Metering-distributors for bottled thick liquids for the preparation of beverages

An improved metering-distributor of a mixture of water and syrup comprising apparatus to support a bottle in overturned position, a vertical conduit arranged in the support apparatus for putting in communication the bottle and a metering-cup mounted below the conduit, a main valve slidably mounted inside the metering-cup and having a lower limit position in which syrup falls down in the metering cup and the delivery conduit entrance is closed and a second upper limit position in which the syrup from the metering-cup passes into the syrup delivery conduit, and at the same time chilled water is delivered into the syrup delivery conduit, the metering distributor being provided with a composite disassemblable device, removably applied at the lower end of the syrup delivery conduit and so shaped to form two vertically superposed chambers communicating to one another by a central hole, in the upper one of which enters only the syrup, while in the lower chamber, which entends downwardly with a vertical mixture outflow conduit, water is supplied through a screened entrance orifice, in order to prevent the water entering the superposed upper chamber.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention concerns improvements in the metering-distributors of 
bottled thick liquids, in particular syrups, for the preparation of 
beverages or the like, together with a quantity of cold water, the 
metering-distributors being designed to be used for the extemporaneous 
preparation of the beverages consisting of a mixture of water and syrup or 
the like. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The known metering-distributors are each designed to receive respectively a 
syrup container or the like, in particular a bottle, mounted on the 
metering-distributor in overturned position, each metering-distributor 
comprising a support member provided to put the bottle mounted thereon 
through which a vertical conduit is arranged, in communication with a 
metering cup placed therebelow and provided with an air intake from the 
atmosphere. In this reciprocating metering cup a main valve performs two 
functions, said main valve being made integral with a delivery conduit and 
with a manually actuated control cross bar, said valve being maintained in 
a first operative position or rest position by a first spring whereby the 
main valve enables said metering cup and the bottle to freely communicate 
with one another and at the same time closes the communication between the 
metering cup and the fluid delivery conduit, while, when one moves upwards 
said cross control bar upward against the bias of the return spring, the 
valve prevents any communication between the metering-cup and the bottle 
and opens the communication between the metering-cup and the delivery 
conduit so as to allow a metered quantity of syrup to be dispensed. 
The movement of the cross member, which is carried out by the user, causes 
a second valve to open which controls the pipe orifice through which cold 
water is conveyed, the orifice opening into the delivery conduit of the 
syrup so as to feed therein the water necessary to form the mixture 
constituting the beverage. 
These types of metering-distributors of alcoholic and nonalcoholic 
beverages present an inconvenience which is very important from a hygienic 
standpoint, i.e. it frequently occurs that on the lower portion of the 
delivery conduit, positioned below the zone where the water is introduced 
and the mixture of the water and syrup is formed, a liquid film remains 
adherent to the inner surface of the conduit, the film consisting of an 
aqueous syrup solution. It is well known that a syrup can be kept in good 
condition a long time, owing to its high sugar content; on the contrary, 
if a syrup has been diluted with water, it is susceptible to rapid 
deterioration, as well as to ferment and altering and it can also attract 
insects, dangerous bacteria and the like, since in these known 
distributors no separation is provided between the syrup and the aqueous 
solution obtained thereby. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention proposes to modify the device designed to convey the 
water for obtaining the mixture thereof with the syrup, by mounting below 
the lower end of the syrup delivery conduit a composite cup-like device 
constructed and shaped in a particular manner so as to maintain the two 
components of the mixture separated from one another, up to the formation 
of the mixture thereof, the device being formed in combination by two 
parts which are disassemblably connected to one another and which can be 
removed from the distributor without the use of any tool so as to allow 
their disassembly and separation for a perfect and easy cleaning thereof, 
in order to remove the film of diluted sugar solution which can have been 
deposited thereon. This improvement can be therefore universally applied 
to all the known types of metering-distributors with a few simple 
adaptions. 
According to a variant of this invention, provision has been made to apply 
the auxiliary cup-like composite device to the conduit dispensing the 
metered quantity of syrup and water in such a manner that by performing a 
movement in the opposite direction with respect of the conventional 
movement by means of which commonly the syrup and water are dispensed, it 
is possible to obtain the delivery of solely water, when it is desired to 
deliver water only, or in the event that a water delivery is required in 
order to perform, at time intervals, a temporary washing of the device 
without entirely disassembling this latter, while the disassembly and 
cleaning can be carried out in a more complete and perfect manner at more 
spaced time intervals. 
These and other characteristics of this invention will be better understood 
from the following description of an embodiment thereof, taking in 
consideration the accompanying drawings, in which:

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S) 
At 1 is generally indicated a volumetric metering-distributor of a "per se" 
well known type designed to support a container, in particular a bottle 2, 
in overturned position. Only the lower portion of said 
metering-distributor will be described in detail, and which comprises a 
metering-cup 3 housing a main valve 4 performing two functions. In fact, 
as is well known, the valve 4 is normally held by a spring 5 in a rest 
position in which it closes the communication between the metering-chamber 
and the delivery conduit 7 of the syrup coming from the bottle 2, while 
when the user moves this valve 4 upward in the direction of the arrow 
f.sub.1 acting against the action of the return spring 5, the valve closes 
the outlet orifice of the conduit 6 and opens the communication between 
the metering-chamber and the delivery conduit 7 which is made integral 
with the body of the valve 4. At the same time through a small pipe 8 in 
communication with an air intake from the outside atmosphere air is sucked 
from the atmosphere into the metering-cup 3 in an amount sufficient to 
allow the metering cup 3 to be emptied of the metered amount of syrup, the 
air taking the place of the syrup volume which flows out from distributor 
1, which air, rising along the conduit 6 into the bottle 2, passing 
through the syrup mass contained therein so that as the valve 4 is 
returned to its rest position, an identical volume of syrup from bottle 2 
can enter metering-cup 3. 
This part of the distributor 1 is quite conventional so that no further 
details will be given. 
At 9 is indicated a pipe which is at least partially flexible and which is 
designed to convey chilled water, pipe 9 being connected to a pipe (not 
shown in the drawings) designed to supply chilled water which is produced 
in any suitable refrigerator. In the pipe 9 is mounted a set of valves 
including a check valve 11, housed inside a valve body fixed on a support 
wall 10 and which is designed to automatically prevent any water flow, if 
the removable valve body 13 of a disc valve 14 is disassembled, the disc 
valve 14 being integral with a control valve rod 15 which is coaxial with 
the pipe 9 when in rest position of this latter, and which serves to 
permit a water delivery at the same moment in which the metered quantity 
of syrup is dispensed by the metering-distributor 1. The valve rod 15 can 
be swung as a result of any vertical displacement of the flexible conduit 
9 and therefore of the valve 4, so as to cause the disc valve 14 integral 
with rod 15 to be inclined to one side with regard to its valve seat so as 
to define a side passage between valve 14 and its valve seat so as to 
permit water to pass therethrough, which has to be mixed with the syrup 
(FIGS. 2 and 3). As the valve body 13 of the valve 14 has been mounted, 
tube 16 extending rearwardly and facing said valve 14 will be pushed back 
so as to maintain the check valve 11 in its open position against the bias 
of a spring. 
According to this invention the syrup delivery conduit 7 extends beyond a 
cup-like flange 17 or the like, made integral with conduit 7 and which 
serves to support the spring 5, the cup-like flange in the conventional 
metering-distributors being made integral with a control cross bar, which 
is manually actuated. 
According to this invention the lower end portion of the conduit 7 
extending downwardly beyond the cup-like flange 17 ends with an outwardly 
extending flange 7a or the like, on which is slidably mounted a cap 18 
which at its lower part enlarges outwardly and forms a cover-like element 
19 depending from flange 7a with the interposition of an expansion helical 
spring 20 which is housed inside cap 18 and upon the flange 7a, and which 
tends to press cover element 18, 19 against the cup-like flange 17 which 
is prevented from being raised by the presence of a washer 12 fixed about 
the body of the conduit 7. The cover element 19 is provided with a partial 
peripheral edge 19a bent downwardly only in that portion of its periphery 
that in the assembled position of the device will face the water supply 
pipe 9, while on both sides two opposite lugs 26 depend from the cover 
element 19, which are parallel to the axis X--X of the distributor 1 and 
to the axis Y--Y of the water supply pipe 9. On the inner surface of each 
of lugs 26 is provided an inwardly projecting horizontal shoulder 21, 
shoulders 21 forming in combination support guiding-rails, while from 
their outer surfaces extend outwardly two coaxial small pins 22. The cover 
element 19 forms together with a removable lower element, formed in two 
parts 23, 24 releasably connected to one another, a cup for the mixing of 
the water and syrup with one another. The lower part 23 of the cup element 
is constituted of a hollow cylindrical body radiused by a conical bottom 
with a delivery conduit 25, the body 23 being designed to be connected, in 
a disassemblable manner, to the part 24, constituted of a frusto-conical 
cross wall having an elliptic central hole 27, the cross area of which is 
substantially identical to that of the delivery orifice of the conduit 7 
and which is obtained cutting the conical wall 24 along a plane forming an 
angle with respect to the axis X--X slightly smaller than 90.degree.. The 
frusto-conical wall 24 defines together with the cover element 19 (which 
remains always joined to the distributor 1) a frusto-conical chamber 28, 
to receive the syrup, while the hole 27 at the center of the wall 24 has 
its edge inclined towards the entrance orifice of the radial pipe union 
29, through which the pipe 9 enters the mixing chamber 30 placed below the 
chamber 28 and defined between the wall 24 and the cup element 23 so that 
the lowermost portion of the edge of the hole 27 acts as a baffle screen 
so as to prevent water splashes from entering the upper chamber 28, the 
inner surfaces of which can be only covered by syrup drops. At the outer 
sides of the cup element 23, at diametrally opposite positions and at 
right angles to the axis of the radial pipe union 29, outwardly extending 
limbs 31 are provided (FIGS. 4 and 5) which are horizontal and 
rectilinear, each ending at its rear end with a tooth 32 extending 
downwardly, while from the front portion of the upper edge of the element 
24 at least two teeth 33 extend upwardly. 
By slightly inclining the cup-like element 23, 24 from the front towards 
the upper part, the teeth 33 can be brought over the front edge of the 
cover element 19 (FIG. 5); thus it will be possible to push the teeth 32 
together with the limbs 31 to raise on and slide along the guiding 
shoulders 21, while, at the same time, the front portion of the cup 
element 23 is caused to be inclined towards its horizontal position to 
bring each tooth 32 at the end of the respective shoulder 21 to be hooked 
to the end of each shoulder 21 so that the limbs 32 can securely rest on 
the upper surfaces of shoulders 21, giving to the cup element 23 together 
with the wall 24 received therein a horizontal position, so that the teeth 
33 owing to a slight gap can also be introduced, below the front portion 
of the cover 19 thus acting as spacing means. In this way the cup device 
19, 23, 24 remains suspended from the distributor 1 with safety in a 
perfectly stable and horizontal position, while at the back the edge 19a 
extending downwardly rests substantially on the pipe union 29, in the 
inside of which the end of the water supply pipe 9 has been 
contemporaneously introduced together with the control rod 15 housed 
therein. The diametrally opposite pins 22 extending outwardly from the 
lugs 26 are designed to be received into longitudinally elongated slots 
(not shown), arranged in a control arm shaped as a slightly deformable 
fork member pivotally connected at 35 to the wall 10, at a point near the 
zone where the valve assembly 13, 14 is mounted, the arm 34 ending at its 
outer portion with a control handle 36, which is only partially shown. 
During a normal operation of the metering-distributor 1, it is sufficient 
to raise the control arm 34, which owing to the pin connection 22 and the 
pin guiding slots causes the cover element 19 to be lifted together with 
the cup element 23 suspended therefrom and connected in a disassemblable 
manner; thus performing the raising of the whole assembly supported by the 
main valve 4 in the direction of the arrow f.sub.1, the valve 4 (FIG. 2) 
enables the metering-cup 3 to be emptied as a result of the upward 
movement of the cap 18 together with the cover element 19 and the cup 
element 23, 24, in contrast with the action of the spring 5. 
At the same time movement of valve 4 causes an upward deflection of the 
flexible pipe 9 and as a result thereof, the inclination of the rod 15 
with respect to the axis Y--Y of the valve seat 13 of the disc valve 14 so 
that valve 14 will be inclined, causing a water side passage to be formed 
between disc valve 14 and its seat 13, while through the delivery orifice 
of the conduit 7 the predetermined metered amount of syrup falls down from 
the chamber 28 into the chamber 30 passing through the hole 27. In lower 
chamber 30 a water-syrup mixture is obtained which is delivered through 
the conduit 25 which remains (as does the cup element 23) always in a 
substantially vertical position. 
After releasing the gripping on the handle 36 of the control arm 34, the 
parts automatically are returned to their starting positions under the 
return effect of the spring 5 and owing to their weight. In the event that 
it is desired to deliver only cold water, as for instance, for cleaning 
purpose, in order to wash the lower mixing chamber 30, in which residuals 
of the diluted solution of the syrup are susceptible to deterioration, 
fermentation or the like, it will be sufficient to press the control arm 
36 downwardly in the direction of the arrow f2. In this manner the second 
spring 20 (FIG. 3) will be compressed and the lowering of the sole cup 
element 19, 23, 24 can be performed. As a result thereof, the pipe 9 will 
be accordingly inclined as well as the valve rod 15 controlling the 
opening of the disc valve 14, since the main valve 4 cannot be lowered, on 
account of the fact that it has attained its lower limit position. 
Therefore only water can be supplied into the chamber 30, water which can 
be used for the predetermined intended purposes.