Patent ID: 9365405
Filing Date: 2016-06-14
CPC Classification: B67D

Claim Text:
1. A beverage dispensing apparatus for dispensing a finished beverage, the finished beverage comprising a low acid beverage concentrate having a pH greater than 4.6 and a diluent, the beverage dispensing apparatus comprising: (a) a dispenser compartment; (b) a beverage concentrate and a flexible concentrate bag situated within the dispenser compartment, the bag having at a lower end region of the bag a first opening through which the beverage concentrate is introduced at a production site and through which the finished beverage is dispensed at a dispensing location and a second opening at the top of the bag, the second opening being used at the dispensing location to introduce the diluent into the bag; (c) a mixer in the form of a beverage homogenizing agitator situated inside the dispenser compartment and outside the bag proximate the bottom of the bag, the mixer being adapted to minimize sedimentation and to mix the beverage concentrate and the diluent within the bag by agitating at least the bottom of the bag from the outside of the bag and its contents to form the finished beverage; and (d) a dispenser outlet nozzle and a hermetically sealed pinch valve in communication with the first opening of the bag, the nozzle having a sealed end that can be severed, the nozzle extending from a lower end region of the bag for dispensing the finished beverage, the dispenser outlet through which the finished beverage is dispensed at a dispensing location being in fluid tight communication with the bag so that any growth of bacteria is limited; wherein the second opening for receiving the diluent is disposed upstream from the nozzle, the beverage dispensing apparatus reducing shipping and maintenance costs due to shipping concentrate rather than a finished beverage while enhancing sanitation.