Carrier Corporation

Carrier Commercial Refrigeration, Inc.

Specialty Equipment Companies, Inc.

Peter F McNamee

James J Minard

Mark E Bush

Robert K Newton

Kevin Henry Bischel

Stephen M Wadle

Kenneth Moshier

Martin Singletary

Gregory A Wright

A beverage dispenser provides numerous inventive features in its refrigeration system, diluent delivery system, concentrate delivery system, mixing and dispensing system, and control system. The refrigeration system employs a plate heat exchanger to provide on demand refrigeration of an intermittent water flow. The diluent delivery system includes a flowmeter/solenoid/check-valve assembly. The concentrate delivery system employs a positive displacement pump. The mixing and dispensing system includes a mixing nozzle that has a locking feature such that an elevated blocking surface directly faces the inlet of pressurized diluent to create turbulence. The control system receives package-specific information from a scanner and diluent flow rate information from the flowmeter, and then determines the pump speed in order to set a desired mix ratio.

Beverage dispenser with on-demand refrigeration

A dispenser () for consumable products uses a single motor () to both drive a spinner () to mix the product and move a valve assembly () to open and close the dispenser (). The valve assembly (), which is axially aligned with the motor shaft () may be opened and closed by fixing an externally threaded shaft () on a drive shaft () extending from the motor () and then rotatably mounting an internally threaded flywheel () on the threaded shaft (). A valve stem () may then be fixedly attached to the flywheel (). When the motor () energizes, the flywheel () and valve stem () axially translate along the nut () to open the valve assembly (). When the motor () de-energizes, the flywheel () and valve stem () axially translate along the nut () in an opposite direction to close the valve assembly ().

Dispenser with aligned spinner motor and valve assembly for dispensing flowable product

Mixing nozzle

A beverage dispenser provides numerous inventive features in its refrigeration system (), diluent delivery system (), concentrate delivery system (), mixing and dispensing system (), and control system. The refrigeration system () employs a plate heat exchanger to provide on demand refrigeration of an intermittent water flow. The diluent delivery system includes a flowmeter/solenoid/check-valve assembly. The concentrate delivery system employs a positive displacement pump. The mixing and dispensing system includes a mixing nozzle () that has a locking feature such that an elevated blocking surface directly faces the inlet of pressurized diluent to create turbulence. The control system receives package-specific information from a scanner and diluent flow rate information from the flowmeter, and then determines the pump speed in order to set a desired mix ratio.

Ratio control in postmix dispenser

A beverage dispenser provides numerous inventive features in its refrigeration system, diluent delivery system, concentrate delivery system, mixing and dispensing system, and control system. For example, the mixing and dispensing system includes a mixing nozzle that has several novel aspects. Such novel aspects include an elevated blocking surface that directly faces the inlet of a pressurized diluent in order to create turbulence for the mixing, and novel constructions of a depressurizing section together with a funnel-shaped passageway that reduces splashing.

A hot gas heat treat system is employed to cool mix in a hopper and a freezing cylinder and to heat the mix for pasteurization. A hopper liquid line solenoid valve at the inlet of the hopper and a cylinder liquid line solenoid valve at the inlet of the freezing cylinder each control the flow of refrigerant to the expansion valves which further control the flow of refrigerant that flows around the hopper and the freezing cylinder, respectively. A hopper hot gas solenoid valve at the inlet of the hopper and a cylinder hot gas solenoid valve at the inlet of the freezing cylinder control the flow of refrigerant from the compressor that flows around the hopper and the freezing cylinder. The system further includes a hot gas bypass valve that is opened when only the hopper is being cooled to provide additional load to the compressor. An EPR valve is positioned proximate to the hopper discharge to vary the temperature of the refrigerant exchanging heat with the hopper. A CPR valve is employed to control the inlet pressure of the compressor by reducing the amount of hot refrigerant flowing into the compressor suction. The system further includes a TREV valve to allow for liquid refrigerant injection to the compressor suction to control excessive compressor discharge during the cool cycle.

Heat treat hot gas system

An apparatus for freezing and dispensing semi-frozen food products having two freezing chambers, one compressor for supplying refrigerant to both freezing chambers, one beater drive motor for driving the beaters in both chambers, two solenoid valves control flow of refrigerant from the single compressor to the evaporators for the freezing chambers and periodic pulse width modulated signals are applied to operate the two solenoid valves alternately during each period and signals are modulated to have substantially equal duty cycles in an initial freeze mode and to have unequal duty cycles when product is dispensed from only one freeze chamber.

Growing community of inventors

Beloit, WI, United States of America

Peter F McNamee