Patent ID: 6082590
Filing Date: 2000-07-04
Classification: B67D

Abstract:
A beverage dispenser for use in dispensing beverage from a beverage container with a flexible discharge tube, the beverage dispenser comprising:a cabinet for holding the beverage container, the cabinet having a door, the cabinet having a hole defined therein for receiving the flexible discharge tube therethrough;a refrigeration system for the cabinet;a backing plate defining at least a portion of the hole for the flexible discharge tube, wherein the backing plate is unitarily formed of a single piece of extruded aluminum and comprises a pinch surface and a cooling flange extending away from the pinch surface, the cooling flange having at least one hole defined therein;a pinch plate for placement against the flexible discharge tube opposite the backing plate, the pinch plate being movable between a first position adjacent the backing plate for pinching the flexible discharge tube from the beverage container closed and a second position away from the backing plate for leaving the flexible discharge tube from the beverage container open; anda thermally conductive connector, intimately attached at one end to a coil of the refrigeration system and attached at another end through a rivet to the hole in the cooling flange.