Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02324428 2000-10-25
This invention relates to an apparatus for automatically or semi-automatically
pouring
layered drinks, i.e. drinks comprising different layers of liquid and having
discrete
boundaries between the different layers (superposed layers).
Superposed layer pouring devices are known from, for example, US 5,163,488
(Basch)
and CN 2231685U (Guo Rugeng).
Basch shows a device to be placed on top of a glass, the device having one or
more
chambers for holding different liquors. Each chamber is connected to a central
hole
leading to a pouring arm having a spherical float. The amount of liquor poured
from a
chamber is regulated either manually or automatically using shut-off valves.
When a
plurality of chambers is used, liquor pouring from a chamber is selected by
pressing a
button associated with that chamber. In this way, the shut-off valve is opened
and is
switched off automatically when the desired layer thickness has been poured.
The
sequence of pouring may be automated.
Guo Rugeng shows a similar device to Basch, having one chamber and a spherical
float connected to an upper handle.
The known devices have the apparent drawbacks of either not allowing automated
pouring of a drink of a certain type, preferably chosen from a list of
different drinks, or
providing a cumbersome and big device to be placed directly onto or adjacent
the top
of the drink glass. To keep the device size down, the liquor chambers have to
be kept
small, which will limit the number of drinks that can be poured before the
chambers
need to be refilled. This presents a problem when the device is used in a
professional
setting, such as a bar, where the demand for sustained throughput is larger
than for a
device used in a domestic environment.
In view of the above, it is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus
for
automatically or semi-automatically pouring layered drinks that obviates or
mitigates the
aforementioned drawbacks and limitations. The operator of the apparatus will
only have
to choose the particular sequence the different layers should be in, place a
glass or
-1-
CA 02324428 2000-10-25
similar object under a pouring device and then the apparatus will perform the
necessary
steps for pouring in the right amount of the proper liquid in the proper
sequence, without
mixing the different layers. The actual knowledge of what layers are to be
poured, and
in which sequence, is not necessary for the operator to have. This information
can be
stored in a control means, which regulates the pouring.
In the invention, an apparatus for pouring layered drinks comprises a pouring
device,
for controlled pouring of different density liquids into a vessel, a plurality
of liquid holding
tanks, each of the plurality of tanks having a first outlet, which is
connected to a liquid
conduit leading to the pouring device; and liquor valves provided in each
liquid conduit,
to selectively and controllably open or close each liquid conduit. The pouring
device has
- an inlet for each liquid conduit, and a second outlet cooperating with a
deflector
arranged at a lower end of the pouring device, to deflect liquid flowing from
the second
outlet. The deflector is reciprocally movable vertically with respect to the
pouring device,
to position the deflector at different distances from a lower end of the
pouring device.
An actuator is connected to reciprocate the deflector.
In one embodiment of the invention, the liquor valves are operable to any
position
between the closed and the open position. The liquor valves and the actuator
are
preferably connected to a control means, which selectively opens and closes
the liquor
valves and regulates the position of the actuator, and thus the position of
the deflector.
The actuator is preferably an electromagnetic actuator. The liquor valves are
advantageously electromagnetic valves.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the contents of the plurality of
tanks are set
under higher pressure than the ambient pressure by a pressurizing means.
Advantageously, the liquor valves and the actuator are connected to a control
means,
which selectively opens and closes the liquor valves and regulates the
position of the
actuator , and thus the position of the deflector. The pressurizing means
preferably
comprises a pump connected to a first manifold, the first manifold being
connected to
each of the plurality of tanks via pressure conduits. The pressurizing means
further may
comprise a pressure regulator for controlling the pump to provide a
predetermined
_2_
CA 02324428 2000-10-25
pressure in the first manifold. Preferably, the actuator is a pneumatic
actuator, and is
connected to the first manifold via an actuator valve. Also the liquor valves
are
preferably pneumatic, i.e. pneumatic valves.
Advantageously, a cleaning tank is connected to the pressurizing means, and
further
connected to a second manifold via a cleaning valve, the second manifold being
connected to each liquor valve, so that, when the cleaning valve is in an open
position,
pressurised cleaning liquid flows from the cleaning tank to the second
manifold and to
each liquor valve, the liquor valves being operable to a back-wash cleaning
position,
in which the liquid enters the pouring device from the liquor valves so
cleaning liquid
would flow from the second manifold through the liquor valves to the pouring
device via
the liquid conduits.
In operation, the apparatus according to the invention may be utilized as
follows:
a) filling tanks with different liquids, a different liquid in each individual
tank;
b) starting a pressurizing means to provide sufficient over-pressure in each
tank;
c) placing a glass or other container under a pouring device;
d) lowering a deflector of the pouring device by an actuator means until the
deflector is in a desired position relative a bottom of the glass;
e) opening a liquor valve associated with one of the tanks containing a first
desired
liquid;
f) forcing the first liquid, at a steady and controllable rate, from the tank
and via
the corresponding conduit, to the pouring device, so that the first liquid
enters
the pouring device and is directed onto the deflector;
h) closing the liquor valve associated with the appropriate tank, after a
desired time
period, sufficient to fill the glass to a predetermined height with the
particular first
liquid;
i) raising the deflector a distance sufficient to position the deflector above
the just
poured layer of liquid;
j) opening a liquor valve associated with a tank containing a second preferred
liquid;
-3-
CA 02324428 2000-10-25
k) forcing the second liquid, at a steady and controllable rate, from the tank
and via
the corresponding conduit, to the pouring device, so that the second liquid
enters
the pouring device and is directed onto the deflector, thus slowing down the
liquid flow to keep the second liquid from mixing with other liquid layers;
I) closing the liquor valve associated with the appropriate tank, after a
desired time
period, sufficient to fill the glass to a predetermined height with the
particular
second liquid;
m) repeating steps i) to I) as many times as desired, to provide a third,
fourth,
and so on, layer of different liquids;
n) lifting the pouring device away from the glass;
o) removing the glass.
The steps may be performed manually by the operator, by manipulating controls
on a
control board for example, or be semi-automated or fully automated by the
control
means. In one embodiment of the invention, the operator would start the
apparatus,
place a glass in the correct position relative the pouring device and then
choose a
desired drink type from a menu on a display device, after which the control
means
would perform the pouring of the different layers automatically.
Alternatively, a semi-
automatic operation is envisioned, wherein the operator manually raises the
deflector
or manually regulates the time period for pouring of each liquid, for example.
Further features ofthe invention will be described orwill become apparent in
the course
of the following detailed description.
In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, the preferred
embodiment
thereof will now be described in detail by way of example, with reference to
the
accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a schematic drawing of an apparatus according to a first embodiment
of
the invention,
Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a liquor valve according to the invention,
-4-
CA 02324428 2000-10-25
Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus according to a second embodiment
of
the invention, and
Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus according to a third embodiment
of the
invention.
As is shown in Fig. 1, an apparatus 1 according to the invention has a
plurality of liquid
holding tanks 7, set under higher pressure than the ambient pressure by a
pressurizing
means 2, such as an air compressor. The pressurizing means is preferably
connected
to a pressure equalizing first manifold 5 via a first conduit 12, 13', 14.
Each individual
tank is connected to the first manifold, via a second conduit 17, one second
conduit for
each tank. The pressurizing means shown is common to all the tanks, but an
alternative
embodiment has a pressurizing means associated with each individual tank, for
example, the tanks themselves may be pressure vessels containing a
pressurizing gas.
The tanks each have an outlet, which has a third conduit 18, 19 leading to a
pouring
device 20 common to all tanks. A liquor valve 11 is provided in each third
conduit, to
selectively open or close the individual third conduit. Thus, one liquor valve
is
associated with each tank. The liquor valve may be manually operated or
remotely
operated via valve actuating means (not shown).
The pouring device 20 has an inlet for each third conduit 18, 19, and a
deflector 24
arranged at a lower end of the pouring device. The pouring device may be
formed as
a substantially funnel shaped body 25, having the pointed end down towards the
glass
to be filled, and further having a top plate and a bottom plate, where each
second
conduit is connected to a pipe which runs from a first hole in the top plate
to a second
hole in the bottom plate. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 3, the pouring
device may be
formed as a substantially cylindrical body 25' having a top plate and a bottom
plate,
where each second conduit is connected to a pipe which runs from a first hole
in the top
plate to a second hole in the bottom plate.
The deflector means 24 is reciprocally movable together with the pouring
device 20, to
-5-
CA 02324428 2000-10-25
position the deflector at different distances from the bottom end of the glass
in which
the layered drink is to be poured. The movement of the deflector/pouring
device is
provided by an actuator 22, preferably an air cylinder which is connected to
the
pressurizing device via a fourth conduit 21. If the tanks contain individual
pressurizing
means, the actuator will have to be supplied with pressure from its own
pressurizing
means, for example an air compressor. Alternatively, the actuator may be of
the
electromagnetic type, for example a solenoid. The deflector preferably has a
substantially conical head portion, with the top of the cone pointing upwards,
and an
elongated stem portion 23. The stem portion is preferably connected to the
actuator,
for example the piston rod of an air cylinder. The piston rod position is then
regulated
by the opening and closing of an air regulation valve associated with the air
cylinder,
to extend or retract the piston to position the piston rod and the deflector
inside the
glass or to move the deflector up and out of the way after finished pouring.
The actuator
may be placed directly above the pouring device or to the side of the pouring
device
and connect to the pouring device via a rod or cord arrangement, for instance.
The
deflector is preferably fastened in a first central hole in the top plate and
a second
central hole in the bottom plate. The first and second central holes are
substantially
concentric. Alternatively, the deflector means is arranged as a substantially
convex
surface of any circumferential geometry, having a stem or other connection
means to
the actuator. The actuator is alternatively connected to another part of the
pouring
device, such as a connector mounted on the side of the pouring device.
The main consideration, when designing the deflector, is that the deflector
has to slow
down the liquid flow and redirect the flow from vertical to substantially
horizontal. For
example, the deflector may be a substantially spherical body suspended by a
string
connecting the deflector to the actuator, the spherical body being pulled by
gravitational
forces in a downward direction and positioned vertically by the actuator.
Also, a
collector, for example a perforated disc, may be arranged between the pouring
device
and the deflector, to further even out the flow of the liquids poured so that
irrespective
of which tank is used, the flow of the liquid onto the deflector would be
substantially
constant and predictable.
-6-
CA 02324428 2000-10-25
The liquor valves and the actuator are all preferably connected to a control
means 27,
which selectively opens and closes the valves and regulates the position of
the
actuator, and thus the position of the deflector. The control means may be a
computerized means, having a CPU, input means, output means and memory means
to store and execute programs containing pre-defined drink recipes. Thus, the
user
would use the input means to instruct the control means what drink recipe to
use, and
the control means would look up the actual recipe in its memory means and
perform the
necessary tasks (choosing tank order, regulating valve means etc.) to fill a
glass with
the desired layered drink type. Alternatively, the user could specify what
type of liquid
layers should be poured and in what order, by inputting this information
directly via the
input means. In this way, any non-stored recipe could be used.
The pouring device 20 is either hand-held by the operator or, preferably, held
by a
stand to be at a fixed initial position relative to a glass or other holder
for liquids, into
which the different layers of liquid is to be poured. Hand-held operation
requires the
operator to hold the pouring device steady (in a fixed position) relative the
glass,
making a stand held pouring device the preferred embodiment.
The tanks may be mounted in almost any location relative the location of the
pouring
device, due to the fact that the pressurized tanks provide a steady,
predictable flow.
The tanks may even be mounted in a room remote from where the pouring device
is
placed. In one embodiment, the tanks are provided with their own individual
pressurizing means, and can advantageously be sold or rented using a system
similar
to how beer barrels for bar taps is used today. The tanks may then also
utilize an
external pressurizing means, as described earlier.
Tanks not having a pressurizing means may be used, but they have to be mounted
higher than the pouring device, in order to provide sufficient gravity feed of
the liquids.
In this case, the regulation of the liquid feed is more difficult, because the
liquid flow will
vary more as the level of liquid changes in the tanks. Such an embodiment is
shown in
Fig. 4. The tanks 7' are preferably liqueur bottles, held by clamping means
30. Each
tank is connected to a flow rate valve 11' via a coupling means 31. The
cleaning liquid
-7-
CA 02324428 2000-10-25
tank 8 has its own pressurizing means 2', to supply pressurized cleaning
liquid to the
apparatus as described. All further designations are the same as for the
previous
embodiments. For this embodiment, it is important to achieve a constant
liqueur flow
from each tank 7'. This is accomplished by using the flow rate valves 11' in a
way
already used in bars today. The flow rate valve allows a pre-defined volume to
pass per
time unit, independent upon the actual level of liquid in the tank 7'.
The pressurizing means 2 is preferably of a low pressure, small output type
compressor, making it cheap to purchase and operate. The pressurizing means is
advantageously equipped with a regulator valve 3, to regulate the pressure
provided
to the apparatus. A pressure measuring means 4 is preferably arranged to
measure the
pressure in the first manifold. The measured pressure is then either used by
the control
means 27 or by an operator to regulate the pouring process.
The liquor valves 11 are preferably solenoid valves or any other type of
suitable
actuators.
The materials used in the apparatus are preferably plastic, stainless steel
and other
materials suitable for a foodstuff apparatus. Pressure conduits (first and
second
conduits) are preferably pressure hoses made of reinforced rubber or other
suitable
material. For example, the pouring device is made of either plastic or
stainless steel.
Rigid conduits, for example stainless steel tubing, may be employed (not
shown) for all
pressure conduits, but a movement allowing means (not shown) must, in this
case, be
arranged between the pouring device and the deflector or within the pouring
device.
The movement allowing means would thus allow the pouring device to be moved by
the
actuator, as described above, although the rigid conduits would permit no
movement,
as would resilient Tuber conduits.
Preferably, a cleaning tank 8 is filled with a cleaning liquid, such as water.
The cleaning
tank is also connected to the pressurizing means via a cleaning pressure
conduit 13.
The outlet of the cleaning tank is connected to a cleaning liquid conduit 15,
which is
connected to a cleaning valve 10, and further to all liquor valves 11
associated with the
_g_
CA 02324428 2000-10-25
tanks for holding liquid. The cleaning valve may be connected in series or in
parallel
with the liquor valves. When the cleaning valve is opened, all the liquor
valves are also
opened, so all valves are open together. The cleaning liquid thus flows from
the
cleaning tank, via the cleaning valve, to the liquor valves associated with
the liquid
tanks, and to the pouring device, via the third conduits 19. The cleaning
liquid is
collected after it runs out the pouring device via the deflector, thus
cleaning all the
conduits and liquid flow passages after the individual liquor valves. To clean
the
individual tanks, the liquid in each tank will have to be substituted with
water, and the
tank pressurized and its liquor valve opened, to flow water through the tank
and its
associated conduits. Preferably, the control means also comprises cleaning
programs
selectable via the input means. The valves may be operated manually, to allow
manual
cleaning of the apparatus, for example when all tanks are empty. The operator
would
then fill all tanks with cleaning liquid, and then open all or selected valves
to clean the
apparatus. As shown in Fig. 2, the liquor valves 11 have a liquor inlet B,
cleaning liquid
inlet A and an outlet C. The liquor inlet B is connected to a first part 18 of
the third
conduit, connecting each tank 7 with its associated liquor valve 11. The
cleaning liquid
inlet A is connected to a feed conduit 16 from a second manifold 9 for
cleaning liquid.
The second manifold is fed cleaning liquid via the cleaning conduit 15. During
normal
operation, i.e. when a liquor is poured via the liquor valve, the liquor valve
opens a
passage from the inlet B to the outlet C. When a cleaning liquid is made to
flow via the
liquor valve to the pouring device, the liquor valve opens a passage from the
inlet A to
the outlet C. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 3, no second manifold is used,
but the
cleaning liquid is directly connected to each liquor valve 11 via a conduit
from the
cleaning valve 10.
The number of tanks used in the apparatus is only limited by the available
space,
especially where the third conduits connect to the pouring device. For a large
number
of tanks, the pouring device will have to be designed with closely packed
inlets for the
third conduits, and may possibly not be comfortably hand-held. The design of
the
pouring device is thus also dictated by the number of tanks desired in the
apparatus.
Thus, the invention encompasses an apparatus having only two tanks, to provide
a very
limited number of drink types, to an apparatus having one tank for every known
drink
_g_
CA 02324428 2000-10-25
liquid and a control means having been programmed with all known drink
recipes.
A further embodiment (not shown) of the invention has the tanks, pressurizing
means,
pouring device and all conduits and valves mounted on a mobile cart, together
with an
appropriate power source for the pressurizing means. Using this embodiment, it
is
possible to serve layered drinks prepared directly at individual tables of a
restaurant,
for example.
A further advantage with an apparatus according to the invention is that any
operator
can produce layered drinks, both accurately and fast.
It will be appreciated that the above description relates to the preferred
embodiments
by way of example only. Many variations on the invention will be obvious to
those
knowledgeable in the field, and such obvious variations are within the scope
of the
invention as described and claimed, whether or not expressly described.
For example, an obvious variation of the invention is to connect a plurality
of pouring
devices to one set of tanks, making it possible to pour more than one drink
simultaneously. In this case, there might be a need for a pressure regulating
control
means in each tank, to achieve a constant pressure in the tanks for a steady
and
predictable liquid flow, also during the periods when one tank is pouring
liquid into more
than one pouring device. Some type of glass centring or placement means might
be
utilized, to properly position the glass with respect to the pouring device.
Further
sensors may be employed to provide the control means with data necessary for a
high
degree of automation. Examples are position sensors to tell if a glass is
placed under
the pouring device, and if so, if the glass is properly centred. Other
position sensors
could detect the height of the glass from the surface on which it is standing.
A sensor
could give a signal when the deflector has reached a proper position relative
the glass
bottom, for starting filling the glass.
-10-
