Other

Magna International Inc.

Robert K Cleland

Larry Roberts

William C Boettcher

Jeffrey R Robbins

Bradley Ray Hamlin

John Muglia

Brian Buda

Kenneth R Schmidt

Robert Moore

Michael Ray Elliott

A sleeper cab assembly for a vehicle includes a frame configured to provide a support structure for at least a portion of the sleeper cab assembly. The frame includes a plurality of frame members coupled together. Each of the frame members are formed of a reinforced polymeric material.

Sleeper cab assembly for vehicle

A glycol chiller comprising an elongate vertical sheet metal tank with front and rear walls, laterally spaced vertical end walls, vertically spaced top and bottom walls and a horizontal intermediate wall spaced between the top and bottom walls and defining a lower glycol chiller chamber and an upper glycol reservoir within the tank filler opening in the top wall, a flow through port in the intermediate wall conducting glycol from the reservoir into the chamber, a plurality of spaced apart partitions in the chiller chamber defining an elongate zig zag glycol flow passage with upstream and downstream ends within the chamber, glycol inlet and outlet fittings communicating with opposite ends of the flow passage and projecting from the tank to connect with glycol return and delivery lines extending from a related heat exchanging device; a motor driven pump downstream from the inlet fitting and operating to continuously recirculate glycol through the flow passage and the selected heat exchange device; an electric powered freon charged refrigeration machine including an elongate zig zag evaporator coil extending longitudinally and centrally through the passage; and, a thermal insulating jacket structure about he exterior of the tank.

Glycol chiller machine

A heat exchanger comprising an elongate tank with top, bottom, side, front and rear walls. A plurality of longitudinally spaced partitions are positioned within the tank and define an elongate serpentine or zig-zag liquid conducting flow passage with upstream and downstream ends. An elongate serpentine or zig-zag formed fluid coolant conducting coil is positioned centrally within and extends longitudinally of the flow passage. The coil has an upstream end portion exiting the tank at the downstream end of the flow passage and a downstream end portion exiting the tank at the upstream end of the flow passage. Liquid inlet and outlet fittings connected with a valve-controlled fluid supply and dispensing means conduct liquid into and out of the flow passage. A fluid recirculating pump has a suction side connected with the downstream end of the flow passage and a discharge side connected with the upstream end of the flow passage and continuously recirculates liquid longitudinally within the flow passage and about the coil.

Heat exchanger

A beverage dispensing machine including a cabinet having a utility section in which parts of a refrigeration machine and liquid-handling parts are housed and a thermally insulated section defining a compartment in which beverage concentrate supplies are removably positioned and that houses fluid-conducting parts of the machine including a liquid concentrate pump, water control valve, water and liquid concentrate metering and mixing devices and a pressurized heat exchange water tank through which an evaporator coil of the refrigeration machine extends and through which water to be dispensed is circulated and chilled; chilled water in the tank is circulated through a cooling coil in the compartment to chill the contents thereof.

Beverage dispensing machine with improved liquid chiller

A multi-fluid flow control device comprising an elongate horizontal body with front and rear ends, a fluid-conducting chamber in the rear end portion of the body, fluid inlet and outlet openings communicating with the chamber, an elongate bore in the body between the chamber and the front end thereof, and, water inlet and outlet ports communicating with the bore; an elongate valve part with front and rear ends and a transverse water transfer passage with laterally opening upstream and downstream ends and slidably engaged in the bore and shiftable longitudinally therein from a rear position where the upstream and downstream ends of the passage register with the inlet and outlet ports to direct water entering the inlet port out through the outlet port and a forward position where said ends of the passage are out of register with said ports and water entering the inlet port is directed rearwardly through the bore in and into the chamber; a central opening in the valve part between the front end thereof and the passage therein, an elongate valve stem with front and rear ends threadedly engaged in the central opening and having a valve head at its rear end to enter the passage and a manually engageable operating knob at its rear end.

Multi-fluid flow control device

A flow control device including an elongate body with a central longitudinal flow passage with upstream and downstream ends; an elastic orifice plate with a central orifice extending transverse the flow passage; and, a diffuser part projecting into the flow passage downstream from the plate and upon which a jet of fluid issuing and flowing downstream from the orifice in the plate impinges and is diffused; the diffuser part is placed downstream from the plate a distance so that it serves to diffuse the jet of liquid before its movement downstream in the flow passage generates a minus downstream of the plate.

Flow control device

A noncarbonated beverage dispensing machine in combination with pressurized water and syrup supplies; the machine includes a beverage tank from which beverage is dispensed, a mixing head including normally closed electrically operated water and syrup valves connected with the water and syrup supplies and operable to conduct metered volumes of water and syrup into the beverage tank and a liquid level switching device in the beverage tank operating to simultaneously cause the valves to open when the liquid in the tank is at a predetermined low level and to cause the valves to close when the liquid level in the tank is at a predetermined high level. The water supply delivers a constant supply of water at a desired pressure to the water valve. The syrup supply includes a replaceable syrup tank holding a discrete volume of syrup, an elongate syrup line extends from the syrup tank to the mixing head and a gas supply delivers pressurized gas into the syrup tank at predetermined pressure to move syrup therein through the syrup line to the head. The head includes a normally open syrup actuated switching device between and connected with the syrup valve and syrup line and that operates to close when syrup at desired pressure is delivered to the syrup valve and to disable and prevent opening of the water valve when syrup is not supplied to the syrup valve at desired pressure and to thereby prevent a flow of water into the supply tank in the absence of a corresponding flow of syrup into that tank.

Beverage dispensing machine with pressurized water and syrup supplies

A liquid actuated switch device including a case that defines an accumulator chamber with upper and lower portions and liquid inlet and outlet openings communicating with the lower portion of the chamber and connected with upstream and downstream sections of flow line delivery, a flow passage through which liquid is forcibly driven, a normally open liquid level actuated switch in the upper portion of the chamber and actuated to close by liquid in the chamber when the level of the liquid in the chamber rises to an actuating level where the pressure on the liquid and on the gases in the upper portion of the chamber are in subsequent equilibrium. The device includes a vent duct extruding between the upper portion of the chamber and the flow passage downstream of the chamber to balance the pressure on the gas in the chamber with the pressure on the liquid downstream thereof.

Liquid actuated switch device

A beverage making and dispensing apparatus comprising a pressurized water supply; a non-pressurized beverage syrup supply; a hydraulically driven proportional pump with water and syrup inlets connected with the water and syrup supplies, water and syrup outlets connected with a water delivery line and a syrup delivery hose; an aspirator-atomizer mixing device with an elongate mixing chamber with an outlet end, a water passage with an inlet end connected with the water delivery line and a nozzle end to direct a jet of water longitudinally of the chamber toward its outlet end, a syrup port communicating with the chamber and connected with the hose; a water valve to start and stop the flow of water from the pump into and through the mixing device; and, a flow control device in the hose downstream of the pump and upstream of the syrup port to establish a pressure drop and maintain a positive pressure at the syrup outlet of the pump that is less than the minus pressure at the syrup port and a pressure at the syrup port that is less than the water pressure at the nozzle end of the water passage.

Beverage dispensing apparatus

Coffee brewer mounting fixture

An elongate, horizontally upwardly opening particulate material storing receptacle with vertical front and end walls, upwardly projecting side walls, a longitudinally extending bottom wall, a material discharge opening at the front end of the receptacle, an elongate auger extending longitudinally within the receptacle from the rear wall to the discharge opening, a driven shaft on the auger and projecting rearwardly from the receptacle; and, a drive motor unit drivingly coupled with the driven shaft, the improvements comprise: mounting structure pivotally supporting the upper rear end of the receptacle about a horizontal transverse turning axis spaced vertically from the axis of the shaft, a cam plate with circumferentially spaced, rearwardly disposed lobes and recesses positioned rearward of the receptacle and carried by the shaft; and, a forwardly disposed reaction pose mounted rearward of the plate and in reacting driving engagement therewith to sequentially pivot the receptacle about the turning axis when the shaft rotates. The improvements further include an elongate material engaging bar with front and rear ends positioned within the receptacle above the auger, mounting structure pivotally mounting the rear end of the bar within the receptacle about a horizontal transverse pivot axis; and, a drive finger at the front end of the bar engaging the auger to pivot the bar vertically upwardly and downwardly about the pivot axis when the auger rotates.

Particulate material storing and dispensing hopper structure

A self-contained unitary attachment engageable atop the supply tank of a beverage dispensing machine in place of the standard cover therefore. The attachment includes a liquid concentrate reservoir that depends into the beverage in the tank and up into a housing portion of the attachment. The housing portion of the attachment accommodates a proportional mixing device with inlets connected with the reservoir and a pressure water supply and an outlet communicating with the tank, a valve to start and stop the flow of water, a pressure regulator related to the water supply, liquid level sensors responsive to high and low liquid levels in the tank, a signalling device to signal when the reservoir is substantially empty of concentrate and a control circuit connected with the valve and liquid level sensors whereby the valve is opened and closed to maintain the liquid level in the tank between high and low levels. The attachment can be engaged with and removed from a related dispensing machine without modification or alteration of the machine. The attachment only has a single water supply line and a single electric supply cord extending from it to releasably connect with a pressurized water supply and a power supply. The housing portion has a normally closed opening above the reservoir to effect intermittent filling of the reservoir with concentrate.

Beverage dispenser

An aspirator structure to proportionately mix a pressurized motive liquid and non-pressurized additive liquid and to deliver the mixed liquids into a storage supply of mixed liquids. The aspirator structure includes an elongate aspirating chamber connected with the supplies of motive and additive liquids and has a discharge end from which the mixed liquids flow. The structure next includes an elongate, vertical delivery tube with a cylindrical inside surface, a closed upper end portion communicating with the discharge end of the chamber and an open lower end opening in the supply of mixed liquids. The cross-sectional extent of the tube is greater than the cross-sectional extent of the chamber and the liquids flowing from the chamber are directed substantially tangentially with respect to the inside surface of the tube so that those liquids establish a vortex flow with and are moved downwardly therethrough by the force of gravity. The tube has an elongate radially opening circumferentially and longitudinally extending anti-syphon slot opening pitch counter to the vortex flow of liquids whereby those liquids flow substantially laterally across the opening within the tube.

Liquid aspirator with improved anti-syphon tube

An attachment unit removably engaged on the open top of the supply tank of a beverage dispensing machine and operating to mix together metered quantities of powdered beverage concentrate and water and to deliver a resulting beverage into the tank when the liquid level in the tank lowers to a predetermined low level and until the level rises to a predetermined high level. The unit includes a housing with a support flange engaged on the rim of the tank, a concentrate hopper within the housing and having a downwardly opening discharge duct, an auger in the hopper, an electric motor rotating the auger to move concentrate to the duct, a mixing chamber between and communicating with said duct and supply tank, a water service system, an elongate nozzle connected with the system and opening into the chamber, an electrically operated on and off valve and a valving device between and connected with said system and nozzle and controlling the flow of water to and through the nozzle, a liquid level sensing device depending from the housing into the tank and including low and high liquid level responsive switching devices, a control circuit connected with and between said motor, valve and switching devices to energize the motor and actuate the valve open when the low liquid level responsive switching device operates in response to low liquid level in the tank and to deenergize the motor and actuate the valve closed when the high liquid level responsive switching device operates in response to high liquid level in the tank.

Growing community of inventors

Los Alamitos, CA, United States of America

Robert K Cleland