Juice dispensing system for a refrigerator door

An apparatus for dispensing a beverage by gravity feed from a container mounted in the outside of a door of a refrigerated cabinet, such as a home refrigerator, comprises a vented spout assembly for dispensing a beverage from a container by gravity feed at a substantially constant flow rate in combination with an actuation mechanism mounted in the door of the refrigerator. The vented spout assembly includes a valve assembly collar connectable to a discharge opening in the container, a vent tube extending from a location in the collar to a location in the container spaced from the discharge opening, the vent tube defining a vent passage therethrough. The collar has a discharge wall with a liquid discharge port therethrough. A rotary valve element is mounted for rotation in the discharge wall between OPEN and CLOSED positions. The rotary valve has a liquid discharge conduit and a vent conduit therethrough alignable with the discharge port and the vent passage, respectively, when in the OPEN position of the valve element, a spout extends from the liquid discharge conduit of the rotary valve element and an actuation lever extends from the rotary valve element for engagement with the actuation mechanism mounted in the door.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a vented spout assembly for dispensing a 
beverage, such as citrus juice, from a container by gravity feed at a 
substantially constant flow rate. More specifically, the present invention 
relates to a juice dispenser apparatus mountable in an outside recess in a 
conventional home refrigerator door. 
In recent years, home refrigerators have been designed to dispense chilled 
products such as water, ice and other beverages through the front doors 
thereof with the doors closed. Not only is this a convenience to the 
homeowner, it also saves energy by reducing the number of times that the 
doors must be opened and closed. 
To be effective and useful, any front door dispensing system should be 
simple so it can be easily built into, or retrofit into, a refrigerator 
door. Furthermore, it must be easy to use and efficient in its operation. 
When the beverage to be dispensed is a citrus juice product, there are 
additional requirements. For example, the juice should be dispensed at a 
substantially constant rate of flow, and the juice should be dispensed as 
a substantially homogeneous mixture. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a 
vented spout assembly for a gravity feed container which simultaneously 
dispenses a beverage and vents the container to the atmosphere, providing 
a substantially constant flow rate of beverage from the container. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a valve assembly 
adaptable for use on a container insertable into a recess in the outside 
of a refrigerator door, so dispensing from and venting of the container 
can be simultaneously achieved upon the insertion of a beverage serving 
receptacle into the recess. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system for 
dispensing citrus juice from a recess in the outside of a refrigeration 
door including the capability of automatically stirring the juice to 
maintain a substantially homogeneous mixture thereof. 
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a gravity feed 
container and associated valve assembly which is easily replaceable in a 
door of a refrigerator. 
These and other objects of the present invention are fulfilled by providing 
a vented spout assembly for dispensing a beverage from a container by 
gravity feed at a substantially constant flow rate comprising: a valve 
assembly collar connectable to a discharge opening in the container; a 
vent tube extending from a location in said collar to a location in said 
container spaced from said discharge opening, said vent tube defining a 
vent passage therethrough; said collar having a discharge wall with a 
liquid discharge port therethrough; a rotary valve element mounted for 
rotation in said discharge wall between OPEN and CLOSED positions, said 
rotary valve element having a liquid discharge conduit and a vent conduit 
therethrough alignable with said liquid discharge port and said vent 
passage, respectively, when in said OPEN position; a spout extending from 
the liquid discharge conduit of said rotary valve element; and an 
actuation lever extending from said rotary valve element for moving said 
valve element between said OPEN and CLOSED positions. 
The vented spout assembly is combined in a juice dispensing system by 
providing an apparatus for dispensing a beverage by gravity feed from a 
container mounted in the outside of a door of a refrigerator cabinet 
including, 
a vented spout assembly for dispensing a beverage from a container by 
gravity feed at a substantially constant flow rate comprising: 
a valve assembly collar connectable to a discharge opening in the 
container; a vent tube extending from a location in said collar to a 
location in said container spaced from said discharge opening, said vent 
tube defining a vent passage therethrough; said collar having a discharge 
wall with a liquid discharge port therethrough; a rotary valve element 
mounted for rotation in said discharge wall between OPEN and CLOSED 
positions, said rotary valve element having a liquid discharge conduit and 
a vent conduit therethrough alignable with said liquid discharge port and 
said vent passage, respectively, when in said OPEN position; a spout 
extending from the liquid discharge conduit of said rotary valve element; 
and an actuation lever extending from said rotary valve element for moving 
said valve element between said OPEN and CLOSED positions; and 
actuation means mounted in said door, having a first end for engaging a 
receptacle to be filled with the beverage at a location spaced from the 
spout and a second end connectable to said actuation lever, whereby said 
rotary valve element is movable between said OPEN and CLOSED positions by 
the receptacle to be filled.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring in detail to FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B, there is generally indicated a 
refrigerator 10 having a freezer door 12 and a chilled food compartment 
door 14. Door 14 is provided with a cut-out or recess 16 which forms a 
dispensing station through the door. A hinged door 18 is provided in the 
top front of recess 16 to provide access to, and conceal a beverage 
container C therebehind. Container C may be supported in a suitable nest 
58 illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B. The nest is omitted for clarity in 
FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B. 
In a preferred embodiment, recess 16 is refrigerated by suitable means such 
as a cooling coil, or some heat transfer arrangement with the chilled food 
compartment of the refrigerator 10. However, means for cooling recess 16 
forms no part of the present invention. 
Container C is connected to a valve assembly collar 20 as illustrated in 
FIGS. 2A and 2B. Collar 20, an associated valve structure, dispensing 
spout 28 and vent means 32, 33, 34 will be described in detail hereinafter 
by reference to FIGS. 3, 4, 5A, 5B, 6A and 6B. 
FIGS. 2A and 2B generally illustrate how container C and the vented spout 
assembly therefor within collar 20 are mounted in recess 16; and how a 
serving receptacle R is utilized to simultaneously initiate dispensing 
from and venting of container C. As illustrated in FIGS. 2A, when the 
vented spout assembly of the present invention is closed, actuation 
mechanism 40 has actuation pad AP vertically aligned below collar 20. 
Valve body lever 26 is also vertically oriented within slot 48 of 
actuation mechanism 40. When receptable R is inserted into recess 16, it 
presses against actuation pad AP and pushes it rearwardly, causing 
rotation of slot 48 and lever 16 forewardly as shown in FIG. 2B. This 
opens the vented spout in a manner to be described hereinafter. Details of 
actuation mechanism 40 are illustrated in FIGS. 7A, 7B and will also be 
described hereinafter. 
Details of the vented spout assembly of the present invention and the 
manner in which dispensing and venting operations are simultaneously 
initiated are illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4, 5A, 5B, 6A and 6B. In the top 
plan view of FIG. 3, the external details of the vented spout assembly are 
illustrated. A valve assembly collar 20 is provided, and rotatably 
journalled therein is a cylindrical valve element 24 having protruding 
ends 24A and 24B. An integrally formed actuating lever 26 extends from 
rotary valve element 24 and an integrally formed spout 28 also extends 
from valve element 24 at approximately 90 degrees from the position of 
lever 26. 
Referring to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a cross-sectional view taken 
along line C--C of FIG. 3 to show the internal features of the vented 
spout assembly of the present invention. As illustrated, rotary valve 
element 24 includes a spout conduit 30 extending therethrough as well as 
through spout 28. Spout conduit 30 communicates with a discharge conduit 
31 which communicates with the interior of container C. Container C 
preferably has a neck which screws into the threads of a socket 22. A 
valve body vent conduit 32 is also provided in rotary valve element 24, 
and is spaced from conduit 30 along the longitudinal axis of the rotary 
valve element. The vented spout assembly of the present invention 
illustrated in FIG. 4 is in the CLOSED position thereof, as is the 
apparatus illustrated in FIG. 3. Referring again to FIG. 4, there is 
illustrated a vent tube 34 with a vent passage 33 therein extending from 
adjacent rotary valve element 24 in collar 20 to a spaced position within 
container C above discharge conduit 31. 
Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, which are cross sectional views taken along 
line A--A of FIG. 3, which illustrate the closed and opened positions, 
respectively, of the vented spout assembly, the operation of the discharge 
spout 28 and associated conduit 30 are clearly illustrated. In FIG. 5A, 
rotary valve element 24 is disposed in a CLOSED position, and discharge 
conduit 31 is sealed thereby. In this position, actuating lever 26 is 
axially aligned with discharge conduit 31, but no liquid can flow from the 
container C. When it is desired to open the container C and dispense 
liquid, lever 26 is rotated approximately 90 degrees to the position 
indicated in FIG. 5B to place spout conduit 30 in alignment with discharge 
conduit 31. In this position, liquid in container C is free to flow from 
the container. 
Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, which are cross sectional views taken along 
line B--B of FIG. 3, the operation of the venting function of the spout 
assembly of the present invention is illustrated. As illustrated in FIG. 
6A, when the spout assembly is in a CLOSED position, valve body vent 
conduit 32 is disposed substantially orthogonally to vent passage 33 in 
vent tube 34. Clearly, in this position no venting of container C will 
result. However, when lever 26 is rotated approximately 90 degrees to the 
left as illustrated in FIG. 6A, the vent conduit 32 becomes aligned with 
vent passage 33 and vent tube 34, and venting of container C results. 
Accordingly, it can be seen that actuation of lever 26 causes the 
simultaneous dispensing of liquid from container C and the venting thereof 
to provide a substantially constant flow rate of liquid from the 
container. 
The manner in which actuation lever 26 is rotated is illustrated in FIGS. 
7A, 7B, 8A, and 8B. FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate a preferred embodiment of 
an actuation mechanism 40 suitable for pivoting the lever 26 of the vented 
spout assembly. Actuation member 40 includes an actuation pad AP coupled 
via an L-shaped wire 42 to a reducing gear arrangement 44. Reducing gear 
arrangement 44 is in turn coupled to a shaft 46 which has an eccentric 
portion including a slotted connector 48. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the 
actuation mechanism 40 is disposed within recess 16 with L-shaped wire 42 
and gears 44 built into the refrigerator door in any suitable fashion, and 
end 46A of shaft 46 suitably journalled in a sidewall recess 16. FIG. 7A 
illustrates actuation mechanism 40 in a similar position to FIG. 2A 
described hereinbefore, and FIG. 7B illustrates actuation mechanism 40 in 
an OPEN position of the vented spout assembly similar to the position 
illustrated in FIG. 2B. 
An enlarged view of the slotted connector 48 and actuation lever 26 of the 
vented spout assembly is illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B. 
It should be clear by reference to FIGS. 2A, 2B, 7A, 7B, 8A and 8B, 
collectively, how actuation mechanism 40 is utilized to rotate lever 26 of 
the vented spout assembly and OPEN and CLOSE the same in response to the 
insertion of a serving receptable R. 
A further aspect of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B 
relates to a stirring system for preventing stratification of liquid in 
container C when the liquid is a citrus juice or the like. A first 
embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9A includes an agitator 50 having an 
impeller including a plurality of vanes 50A and a rapidly oscillating 
mechanism 54 which would be mounted in refrigerator door 14. A suitable, 
quick disconnect coupling between the upper end of agitator 50 and 
oscillating mechanism 54 would be provided to enable the quick and 
efficient insertion of container C into recess 16 of the refrigerator 
door. Agitator 50 would be manufactured with container C and disposable. 
Agitator 50 in this embodiment would be a side-to-side oscillating 
agitator. 
In another possible embodiment, the agitator could be a reciprocating 
agitator 52 having a disc 52A on the end thereof and an oscillating 
mechanism 56 could be provided which vertically reciprocates in order to 
cause vertical reciprocation of agitator 52. The oscillating mechanisms 54 
and 56 could be designed to cycle ON and OFF with a refrigeration 
compressor or any other suitable timing means could be utilized to achieve 
the proper amount of agitation to preclude stratification of the 
components of the juice as desired. 
It is preferred that all the components of the vented spout assembly of the 
present invention, as well as container C and any agitators, be fabricated 
from plastic so that all components will be inexpensive, light-weight and 
disposable. 
It should be understood that the system thus described may be modified as 
would occur to one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the 
spirit and scope of the present invention.