The present invention relates to a dispenser for beverages and the like of the type specified in the preamble of claim 1.
Various dispensers for beverages and the like are currently known.
These are generally realized by beverage containers provided with a valve in the lower part and a nozzle, controlled by said valve and suitable to allow the beverage to be poured into a specific glass and the like.
The valve is can also be manoeuvred by means of a lever or the like.
These dispensers are generally used in canteens and bars.
The aforesaid prior art has some important drawbacks.
In fact, these beverage dispensers are cumbersome, heavy and bulky.
Therefore, they cannot be placed on the table during daily meals, but must be positioned on special surfaces or tables separate from the table used for meals.
Moreover, known dispensers generally have an tap for activation which is not immediately usable.
Another drawback is due to the fact that known dispensers are frequently provided with a power supply. Therefore they are expensive, complex, subject to malfunctions and potentially dangerous, above all as they are in contact with liquids.
In this situation the technical aim underlying the present invention is to devise a dispenser for beverages and the like capable of substantially overcoming the aforesaid drawbacks.
Within this technical aim an important object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive dispenser for beverages and the like.
Another important object of the invention is to obtain a dispenser for beverages and the like which can be used easily and immediately.
A further object of the invention is to devise a dispenser for beverages and the like which is mechanically activated.
The technical aim and the objects specified are achieved by a dispenser for beverages and the like according to the appended claim 1.
Preferred embodiments are highlighted in the dependent claims.
The characteristics and advantages of the invention are clarified below by the detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:
- Figure. 1 shows, in scale, a three-dimensional view of an example of the dispenser for beverages and the like according to the invention;
- Figure. 2a shows, in scale, the section II-II, indicated in Fig. 1, in a first configuration;
- Figure. 2b shows, in scale, the section II-II, indicated in Fig. 1 in a second configuration;
- Figure. 3 shows, in scale, the section III-III, indicated in Fig. 1;
- Figure. 4a shows the enlargement marked by a dashed oval in Fig. 2a; and
- Figure. 4a shows an enlargement marked by a dashed oval in Fig. 2b.
With reference to the figures listed above, the beverage dispenser according to the invention is indicated as a whole by 1.
It is suitable to support a carafe 20 and to realize therewith a dispensing apparatus 30 for beverages and the like.
Externally, the carafe 20 is of conventional shape and capacity. It therefore preferably also comprises an upper opening and can have the shape of a decanter for wine or another beverage.
It comprises a lower plate 22, suitable to hold the beverage and having a bearing base of the carafe 20.
Also positioned in proximity to, or aligned with, the lower plate 22A is a valve 21, normally closed and openable by means of a simple thrust in the opening direction 21a, preferably a vertical and upward direction.
In particular, the valve 21 comprises a movable central portion 23 approximately cylindrical, and a fixed outer portion 24, constrained to the carafe 20.
The movable portion 23 is maintained in the closed position (Fig. 4a) by an elastic element 25, while fluid-tight closure is guaranteed by an O-ring 26.
The dispenser 1 comprises a supporting base 2 preferably circular in shape and suitable to support the dispenser 1 on a surface, such as a table or the like. The base 2 comprises a bearing surface 3 suitable to allow placing of a container 31, such as a glass or the like.
The dispenser 1 also comprises a platform 4 raised, when the dispenser 1 is in the operating position, from the base 2 and suitable to support the carafe 20 in a raised position.
The platform 4 is also circular in shape and comprises a central seat 13 aligned with the valve 21. It comprises an upper portion 13a, appropriately semicircular, and a cylindrical lower portion 13b, with a smaller diameter than the diameter of the upper portion 13a, as shown in Figs. 4a and 4b.
The supporting base 2 and the platform 4 are connected by means of an upright 12, preferably composed of two mutually telescoping portions and constrained by a releasable constraint 12a so as to allow adjustment of the length of the upright 12.
The device 1 also comprises an activation mechanism 5 suitable to open and close the valve 21.
The activation mechanism 5 comprises a thrust element 6, suitable to open the valve 21, and a connection structure 7 suitable to mechanically move the thrust element 6 in the opening direction 21a upon gravitational stressing of a said container 31 placed on said bearing surface 3.
The thrust element 6 is appropriately funnel shaped, suitable to partially house the valve 21 and is in turn housed in the central seat 13.
It comprises an upper funnel part 6a and a substantially cylindrical tower part 6b defining a channel 14 suitable to allow correct channelling of beverages from the carafe 20 to the container 31.
The upper part 6a also comprises a strut 15, suitable to press, when activated, the movable central portion 23 of the valve 21 in opposition to the elastic element 25.
The strut 15 is constrained to the upper part 6a by means of a diametric arm 15b, suitable not to obstruct the channel 14 entirely, and visible in Fig. 3.
The thrust element 6, and in particular the lower part 6b, is also appropriately connected, by means of a releasable constraint 17, to an activation element 11, which is part of the connection structure 7.
The activation element 11 is suitable to mechanically move the thrust element 6 in an opening direction 21 a when directly stressed by a user. For this purpose, it comprises two cross arms extending in the horizontal plane and suitable to be pressed directly by means of the container 31, in particular if realized by a glass, and to allow opening of the valve 21.
The connection structure 7 also preferably comprises a lever 8 positioned on the supporting base 2.
It comprises a first end 8a projecting upwards from the bearing surface 3, and in particular from the centre of the bearing surface 3.
The lever 8 also comprises a second end 8b and a hinge 9 suitable to connect said lever 8 to the supporting base 2 and defining a horizontal rotation axis. The hinge 9 is also positioned between the ends 8a and 8b, so that the pressure of the first end 8a corresponds to lifting of the second end 8b.
The activation mechanism 5 also comprises a transmission structure 10, part of the connection structure 7 and suitable to connect the movement of the second end 8a directly to the movement of the thrust element 6, as shown in Fig. 2b.
The transmission structure 10 is also appropriately adjustable in length in a vertical direction by means of a closable sleeve 16 suitable to join two portions of the structure 10.
The transmission structure 10 is also appropriately connected to an arm of the activation element 11.
Finally, the dispenser 1 is preferably produced entirely in polymer materials, or in various materials such as: wood, plastic, various metals such as aluminium, steel and the like.
Operation of the beverage dispenser 1, the structure of which is described above, is as follows.
A carafe 20 is filled and placed on the platform 4, so that the valve 21 is positioned aligned with the thrust element 6.
In a first situation, shown in Fig. 2a and in the enlargement of Fig. 4a, no containers 31 are present on the bearing surface 3 and the valve 21 remains closed, ensuring fluid-tight seal by means of the elastic element 25 which presses the movable central portion 23 and the O-ring 26 against the fixed outer portion 24.
In a second situation, shown in Fig. 2b and in the enlargement of Fig. 4b, a container 31 is present on the bearing surface 3.
This presses the first end 8a of the lever 8, which raises the transmission structure 10 and, in general, the connection structure 7. This latter translates the thrust element 6 in the opening direction 21 a. The strut 15 then raises the movable central portion 23 and the O-ring 26 from the fixed outer position 24, in opposition to the elastic element 25.
The valve 21 is then open and the beverage flows from the carafe 20, through the channel 14, into the container 31, until the container 31 is raised again by the bearing surface 3.
The valve can also be opened by means of direct pressure of the container 31, in the opening direction 21 a, on the activation element 11.
The invention achieves important advantages.
In fact, the beverage dispenser 1 is simple and inexpensive, light, transportable and can be positioned on the table each day.
Moreover, the dispenser 1 can be used immediately. In fact, it is sufficient to place a glass or other container 31 on the bearing surface 3 to activate pouring of the beverage.
Moreover, the dispenser 1 is exclusively mechanically activated and has no electrical, electronic or chemical elements and relative power supply.
The invention is susceptible to modifications and variants falling within the inventive concept. In particular, the dispenser 1 can be suitable to house a plurality of carafes, for example one for water and one for wine, and have a plurality of bases 2 and the like. It can also have various geometrical shapes, styles or designs.
All the details can be replaced by equivalent elements and the materials, the shapes and dimensions can be any.