils mounted about the periphery of said reservoir to chill water within said reservoir; and
- dispensing outlet means disposed generally at the other of said upper and lower ends of said reservoir for drawing the chilled water from said reservoir, said vaneless impeller disks upon rotation of said shaft each pumping the water in the vicinity thereof in a generally radially outward direction toward the periphery of said reservoir into close heat exchange proximity with said cooling coils to chill the water, whereby said vaneless impeller disks collectively pump water introduced into said reservoir into close heat exchange proximity with said cooling coils a plurality of times as such water travels between said upper and lower reservoir ends and before such water is drawn from said reservoir by said dispensing outlet means, and further whereby said vaneless disks collectively provide a plurality of radially outwardly directed water flows within said reservoir to minimize ice ring formation within said reservoir at the periphery thereof.
- 2. The water reservoir system of claim 1 wherein said nozzle means comprises a water injector nozzle.
- 3. The water reservoir system of claim 1 further including carbonating gas inlet means for introducing carbonating gas into said reservoir.
- 4. The water reservoir system of claim 1 wherein said dispensing outlet means includes a dispensing valve adapted for movement between open and closed positions.
- 5. The water reservoir system of claim 1 wherein said water inlet means includes means for intermittently passing said inlet water stream into said reservoir.
- 6. The water carbonator system of claim 1 wherein said water introducing means introduces the water into said reservoir generally at said upper end thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This is a continuation-in-part of copending Ser. No. 562,244, filed Aug. 3, 1990.
This invention relates generally to improvements in devices and systems for carbonating and chilling water, particularly with respect to dispenser stations and/or vending machines and the like for use in mixing and dispensing chilled carbonated beverages. More specifically, this invention relates to an improved carbonator system designed for more efficient gas-water mixing and chilling of the resultant beverage.
Carbonated water systems are generally known in the art for mixing a carbonating gas, such as carbon dioxide gas, with a fresh water supply to producing a highly pleasing and refreshing carbonated beverage which is often mixed in suitable proportion with a flavored syrup or the like. Such carbonator systems are often employed in soft drink dispenser stations and/or vending machines or the like and are adapted to dispense the carbonated soft drink beverage in individual servings, typically on the order of 6-8 ounce servings. In this form, the system typically includes a water reservoir adapted to receive fresh water from a tap water or similar source, with the reservoir being encased within surrounding cooling coils of a mechanical refrigeration unit such that the water within the reservoir is chilled to desired low temperature. The carbonating gas is supplied to the reservoir at a regulated pressure for intermixing with the chilled water to produce the carbonated beverage. Injectors and/or stirring agitator devices are often employed to enhance gas-liquid intermixing. A dispenser valve is normally provided for dispensing the beverage from the reservoir, typically in coordinated operation with a refill valve such that a volume of water dispensed from the reservoir is concurrently replaced by a fresh volume from the water source.
Although carbonated water systems of the above-described general type have achieved relatively broad commercial use, a variety of problems and disadvantages are present. For example, to achieve adequate chilling of the water within the reservoir, it has been necessary to construct and operate the refrigeration unit in a manner producing an annular ice block or ice ring within the reservoir at the periphery thereof. The presence of this ice ring effectively reduces the overall available volume of the water reservoir which, in an optimized system, is designed to be relatively compact to minimize power requirements of the refrigeration unit. Unfortunately, as a result, the residence time of a given water volume within the reservoir may be reduced such that achieving the desired low temperature level of the final beverage becomes difficult or impossible when several servings are dispensed at close time intervals. Moreover, a refill volume of water entering the reservoir may be subjected to a relatively direct and undesired flow path through the center of the ice ring between a reservoir inlet and dispensing outlet. Achieving the desired low temperature of the final beverage is further complicated by the fact that the carbonated water is often mixed upon dispensing with a proportional quantity of a selected flavor syrup which, if not separately refrigerated, acts to warm the already inadequately chilled carbonated water.
There exists, therefore, a significant need for further improvements in carbonated water systems for use in preparing and dispensing carbonated beverages, wherein the residence time of each refill water volume within a refrigerated reservoir is increased to achieve substantially improved chilling and concurrent gas mixing despite dispensing of multiple servings in rapid succession, and further wherein the development of a reservoir ice ring and/or the need for separate syrup refrigeration are substantially eliminated. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.
In accordance with the invention, an improved water carbonator system is provided for use in the efficient production of chilled carbonated water. The system includes an improved mixing impeller arrangement within a refrigerated refillable water reservoir for forcing the water to flow along a tortuous, direction-changing path during passage from a water inlet to a dispensing outlet. As a result, the water encounters improved intermixing with a carbonating gas and improved heat transfer for chilling purposes.
In the preferred form, the reservoir includes separate injector nozzles a one end thereof for the respective introduction of water and carbonating gas, such as carbon dioxide gas into the reservoir interior. Cooling coils of a mechanical refrigeration unit are wrapped about the reservoir to chill the water therein. A dispensing valve permits selective drawing of the chilled carbonated water from the reservoir via a dispensing outlet disposed generally at an opposite end of the reservoir from the injector nozzles. The dispensing valve may be associated with a separate supply of a flavor syrup or the like and may include or be associated with an appropriate mixing valve for proportionately mixing the syrup with the carbonated water during dispensing. In a typical arrangement, the injector nozzles are located at an upper end of the reservoir, and the dispensing outlet is located at a lower end of the reservoir. The improved mixing impeller is mounted generally centrally within the reservoir and includes a plurality of spaced impeller disks for redirecting water flow passing generally downwardly through the reservoir.
More specifically, the mixing impeller comprises an elongated impeller shaft extending generally vertically through a central region of the reservoir. The shaft is adapted to be rotatably driven about its own axis, with one preferred drive means including a suitable drive motor mounted outside the reservoir and operably connected to the shaft via a hermetically sealed magnetic coupling or the like. The impeller disks are mounted on the shaft for rotation therewith and preferably comprise vaneless disks to permit rotational driving thereof with minimal power consumption. These disks each redirect the general downflow direction of the water to a radially outward direction, with the resultant multiple directional flow changes providing significantly improved water residence time and chilling efficiency as well as improved gas-liquid mixing.
In an alternative preferred form of the invention, one of the impeller disks constitutes a vaned disk located on the impeller shaft in a position to be rotatably driven on an intermittent basis by the water stream injected into the reservoir. In this form, the vaned disk is preferably mounted at or near an upper end of the impeller shaft at a location slightly above the reservoir water level, with the remaining impeller disks being submerged and having a vaneless construction.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
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562244 |
Aug 1990 |
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Patent Grant
5085810
