Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
  • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
  • B67D1/07—Cleaning beverage-dispensing apparatus
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B08—CLEANING
  • B08B—CLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL
  • B08B9/00—Cleaning hollow articles by methods or apparatus specially adapted thereto
  • B08B9/02—Cleaning pipes or tubes or systems of pipes or tubes
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
  • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
  • B67D1/08—Details
  • B67D1/0829—Keg connection means
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
  • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
  • B67D1/08—Details
  • B67D1/0878—Safety, warning or controlling devices
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
  • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
  • B67D1/07—Cleaning beverage-dispensing apparatus
  • B67D2001/075—Sanitising or sterilising the apparatus
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
  • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B67D2210/00—Indexing scheme relating to aspects and details of apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught or for controlling flow of liquids under gravity from storage containers for dispensing purposes
  • B67D2210/00002—Purifying means
  • B67D2210/00013—Sterilising means
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
  • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B67D2210/00—Indexing scheme relating to aspects and details of apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught or for controlling flow of liquids under gravity from storage containers for dispensing purposes
  • B67D2210/00002—Purifying means
  • B67D2210/00013—Sterilising means
  • B67D2210/00023—Oxygenators

Definitions

• Beverage dispense systems are known for dispensing draught beverages.
• the beverage is typically stored in a beverage supply (e.g. a keg) that is remote from a dispensing site (e.g. a tap) and is transferred on demand to the dispensing site.
• a beverage supply e.g. a keg
• dispensing site e.g. a tap
• Such transfer of beverage is often provided by a pressurised gas system.
• a common issue with such beverage dispense systems is microorganism growth. Such growth can spoil beverage within beverage lines, components and kegs of a beverage dispense system. This severely impacts the quality of the beverage dispensed by such systems.
• Preventing such microorganism growth can be particularly important in beverage dispense systems used to dispense non-alcoholic (or low alcohol) beers, which are becoming increasingly popular. This is because the lower alcohol content of these beverages can make them more susceptible to microorganism growth. Likewise, the presence of microorganisms in such beers can, in some cases, result in an undesirable increase in the alcoholic content of the beer.
• Ozone water can be effective at removing organic material from beverage lines and can likewise be effective for flushing cleaning fluid from beverage lines in a manner that doesn't introduce further organic material into the beverage lines (which can otherwise occur with e.g. mains water).
• an ozone generator able to produce ozone water
• the sanitation sensor may be an oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) sensor arranged to measure the ORP of liquid within the beverage line, and to generate a signal indicative of the measured ORP.
• ORP oxidation-reduction potential
• Oxidation-reduction potential can provide an indication of water quality or sanitation. Accordingly, the provision of an ORP sensor arranged to measure liquid in the beverage line can provide feedback on the level of cleanliness of the beverage line. This can allow a user, for example, to optimise cleaning of the beverage line to ensure organic material is removed from the beverage lines.
• the sanitation sensor may be arranged to measure liquid at or proximate to the second end of the beverage line.
• the sanitation sensor may be mounted to or in the beverage dispenser.
• the sanitation sensor be mounted to a tap of the beverage dispenser.
• the sanitation sensor may be mounted at an outlet of the tap (in such embodiments a body of the sanitation sensor may define a passage providing the second end of the beverage line).
• the sanitation sensor By providing the sanitation sensor at the second end of the beverage line, the sanitation of liquid at the second end can be measured.
• the second end of the beverage line may represent a downstream end of the beverage line.
• the liquid being measured will have passed through substantially the entirety of the beverage line. This will ensure that a sanitation (e.g. ORP) measurement made by the sensor is representative of the state of the entire beverage line.
• ORP sanitation
• the cleaning system may comprise means for delivering (e.g. pushing) ozone water from the ozone generator to the beverage line.
• the system may, for example, comprise a pump configured to deliver ozone water to the beverage line.
• the pump may be downstream of the ozone generator. In other embodiments the pump may be upstream of the ozone generator (or an additional pump may be provided upstream).
• the provision of a pump may ensure a consistent flow of water through the ozone generator, for the provision of consistent ozone generation.
• the cleaning system may be configured to direct water from the water source to the beverage line, bypassing the ozone generator.
• the cleaning system may comprise a flow diverter moveable between a first position in which water from the water source bypasses the ozone generator, and a second position in which water from the water source is directed to the ozone generator.
• the cleaning agent may be dosed manually in the reservoir.
• the cleaning system may be configured for automatic dosing of cleaning agent (as will be described further below).
• the cleaning system may comprise a cleaning agent dosing mechanism (such as a hopper) configured to dose a predetermined amount of cleaning agent into the reservoir.
• the dosing mechanism may be provided at the secondary inlet of the reservoir.
• the reservoir may comprise an eductor configured to promote mixing of the cleaning agent and water.
• the eductor may be arranged such that water directed to the reservoir (e.g. in the first mode) passes through the eductor.
• the eductor may be in fluid communication with the primary inlet of the reservoir.
• the reservoir may comprise a conduit (e.g. a tube) for flow of water into the reservoir.
• the conduit may extend into the reservoir from the primary inlet.
• the conduit may comprise a distal end that is distal from the primary inlet.
• the distal end of the conduit may be positioned in a lower region of the reservoir.
• the eductor may provided at the distal end of the conduit.
• the eductor may comprise an internal channel comprising a venturi region (i.e. a neck or narrowed region).
• the channel of the eductor may be spaced from the distal end of the conduit so as to define a gap for flow of liquid from the reservoir into the channel of the eductor.
• liquid flowing through the channel may be a combination of that flowing into the primary inlet and liquid already present in the reservoir. This may promote mixing of the liquid.
• the cleaning system may further comprise a supplementary reservoir provided upstream of the ozone generator.
• the supplementary reservoir may be connectable to (or may provide) the water source.
• the supplementary reservoir may be configured to store a volume of water, to ensure a consistent supply of water to the ozone generator. An inconsistent supply of water to the ozone generator could otherwise result in inadequate ozone water production.
• the provision of the supplementary reservoir may ensure a laminar flow of water can be provided to the ozone generator. Again, this can aid in the consistent generation of ozone.
• the beverage dispense system may comprise a controller configured to control the cleaning system (e.g. configured to control various components of the cleaning system).
• the controller may be operatively connected to (to control) one or more of the ozone generator, pump, flow diverter, and/or dosing mechanism.
• Such operative connection may be provided by a wired and/or wireless connection.
• the cleaning system may also comprise various further mechanisms (e.g. flow diverters, such as valves) to control the flow of water, ozone water, cleaning fluid and/or cleaning agent through the cleaning system.
• the controller may be operatively connected to such further mechanisms to control such mechanisms.
• the controller may be configured to control the cleaning system to perform a cleaning cycle.
• the cleaning cycle may comprise operating the cleaning system in the first mode and/or second mode.
• the cleaning cycle may comprise delivering ozone water to the beverage line.
• the cleaning cycle may comprise delivering cleaning fluid to the beverage line.
• the cleaning cycle may comprise delivering cleaning fluid to the beverage line for cleaning the beverage line, and subsequently flushing the cleaning fluid from the beverage line with ozone water.
• the cleaning cycle may comprise retaining the cleaning fluid in the beverage line for a period of time (which may be referred to as "soaking").
• the controller may be configured to control the cleaning system in response to measurements made by the sanitation sensor.
• the controller may be configured to control the cleaning system to perform a first cleaning cycle, and to determine, based on a measurement made by the sanitation sensor, whether to control the cleaning system to perform a second subsequent cleaning.
• the determination may comprise comparing the measurement made by the sanitation sensor with a predetermined threshold value.
• the threshold value may be a minimum value.
• the controller may be configured to control the cleaning system to perform the second cleaning cycle if the measurement made by sanitation sensor is below the predetermined threshold value (and e.g. not to control the cleaning system to perform the second cleaning cycle if the measurement made by the sanitation sensor is above the predetermined threshold value.
• a further cleaning cycle may be performed by the cleaning system if the measurements made by the sanitation sensor are indicative of inadequate sanitation of the beverage line. This can ensure that the beverage line is sufficiently clean after the cleaning system has been used.
• the threshold value may, for example, be an ORP of between 500 and 800 mV, or e.g. between 600 and 700 mV, or e.g. about 650 mV
• the controller may be configured to adjust a cleaning cycle in response to measurements made by the sanitation sensor.
• the controller may be configured to extend at least part of the cleaning cycle (e.g. supplying additional cleaning fluid to the beverage line) in response to measurements made by the sanitation sensor.
• a cleaning cycle may comprise varying the flow rate of cleaning fluid and/or ozone water through the beverage line to provide a pulsed flow of liquid through the beverage line. That is, the flow rate may be controlled oscillate between a higher flow rate and a lower flow rate.
• control may, for example, be provided by the controller being configured to control the pump and/or a valve of the beverage dispense system (e.g. cleaning system).
• the beverage dispense system may comprise a user interface configured to display information to a user and/or receive a user input from the user.
• the user interface may form part of a portable handheld device.
• the user interface may be operatively connected (e.g. by wireless or wired connection) to the sanitation sensor and may be configured to display information regarding the sanitation (e.g. ORP) measured by the sanitation sensor.
• the sanitation e.g. ORP
• the user interface may be operatively connected to the controller.
• the controller may be configured to control the cleaning system in response to a user input received by the user interface. In this way, a user may be able to control the cleaning system via the user interface.
• the controller may be configured to adjust a cleaning cycle of a cleaning programme based on the sanitation measured by the sanitation sensor during the cleaning cycle. For example, the controller may be configured to extend a cleaning cycle (e.g. supplying additional cleaning fluid to the beverage line) in response to measurements made by the sanitation sensor.
• a cleaning cycle e.g. supplying additional cleaning fluid to the beverage line
• a cleaning system for cleaning a beverage line of a beverage dispense system comprising:
• the coupler (for connection to the beverage line) may be configured for releasable connection to a keg coupler (i.e. of the type that may be provided on the end of a beverage line).
• the coupler may be fluidly connected to the reservoir (e.g. to the outlet of the reservoir), for example by tubing.
• cleaning agent may be dosed manually in the reservoir.
• the cleaning system may be configured for automatic dosing of cleaning agent (as will be described further below).
• the cleaning system may comprise a cleaning agent dosing mechanism (such as a hopper) configured to dose a predetermined amount of cleaning agent into the reservoir.
• the dosing mechanism may be provided at the secondary inlet of the reservoir.
• the reservoir may comprise an eductor configured to promote mixing of the cleaning agent and water.
• the eductor may be arranged such that water received by the reservoir passes through the eductor.
• the eductor may be in fluid communication with the primary inlet of the reservoir.
• the reservoir may comprise a conduit (e.g. a tube) for flow of water into the reservoir.
• the conduit may extend into the reservoir from the primary inlet.
• the conduit may comprise a distal end that is distal from the primary inlet.
• the distal end of the conduit may be positioned in a lower region of the reservoir.
• the eductor may be provided at the distal end of the conduit.
• the eductor may comprise an internal channel comprising a venturi region (i.e. a neck or narrowed region).
• the channel of the eductor may be spaced from the distal end of the conduit so as to define a gap for flow of liquid from the reservoir into the channel of the eductor.
• liquid flowing through the channel may be a combination of that flowing into the primary inlet and liquid already present in the reservoir. This may promote mixing of the liquid.
• An outlet of the channel of the eductor may be arranged to discharge fluid in an axial direction (e.g. in a downward direction in normal use).
• the outlet of the channel of the eductor may be arranged to discharge fluid in a tangential direction (e.g. with respect to an in-use, central axis of the reservoir).
• the cleaning system may further comprise a supplementary reservoir provided upstream of the ozone generator.
• the supplementary reservoir may be connectable to (or may provide) the water source.
• the supplementary reservoir may be configured to store a volume of water, to ensure a consistent supply of water to the ozone generator. An inconsistent supply of water to the ozone generator could otherwise result in inadequate ozone water production.
• the cleaning system may comprise a sanitation sensor (e.g. ORP sensor) connectable to the beverage line to measure the sanitation (e.g. ORP) of liquid within the beverage line, and to generate a signal indicative of the measured sanitation (e.g. ORP).
• a sanitation sensor e.g. ORP sensor
• the sanitation sensor may be mountable to or in a beverage dispenser for dispensing beverage from the beverage line.
• the sanitation sensor be configured for mounting to a tap of the beverage dispenser.
• the sanitation sensor may be configured for mounting to an outlet of the tap (in such embodiments a body of the sanitation sensor may define a passage through which liquid may flow).
• the quality (i.e. sanitation) of liquid can be measured.
• an sanitation sensor mountable to the beverage dispenser (e.g. tap) of a beverage system, the liquid being measured has passed through substantially the entirety of the beverage line. This will ensure that a sanitation (e.g. ORP) measurement made by the sensor is representative of the state of the entire beverage line.
• the cleaning system may comprise a controller configured to control the cleaning system (e.g. configured to control various components of the cleaning system).
• the controller may be operatively connected to (to control) one or more of the ozone generator, pump, flow diverter, and/or dosing mechanism.
• Such operative connection may be provided by a wired and/or wireless connection.
• the cleaning system may also comprise various further mechanisms (e.g. flow diverters, such as valves) to control the flow of water, ozone water, cleaning fluid and/or cleaning agent through the cleaning system.
• the controller may be operatively connected to such further mechanisms to control such mechanisms.
• controller may refer to one or more units for processing data, examples of which may include electrical circuitry, an ASIC, microcontroller, FPGA, microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP) capability, state machine or other suitable component.
• the controller may be configured to execute a computer program, e.g. which may take the form of machine-readable instructions, which may be stored on a non-transitory memory and/or programmable logic.
• any machine executable instructions, or computer readable media may be configured to cause a disclosed method to be carried out.
• the controller may be configured to control the cleaning system to perform a cleaning cycle.
• the cleaning cycle may comprise operating the cleaning system in the first mode and/or second mode.
• the cleaning cycle may comprise delivering ozone water to the beverage line.
• the cleaning cycle may comprise delivering cleaning fluid to the beverage line.
• the cleaning cycle may comprise delivering cleaning fluid to the beverage line for cleaning the beverage line, and subsequently flushing the cleaning fluid from the beverage line with ozone water.
• the cleaning cycle may comprise retaining the cleaning fluid in the beverage line for a period of time (sometimes referred to as "soaking").
• the controller may be configured to control the cleaning system in response to measurements made by the sanitation sensor.
• the controller may be configured to control the cleaning system to perform a first cleaning cycle, and to determine, based on a measurement made by the sanitation sensor, whether to control the cleaning system to perform a second subsequent cleaning.
• the determination may comprise comparing the measurement made by the sanitation sensor with a predetermined threshold value.
• the threshold value may be a minimum value.
• the controller may be configured to control the cleaning system to perform the second cleaning cycle if the measurement made by sanitation sensor is below the predetermined threshold value (and e.g. not to control the cleaning system to perform the second cleaning cycle if the measurement made by the sanitation sensor is above the predetermined threshold value.
• the system may comprise a user interface configured to display information to a user and/or receive a user input from the user.
• the user interface may form part of a portable handheld device.
• the user interface may be operatively connected (e.g. by wireless or wired connection) to the sanitation sensor and may be configured to display information regarding the sanitation (e.g. ORP) measured by the sanitation sensor.
• the sanitation e.g. ORP
• the user interface may be operatively connected to the controller.
• the controller may be configured to control the cleaning system in response to a user input received by the user interface. In this way, a user may be able to control the cleaning system via the user interface.
• the controller may be configured to control the cleaning system according to a (user) selected cleaning programme of a plurality of cleaning programmes.
• the plurality cleaning programmes may differ in the level of cleaning they provide.
• the cleaning programmes may differ in one or more of cleaning agent type, cleaning agent dosage, soaking duration and/or duration of the first and/or second modes of the cleaning cycle.
• a user can choose an appropriate level of cleaning for a particular beverage line.
• the required level of cleaning may be determined based on a visual inspection, or e.g. based on the time that has elapsed since the beverage line has been cleaned and/or the type of beverage dispensed through the beverage line.
• the controller may be configured to adjust a cleaning cycle of a cleaning programme based on the sanitation measured by the sanitation sensor during the cleaning cycle. For example, the controller may be configured to extend a cleaning cycle (e.g. supplying additional cleaning fluid to the beverage line) in response to measurements made by the sanitation sensor.
• a cleaning cycle e.g. supplying additional cleaning fluid to the beverage line
• a cooler 18 is provided along the beverage line 14, between the beverage supply 11 and the beverage dispenser 12. This ensures that beverage within the beverage line 14 is maintained at a temperature that helps to minimise microorganism growth.
• the ozone generator 21 is configured to generate ozone and introduce the ozone into water 50 supplied from the water source 25, through an inlet 36 of the ozone generator 21.
• the ozone generator 21 is able to form ozone water 49 (i.e. water containing ozone).
• ozone water 49 i.e. water containing ozone.
• the provision of the tank 47 and pump 47 (for moving water 50 from the tank 47) are beneficial in the second mode in that they help ensure a consistent supply of water 50 to the ozone generator 21, and thus help to ensure a consistent production of ozone water 49 (which can be important to ensure adequate cleaning of the beverage line 14).
• the use of the reservoir 20 for both mixing of the cleaning agent and for accumulation of ozone water 49 means that it provides dual functionality, reducing the complexity and bulk of the cleaning system 19.
• the cleaning system 19 is operated in the first mode. This includes mixing water 50 with cleaning agent in the reservoir 20 according to a predetermined dosage, and then moving the water/cleaning agent mix (i.e. cleaning fluid) into the beverage line 14. At this point, the cleaning fluid may be left within the beverage line 14 for a period of time (referred to as "soaking").
• the cleaning system 19 is operated in the second mode. In some cases, this can begin while the cleaning fluid is soaked within the beverage line 14. Likewise, in some cases the reservoir 20 may be flushed with water prior to the cleaning system 19 entering the second mode to remove any residual cleaning fluid. The eductor 29 of the reservoir 20 may facilitate this. In the second mode, the cleaning system 19 flushes the beverage line 14 with ozone water 49 produced by the ozone generator 21. This removes cleaning fluid from the beverage line 14 and also acts to eliminate microorganisms within the beverage line 14.
• the cleaning system 19 is disconnected from the beverage line 14 by a user. Subsequently, the user can reconnect the beverage line 14 to a beverage supply 11 (so that beverage can continue to be dispensed from the beverage dispenser 12).
• the user interface 39 of the present example is a device located at the bar and operatively connected to the controller 45 (i.e. via wireless or wired connection).
• the user interface 39 is configured to receive a user input, such as the selection of a requested cleaning programme and communicate that user input to the controller 45.
• the user interface 39 is also configured to display information to a user (such as cleaning programmes available for selection and measurements made by the ORP sensor 44 mounted within the beverage dispenser 12).
• the ORP sensor 44 is configured to measure the ORP of liquid passing through the beverage dispenser 12 (within the beverage line 14). By positioning the ORP sensor 44 at the downstream end of the beverage line 14, the measurements made by the ORP sensor 44 are generally indicative of the sanitation of the beverage line 14 as a whole.
• the cleaning system 19 can be operated according to a selected cleaning programme (of a plurality of available cleaning programmes). This selection is made by a user providing a user input to the user interface.
• the cleaning programmes may differ in the level of cleaning they provide. This allows a user to select an appropriate level of cleaning for a given beverage line 14. For example, for beverage lines 14 that are likely to be more heavily soiled (which may be due to the nature of the beverage in the beverage line 14), the user can select a more comprehensive cleaning programme.
• the cleaning programmes may vary based on number of cycles. For example, cleaning the beverage line 14 with cleaning fluid (step 41) and flushing the beverage line 14 (step 42) with ozone water 49 may be repeated depending on the cleaning programme.
• the cleaning system 19 is also configured to operate according to a detected state of liquid within the beverage line 14.
• the controller 45 controls the cleaning system 19 according to measurements made by the ORP sensor 44 mounted to the beverage dispenser 12.
• FIG. 5 One example of such cleaning is illustrated in Figure 5 .
• a cleaning cycle is performed in much the same way as described above with respect to Figure 4 : first the beverage line 14 is cleaned with a cleaning fluid (at step 51) and is then flushed with ozone water (at step 52).
• the controller 45 is configured to compare the ORP measured by the ORP sensor 44 against a minimum threshold ORP value (at step 54). If the measured ORP value is below the minimum threshold ORP value (e.g. 650 mV), then the controller 45 controls the cleaning system 19 to repeat the cleaning cycle. On the other hand, if the measured ORP value is above the threshold, the controller 45 controls the cleaning system 19 to end the cleaning process.
• a minimum threshold ORP value e.g. 650 mV

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Devices For Dispensing Beverages (AREA)
• Beverage Vending Machines With Cups, And Gas Or Electricity Vending Machines (AREA)

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• 2024
  • 2024-01-17 GB GB2400657.9A patent/GB2637483A/en active Pending
• 2025
  • 2025-01-17 EP EP25152682.8A patent/EP4588883B1/de active Active
  • 2025-01-17 EP EP26161221.2A patent/EP4725895A2/de active Pending

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