Patent ID: 7025234

Claim:
An apparatus for dispensing a liquid from a fluid storage and dispensing vessel to a liquid dispensing system, including a recirculating probe and a connector for coupling said recirculating probe to an opening of the fluid storage and dispensing vessel, said recirculating probe comprising: a dip tube defining an output flow path, wherein said dip tube has a first end and a second end, and wherein the first end of the dip tube extends into said storage and dispensing vessel through the opening; an output port coupled to the second end of the dip tube, wherein the liquid from said fluid storage and dispensing vessel flows through the output flow path of the dip tube and the output port to the liquid dispensing system, wherein the outflow path of the dip tube and the output port has an essentially constant width dimension along the length of the path thereby allowing for essentially consistent flow velocity and pressure; a recirculating port, constructed and arranged to receive re-circulated liquid from said liquid dispensing system; and a return flow path coupled to the recirculating port for flowing the re-circulated liquid downwardly along the dip tube and back into the fluid storage and dispensing vessel, wherein the outflow path is adjacent to the return flow path and extends from the first end of the dip tube to the output port, wherein said return flow path has a cross-sectional area that is substantially equal to the cross-sectional area of said output flow path.