Patent ID: 8777059

Claim:
A liquid dispensing system for use with a bag of liquid including a spigot, the system comprising: a cavity arranged to receive the bag of liquid, wherein the cavity includes a front wall including an upper half portion, a back wall, and a pair of lateral walls; a spigot-recess defined on the front wall of the cavity and shaped to engage the spigot, wherein the spigot-recess is located in the upper half portion of the front wall; a top plate assembly arranged to be alternatingly positioned between an open position and a closed position, the top plate assembly including a pressure plate positioned at a top of the cavity, the pressure plate arranged to apply a downward force on the bag of liquid; a lifting plate arranged to lift the bag of liquid and to apply an upward force on the bag of liquid, the lifting plate arranged to move in the cavity between a bottom-most position and a top-most position which is different from the bottom-most position; a lifter assembly interfaced with the lifting plate, the lifter assembly arranged to move the lifting plate to the top-most position; wherein the lifting plate includes a first slope including a top end and a bottom end that is lower than the top end, the top end of the first slope being positioned proximal to the back wall and the bottom end of the first slope being positioned proximal to the front wall; when the lifting plate is in the top-most position, the bottom end of the first slope is positioned proximal to the spigot recess, and a pooling chamber is defined between the bottom end of the first slope and the spigot-recess at a position spaced away from and below the bottom end of the first slope, the pooling chamber including a bottom surface adjacent to the spigot-recess; and the spigot-recess is arranged to support the spigot of the bag of liquid such that when the spigot is operated, liquid will be extracted through the spigot directly from a portion of the bag of liquid which is supported within the pooling chamber.