Sanden Corporation

Kirin Brewery Company, Limited

Ryoichi Sekiguchi

Yasushi Takayanagi

Yutaka Takahashi

Hiroshi Hayakawa

Ikuo Harashima

Yasuyuki Arai

Tomomitsu Abe

Shunichi Nakayama

Sunichi Nakayama

A beverage extracting apparatus for vending machines includes a cylindrical mixing chamber having an inflow port on its upper portion and an opening on its bottom portion. A first valve mechanism opens and closes the inflow port. A second auxiliary valve mechanism of a smaller diameter than the first valve mechanism seats against the first valve mechanism. After the brewing operation is completed, the mixing chamber is exhausted of high pressure gas by the unseating of the auxiliary valve mechanism.

Beverage extracting apparatus for vending machines

A dispensing unit for mixing and dispensing a beverage which consists of several constituents, including syrup. The unit dispenses beverage from a bottle having a bottom outlet portion and through a syrup path controlled by a manually operable valve. A gas path in the dispensing unit supplies gas into the bottle for urging the syrup from the bottle and into the syrup path. An additional liquid is permitted to flow to a mixing chamber along with the syrup where they are mixed.

Beverage mixing and dispensing unit

A beverage extracting apparatus for vending machines includes a cylinder for storing a liquid mixture of water and raw material of a beverage, a valve opening and closing the inflow port of the cylinder, a filter covering the bottom opening of the cylinder, a filter support vertically moved to open and close the bottom opening of the cylinder via the filter, an air pressure supply for supplying pressurized air into the cylinder to forcibly filtrate the liquid mixture stored in the cylinder via the filter, a filter support guide frame vertically guiding the filter support, a filter support drive for vertically moving the filter support and including a lever pivotably supported by the filter support guide frame and engaged with the filter support, and an adjusting device for adjusting the vertical position of the filter support guide frame. The pressing force of the filter support onto the bottom of the cylinder can be easily adjusted to an adequate force by adjusting the vertical position of the filter support guide frame by the adjusting device. High accuracy of the parts for the filter support driving mechanism is not particularly required, thereby making the processing of the parts for the mechanism easy and reducing the cost for manufacturing the apparatus.

In a beverage dispensing unit which includes a storing unit (32), a conducting arrangement (43) for conducting a beverage from the storing unit, and a cabinet (38), the storing unit comprises a portable tank which is removable from the cabinet. The conducting arrangement includes an end portion (47) which is detachably connected to the tank. The end portion is held to the cabinet to be radially movable in relation to a connecting axis defined by the cabinet. Preferably, the cabinet comprises guiding arrangement (41, 42) for guiding the tank substantially along the connecting axis. The beverage dispensing unit further comprises a controlling unit (60) for controlling dispensation of the beverage. For adjusting a flow rate of the beverage in a beverage path (62, 63, 64) which is opened and closed by a valve (75), the controlling unit comprises an adjusting member (82) having an end (82b) covered with an operating member (90) which operates the valve. The operating member is movable to expose the end of the adjusting member, so that it is readily possible to adjust the flow rate of the beverage.

Beverage dispensing unit with a control unit for controlling

A beverage extracting or brewing apparatus for vending machines includes a mixing ball for mixing water and raw material of a beverage, a cylinder having a spherical upper inner surface, a straight cylindrical communication path between the mixing ball and the cylinder having a flush inner surface, a valve opening and closing an inflow port of the cylinder and having a spherical upper surface, a valve shaft functioning as part of a pressurized air supply path into the cylinder, a filter positioned at the bottom of the cylinder and a pressurization device for supplying the pressurized air into the cylinder to forcibly filter the mixture liquid in the cylinder through the filter. The mixture liquid from the mixing ball can be sufficiently and efficiently mixed and stirred in the communication path and even in the cylinder, and smoothly flows into the cylinder through the space between the spherical inner surface of the cylinder and the spherical upper surface of the valve. The mixture liquid does not stick to various portions in the apparatus, thereby maintaining the apparatus sanitary. Since the mixture liquid is sufficiently and quickly mixed before being extracted, the processing time of the beverage of the vending machine is significantly reduced.

Beverage brewing apparatus for vending machines

A post-mix beverage dispensing system including a cabinet having top, front, back, side and bottom panels for housing various components is disclosed. The components of the system include a carbonator for producing carbonated water by mixing cooled potable water with CO.sub.2. Potable water is stored in a portable tank means and is supplied to the carbonator through a first pipe. The portable tank is easily detachable from the cabinet. The system further includes a cooling reservoir containing cooled water. A serpentine section of the first pipe, along with the carbonator is disposed in the cooling reservoir. A CO.sub.2 tank supplies CO.sub.2 to the carbonator. Syrup packages dispense a selected syrup. Carbonated water from the carbonator, cool water from the portable tank, and syrup from the syrup packages are mixed in a valve and dispensed through a nozzle. The cooled water may be continuously supplied to the carbonator through the first pipe. Second and third pipes link the carbonator with the valve, and the CO.sub.2 to the syrup packages for dispensing CO.sub.2 therefrom, respectively.

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Isesaki, Japan

Ryoichi Sekiguchi