Eaton Corporation

David K Wetzel

Michael G Weimer

Larry D Powers

Jeffrey Hale

Scott W Braun

A beverage dispenser includes a body having a bore with an inlet, an outlet and a valve seat therebetween. A valve stem has a seal to selectively engage the valve seat to open and close the bore to a flow of beverage between the inlet and outlet. A serving lever is pivotally connected to the body and selectively coupled and decoupled to the valve stem by a clutch which is operated by a solenoid. Operating the serving lever may move the seal away from the valve seat only when clutch couples the serving lever to the valve stem. A control circuit operates the solenoid to cause the clutch to decouple the serving lever from the valve stem when the beverage has been dispensed continuously for greater than a defined period of time.

Beverage dispenser with electrically controlled clutch

A totalizer assembly is enclosed in a housing having a base and a cover which cooperate to support and position a register assembly in the housing. The base and cover also cooperate to support and position a gear train in the housing. The gear train drives the register assembly. When units are to be totaled at a relatively fast rate, one gear train is used. When units are to be totaled at a relatively slow rate, a second gear train is used. The cover and base have surfaces for positioning the gears of either one of the two gear trains.

Totalizer assembly

Existing beverage dispensing taps may be retrofitted with a mechanism that provides an electrical signal which indicates when the tap is open. That mechanism includes a housing with an open bottom for placement over the tap with a lever of the tap projecting upward through an aperture in the housing. The housing is held in place over the tap by a compression bonnet the holds the operating lever on a conventional beverage tap. A switch assembly within the housing is engaged and operated by a component of the beverage tap to provide the electrical signal. The switch assembly has a unique double action actuator that tolerates different amounts of movement of the tap component. The actuator has a ring that is engaged by the tap component to operate the switch assembly and an annular flange secured to the housing. A first flexible web connects the ring to the annular flange and a button with a surface with a conductive surface is coupled to the ring by a second flexible web. When the switch is closed the conductive surface abuts a pair of contacts.

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Watertown, WI, United States of America

David K Wetzel