Refrigeration – Withdrawable liquid – e.g. – dispenser
Patent
1982-09-27
1985-05-07
Bennett, Henry
Refrigeration
Withdrawable liquid, e.g., dispenser
222399, B67D 562
Patent
active
045149941
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to apparatus for aerating liquids, and in particular for carbonating water.
Known types of aerating apparatus include industrial plants for large scale production of bottled beverages comprising carbonated water; smaller plants of a commercial size for use in making carbonated drinks at the location of sale to the public, e.g. a bar or restaurant; and portable machines for domestic household use. The last mentioned devices are simple and compact compared with the industrial and commercial carbonating plants, and have become popular in recent years.
It is well known that the carbonation of water is improved if the water is chilled prior to introducing the carbon dioxide gas. For this reason it is usual to include in the known industrial and commercial plants a cooler for cooling the water before carbonation. In the case of the known portable machines intended for domestic use, however, incorporating a cooling mechanism for cooling the water is not considered a practical proposition since it would complicate the device, substantially increase its cost and make it less compact. Consequently, it is suggested that bottles of water be chilled in a refrigerator before being carbonated using the portable machines, but this is often inconvenient. As a solution to this drawback, it has been proposed to provide the portable apparatus with a detachable reservoir tank from which the water is drawn into a pressure chamber for carbonation. The idea is that a spare tank of water should be kept within the refrigerator so that it is well cooled when mounted on the apparatus. The result is satisfactory only if the entire contents of the reservoir are carbonated upon being removed from the refrigerator, otherwise the uncarbonated water soon returns to ambient temperature. There is also a disadvantage in the need to replace continually the reservoir tank and remember to store the spare tank in the refrigerator.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,103,479 it has been proposed to provide a carbonator housed entirely within the food compartment of a refrigerator. The carbonator is connected to the water supply system, which is inconvenient since it means that the refrigerator must be plumbed in to the household water supply. The apparatus is also inconvenient to use since the refrigerator door must be opened to gain access to the controls and the discharge nozzle of the carbonator. Furthermore it enables only a relatively small volume of water to be cooled ready for carbonation so it is not capable of producing several chilled carbonated drinks in quick succession. An additional disadvantage is that the carbonated water is discharged under pressure which can cause foaming and splashing within the refrigerator.
The present invention aims at providing a solution to the above drawbacks and in accordance with a first broad aspect resides in a domestic refrigerator having a cold food compartment defined within a walled cabinet including a door, and a carbonating apparatus mounted within the cold chamber and operable to deliver carbonated liquid to a discharge nozzle, characterised in that said carbonating apparatus is mounted on the inside of the refrigerator door and comprises a sealed pressure chamber and a reservoir both exposed to the temperature in the cold compartment, valve means to control supply of liquid to the pressure chamber from the reservoir tank and discharge of liquid from the pressure chamber to the nozzle, a gas supply valve for controlling supply of pressurised gas from a gas source to the pressure chamber, an exhaust valve operable to release the gas pressure in the pressure chamber, and a control arrangement for operating the liquid flow control valve means, said gas supply valve and said exhaust valve, said control arrangement extending through the refrigerator door to be operable from outside the cold compartment, and said discharge nozzle being mounted to deliver liquid on the outer side of the door.
The carbonating mechanism may be controlled by means of a member carried by a control shaft which extends
Bennett Henry
Sodastream Limited
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