IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0251605
(2008-10-15)
|
등록번호 |
US-8231030
(2012-07-31)
|
발명자
/ 주소 |
|
출원인 / 주소 |
- Food Equipment Technologies Company, Inc.
|
대리인 / 주소 |
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
3 인용 특허 :
1 |
초록
▼
A beverage dispenser has a container for beverage fluid that has a flat bottom that is above a space large enough to place a glass or cup. The container has a sidewall and a top edge of an open container that has a removable lid. A pair of actuator guards are on either side of a space near but below
A beverage dispenser has a container for beverage fluid that has a flat bottom that is above a space large enough to place a glass or cup. The container has a sidewall and a top edge of an open container that has a removable lid. A pair of actuator guards are on either side of a space near but below the top edge of the container where an actuator is located that projects through a notch in the top edge, plunging downwardly inside the inner wall of the container sidewall and jutting straight out to form a fork. This fork selectively holds a plunger that has a long shaft and plug that fits into a hole in the bottom wall of the container. This hole and plug form a valve. The valve can be opened when the actuator is depressed between the actuator guards towards the container's sidewall, which pivots the fork upwardly which in turn lifts the plunger and plug to open the valve for dispensation.
대표청구항
▼
1. A beverage dispenser, comprising: a dispenser body with an open top with a top edge and a removable closure for closing the open top,a bottom beneath the top,surrounding walls including a front wall extending between the top and the bottom and having a middle between the top and the bottom, andme
1. A beverage dispenser, comprising: a dispenser body with an open top with a top edge and a removable closure for closing the open top,a bottom beneath the top,surrounding walls including a front wall extending between the top and the bottom and having a middle between the top and the bottom, andmeans supporting the bottom above a support surface;a drain hole in the bottom; anda manually operable, drain valve actuator assembly including a manually engagable drain actuator releasably, pivotally mounted to the front wall at a location adjacent to the top but spaced beneath the top edge and spaced from the middle of the front wall and from the drain hole;a movable valve member connected directly to the drain actuator and having a plug receivable in blocking engagement within the drain hole to close the drain hole, manual pivoting the manually engagable actuator toward the front wall relative to the body to raise the plug out of blocking engagement with the drain hole to allow beverage within the dispenser body to drain out of the drain hole. 2. The beverage dispenser of claim 1 in which the actuator is pivotally mounted to the dispenser body and is accessible on an outside of the body, and includinga pair of actuator guards located on the outside of the body adjacent the top and on either side of the actuator to protect the actuator against inadvertent manual actuation and to provide lateral guidance for relative pivotal movement of the actuator. 3. The beverage dispenser of claim 2 in which the actuator is pivoted inwardly when in an actuated open position with the actuator being more deeply recessed relative to the actuator guards then when the actuator is in a normally closed, non-actuated position, when the actuator is only relatively slightly recessed. 4. The beverage dispenser of claim 1 in which the supporting means includes a base with an upper surface directly beneath the drain hole for support of a single serving sized container beneath the drain hole during dispensing of the beverage into the container. 5. The beverage dispenser of claim 1 including a drain pipe connected to the drain hole and extending downwardly from the bottom. 6. A beverage dispenser, comprising: a dispenser body with top, a bottom, surrounding walls including a front wall extending between the top and the bottom and means supporting the bottom above a support surface;a drain hole in the bottom; anda manually operable, drain valve actuator assembly including a manually engagable drain actuator pivotally mounted to the body,a movable valve member connected directly to the drain actuator and having a plug receivable in blocking engagement within the drain hole to close the drain hole, manual pivoting of the manually engagable actuator relative to the body raising the plug out of blocking engagement with the drain hole to allow beverage within the dispenser body to drain out of the drain hole; and in whichthe front wall has a mounting slot at the top of the dispenser body, andthe actuator has an engagement member with a manual engagement surface that is located on the outside of, and faces outwardly from, the front wall and extends upwardly to a down-turned hook section, said hook section being hooked over and supported by the mounting slot. 7. The beverage dispenser of claim 6 in which the mounting slot is in the top edge of the front wall, anda portion of the front wall immediately beneath the slot is sandwiched between a downturned part of the hook section and an inner surface of a top part of the engagement member. 8. The beverage dispenser of claim 7 in which the downturned part terminates in a generally horizontal valve engagement section. 9. The beverage dispenser of claim 8 in which the valve engagement section carries a valve engagement fork with a pair of opposed, mirror imaged arms separated by relatively narrow frontal slot and a generally circular aft slot. 10. The beverage dispenser of claim 9 in which the plug is attached to an end of an elongate handle with a fork engagement collar that extends radially outwardly from the handle and overlies the fork with the handle being snugly seated within the slot,said handle and plug being held upwardly in a relatively elevated position when the engagement member is pivoted against the front wall to create a drainage gap between the sides of the plug and the drain hole to allow beverage to pass through the drain hole. 11. The beverage dispenser of claim 10 in which the handle and the plug are integrally formed together from a single work piece of stainless steel. 12. A beverage dispenser, comprising: a dispenser body with top, a bottom, surrounding walls including a front wall extending between the top and the bottom, means supporting the bottom above a support surface and a mounting slot, with a top edge, in the top of the dispenser body;a drain hole in the bottom; anda manually operable, drain valve actuator assembly including a manually engagable drain actuator pivotally mounted to the body,a movable valve member connected directly to the drain actuator and having a plug receivable in blocking engagement within the drain hole to close the drain hole, manual pivoting of the manually engagable actuator relative to the body raising the plug out of blocking engagement with the drain hole to allow beverage within the dispenser body to drain out of the drain hole, the engagement member having sufficient weight to cause the movable valve member to move downwardly to pivot the engagement member about a top edge of the slot. 13. The beverage dispenser of claim 12 in which the plug has inwardly, downwardly tapered conical sides, anda generally pointed end to facilitate a smooth sliding fit of the plug into the drain hole. 14. A beverage dispenser, comprising: a dispenser body with top, a bottom, surrounding walls including a front wall extending between the top and the bottom and means supporting the bottom above a support surface;a drain hole in the bottom; anda manually operable, drain valve actuator assembly including a manually engagable drain actuator pivotally mounted to the body,a movable valve member connected directly to the drain actuator and having a plug receivable in blocking engagement within the drain hole to close the drain hole, manual pivoting of the manually engagable actuator relative to the body raising the plug out of blocking engagement with the drain hole to allow beverage within the dispenser body to drain out of the drain hole, said plug being attached to one end of a relatively narrow, elongate, handle mounted entirely within an interior of the dispenser body. 15. A method of assembling a valve assembly with a beverage dispenser having a hollow dispenser body, a top and a bottom with a drain hole, comprising the steps of: hooking an actuator with an external actuator surface at one end and an internal valve member engagement surface over a slot in the top of the dispenser body;placing an elongate movable valve handle with a collar into the dispenser body; andpushing the handle against a narrow frontal slot between a pair of fingers carried by the valve member engagement surface until being resiliently spread apart sufficiently to allow passage of the handle into snug engagement within the frontal slot and beneath the collar. 16. A method of dispensing beverage from a beverage dispenser having body with a top with a top edge, a middle and a bottom beneath the top and the middle, comprising the steps of: releasably, pivotally mounting a valve actuator at a location adjacent to, but spaced beneath the top edge of the beverage dispenser and spaced from the middle;pressing on the valve actuator at location adjacent to, but beneath, the top edge of the beverage dispenser and spaced from the middle to pivot the valve actuator in a direction toward the dispenser body to open a valve in the bottom of the dispenser;supporting the valve in the bottom of the dispenser above a serving size beverage container with a supporting means fixedly attached to the beverage dispenser body; anddispensing beverage from the valve at the bottom of the dispenser at a location substantially spaced beneath the valve actuator into the serving size beverage container. 17. The dispensing method of claim 16 including the step of protectively sandwiching the valve actuator with a pair of valve actuator guards. 18. The dispensing method of claim 16 including the step of closing the valve by releasing pressure on the valve actuator to allow gravity to move the actuator to move to a closed position. 19. The dispensing method of claim 16 including the step of using the sides of a tapered plug to guide the plug into a closed position within a drain hole.
※ AI-Helper는 부적절한 답변을 할 수 있습니다.