The present invention further relates to a dispensing nozzle for dispensing condensed products from a post-mix beverage machine.

2. Description of the Prior Art Condensed or concentrated (hereinafter"condensed") beverages reconstituted at the point of use, such as juices and sodas, are sold in restaurants and the like. There are generally two kinds of beverage dispensers used to reconstitute the beverage at the point of use, namely post-mix dispensers and pre-mix dispensers.

Post-mix beverage dispensers are provided with a source for the condensed fluid and the water. The condensed fluid is usually maintained within a refrigerated portion of the dispensing machine. The fluids are mixed within a dispenser nozzle located within the refrigerated portion and poured into a cup or glass via an exit tube on the nozzle that extends from the machine.

In contrast, pre-mix beverage dispensers are usually connected to a product tank container that holds the reconstituted beverage. The product tank that holds the reconstituted beverage is refrigerated and then poured into a cup or glass by actuating a dispensing nozzle.

The dispensing nozzle of the present invention is designed for use with post-mix beverage machines such as the Quantum series dispenser

available from IMI Wilshire Inc. and disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 5,749,494 and No. 5,890,626 both to Wolski et al. incorporated herein by reference.

In prior art dispensing machines, an example of which is shown in Fig. 1, the fluids within the mixing portion of the nozzle are housed within the refrigerated portion of the dispensing machine. However, the prior art dispensing nozzles are designed such that fluid remains in the exit tube of the nozzle after each dispense. Since the exit tube of the nozzle extends from the machine, fluids retained in the exit tube are un-refrigerated. For juices and sodas, the temperatures conducted through the machine and nozzle are sufficient to maintain the quality standards of the beverage.

However, for dairy products, such as milk, the temperatures conducted through the machine and nozzle are not sufficient to maintain the quality of the beverage.

Moreover, prior art dispensing nozzles have multiple pieces, which can be difficult to clean. The complex nozzles of the prior art provide insufficient cleaning capability and are, therefore, insufficient for dairy products.

Regular (un-condensed) milk has a shelf life of approximately seven to ten days. In large food service operations, such as restaurants, military bases, cruise ships and the like, the short shelf life of the milk makes managing the milk inventory difficult. Often times, errors in the management of the milk inventory causes the milk to become outdated and, thus, the milk is discarded. In contrast, condensed milk has a refrigerated shelf life from about 60 to 90 days. Thus, the use of condensed milk in food service aids the management of inventory and reduction of waste.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing nozzle that maintains substantially all of the fluid contained therein in the refrigerated portion of the post-mix beverage machine.

It is another object of the present invention to provide such a dispensing nozzle, which meets the sanitary needs for dispensing milk products from a post-mix beverage machine.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a disposable nozzle hermetically sealed within a flexible package.

It is stall a further object of the present invention to provide such a hermetically sealed disposable nozzle in a kit of disposable nozzles.

These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by a nozzle for use in a post mix-dispensing machine having a source of condensed liquid within a refrigerated portion and a source of water. The nozzle also has a cover sealed to a spout. The cover has a first input and a second input in fluid communication with a mixing chamber. The first input is connectable to the source of condensed liquid and the second input is connectable to the source of water. The spout includes a static mixer means and a fluid output in fluid communication with the static mixer. means. The fluid output includes an output tube and an aeration port disposed therein. The output tube is in fluid communication with the chamber. The nozzle is connectable to the post-mix dispensing machine such that the mixing chamber is within the refrigerated portion, the output tube extends outside the refrigerated portion, and the aeration port is outside the refrigerated portion.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Fig. 1 shows a prior art post-mix dispensing machine; Fig. 2a shows a side view of the nozzle of the present invention; Fig. 2b shows a top view of the nozzle of Fig. 2a;

Fig. 3 shows a side view of the mixing chamber of the present invention; Fig. 4 shows a top view of the mixing chamber of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 shows a sectional view of the mixing chamber of Fig. 4 along section 5-5' ; Fig. 6 shows a side view of the spout of the present invention; Fig. 7 shows a top view of the spout of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 shows a sectional view of the spout of Fig. 7 along section 8- Fig. 9 shows a cross sectional view of the fluid restrictor; Fig. 10 shows a sectional view of the nozzle of Fig. 2a along section 10-10' ; and Fig. 11 shows a sectional view of the nozzle of Fig. 2a along section 11-11'.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the figures, and particularly to Figs. 2a and 2b, a nozzle, generally represented by reference numeral 10, is shown. Nozzle 10 includes a mixing cover 20 adapted to seal a mixing spout 40. Cover 20 and spout 40 are formed of molded food grade polymer capable of operating between 20 and 100 degrees centigrade. Preferably, nozzle 10 is formed of STD51 food grade polypropylene. Nozzle 10 of the present invention is adapted to be connected to post-mix dispensers, such as that shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to Figs. 3 through 5, cover 20 has a first input 21 and a second input 22 in fluid communication with a mixing chamber 25 defined within the cover. First input 21 is adapted to be connected to the tubing provided by a source of condensed fluid, such as, but not limited to, condensed milk (not shown). The source of condensed fluid is housed with the refrigerated portion of the dispensing machine. Second input 22 is adapted to be connected to a source of water (not shown) provided by the machine, such as residential or commercial water pipes. Second input 22 is adapted to seal cover 20 to the water source without leaking. Second input 22 includes an annular recess 24 adapted to receive an o-ring (not shown). Thus, input 22 is adapted be sealed by recess 24 and the o-ring to the water source.

As shown in Figs. 6 through 8, spout 40, has a static mixer 45 and a fluid output 60 in fluid communication with the static mixer via port 61.

In a preferred embodiment, static mixer 45 includes a pair of mixing posts 47 and a flow guide 50. Flow guide 50 has a top ridge 51 and a pair of concave semi-circular channels 52. Top ridge 51 has a linear slope and is sloped toward port 61. Semi-circular channels 52 are joined at an apex 54. Apex 54 terminates at the center of static mixer 45 and flush with an edge of port 61. Apex 54 joins top ridge at a dividing point 55. Preferably, mixing posts 47 are connected to spout 40 adjacent to and on either side of port 61. Mixing posts 47 are located at the points where a line drawn through the center of each channel 52 is perpendicular to a line drawn through the center of port 61.

Fluid output 60 has an output tube 62 and an aeration port 65 disposed therein. Output tube 62 is in fluid communication with port 61 and aeration port 65. Aeration port 65 is disposed on tube 62 at a point where the aeration port is outside of the refrigerated portion of the machine when nozzle 10 is assembled within the dispensing machine.

Optionally, exit tube 62 includes a fluid restrictor 70, shown in Fig. 9, disposed therein. Fluid restrictor 70 creates fluid pressure, thus increasing the velocity of fluid within exit tube 62. The fluid in exit tube 62, having increased velocity, passes by aeration port 65 pulling air from outside of the exit tube into the stream of fluid. In effect, restrictor 70 acts with aeration post 65 to provide a venturi effect. Air within the stream of fluid within exit tube 62 excites flavor and creates a foam head within the product. In a preferred embodiment, restrictor 70 sealed to within exit tube 62 via sonic welding.

Referring to Figs. 10 and 11, cover 20 is adapted to be sealed to spout 40, preferably via an interference fit. In this embodiment, cover 20 has a stepped rim 28 formed therein and spout 40 has a stepped lip 48 formed therein. Step rim 28 forms the interference, fit with stepped lip 48.

In an alternate embodiment, cover 20 is adapted to be sealed to spout 40 via sonic welding.

Cover 20 and spout 40 are sealed such that the center of first input 21 is above apex 54 and the center of second input 22 is adjacent point 55.

In the sealed position, output tube 62 is in fluid communication with first input 21, second input 22, mixing chamber 25 and static mixer 45.

In use, nozzle 10 is placed within the refrigerated portion of the dispensing machine with first input 21 connected to the source of condensed fluid, second input 22 connected to the source of water, output tube 62 extending out of the machine and aeration port 65 on the outside of the refrigerated portion of the machine. Preferably, aeration port 65 is located immediately adjacent to the dispensing machine, thus eliminating un-refrigerated fluid in output tube 62. Moreover, aeration port 65 enables air to be pulled into the stream of fluid within exit tube 62 to excite flavor and create a foam head within the product.

When the user actuates the dispensing machine to dispense a reconstituted fluid, water is dispensed into nozzle 10 via second port 22

and condensed fluid is dispensed into nozzle 10 via first port 21. Static mixer 45 vigorously and completely mixes the condensed fluid and water to reconstitute to its finished state. The reconstituted fluid exits nozzle 10 via output tube 62. When the user stops the dispensing machine to dispense a reconstituted fluid, aeration port 65, located just outside of the dispensing machine, acts to provide an air vent for fluid trapped between the machine and the end of output tube 62. Thus, aeration port 65 allows all un- refrigerated fluid to exit output tube 62.

In an alternate embodiment, nozzle 10 is provided as a disposable nozzle. Disposable nozzle 10 improves the cleanliness of the dispensing system without requiring time consuming clean-up. In yet another embodiment, disposable nozzle 10 is included as part of a kit, which includes a plurality of nozzles 10 within a box. Each nozzle 10 of the kit is individually packaged within a hermetically sealed flexible package.

It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the present invention. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.