The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 07, 2000
Filed:
Feb. 21, 1997
Shigeki Tamura, Ikeda, JP;
Hiroaki Kitamura, Nishinomiya, JP;
Shinichi Kunisaki, Ibaraki, JP;
Nobuya Matsumoto, Osaka, JP;
Suntory Limited, Osaka, JP;
Abstract
An apparatus for dispensing drinking water including of a chamber in which a container packed with drinking water is mounted, a conduit connected with the container in the chamber to dispense drinking water through the apparatus, and sterilizer installed adjacent the conduit means to apply sterilization with substantial heat thereto. The sterilizing means may include automatic control system to control automatically sterilizing with heat. The conduit may includes a storage area for storing drinking water within the conduit, and the storage area may includes two tanks for storing drinking water, one is a cold water tank including a refrigeration device to chill the drinking water, and the other is a hot water tank including heating device to heat the drinking water. The sterilization with heat may be done by heating the conduit with heaters installed surrounding thereof, or may be done by circulating hot water which is stored in the hot water tank through the apparatus. Furthermore, the sterilizer installed adjacent said conduit with the exception of the portions in which hot water is usually passed through in the apparatus during dispensing the drinking water to apply substantial sterilization with heat thereto.