Beer Dispensing System with Foam-Separating Supply Line
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensing systems for beer at large events struggle to fill multiple glasses quickly and evenly with a consistent foam head, often resulting in overflow and beer loss due to varying dispensing speeds and the inability to maintain high foam formation at high pressures.
Innovation Solution
A dispensing system where the supply line is partially filled to separate foam from liquid, allowing the liquid to be fed into a completely filled distributor area, ensuring consistent pouring speed and foam formation across all glasses, with a pressure equalization tank and tubular design to maintain optimal conditions and minimize beer loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If higher pressure is applied to increase dispensing speed, then filling speed improves, but foam formation increases excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the dispensing process into two distinct zones: a supply line with partial filling for foam separation and a distributor area with complete filling for consistent dispensing. This segmentation allows foam to be separated from liquid in the supply line while maintaining high pressure for speed in the distributor area without excessive foam formation at the outlets.
Solution Approach 2:
Foam separation occurs preliminarily in the supply line before the beer reaches the distributor area and outlets. By performing foam separation in advance through partial filling of the supply line, the system prepares foam-free or foam-reduced beer for the dispensing phase, enabling high-speed dispensing without excessive foam formation.
2Productivity
If dispensing pressure is increased to reduce filling time, then productivity improves, but foam formation becomes uncontrolled
Solution Approach 1:
The dispensing system is segmented into a supply line zone for foam separation and a distributor area for precise dispensing. This allows high pressure to be applied in the distributor area for fast filling while the supply line maintains conditions for foam separation, ensuring both productivity and foam head consistency.
Solution Approach 2:
The supply line acts as an intermediary between the reservoir and distributor area, performing foam separation before the beer enters the high-pressure dispensing zone. This intermediary function prepares the beer for consistent foam head formation while enabling high-speed dispensing in the distributor area.
3Productivity
If multiple glasses are filled simultaneously, then productivity improves, but uniformity of foam head across glasses deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the beer flow into a common supply line for foam separation and then distributes to multiple outlets in a distributor area. This ensures all glasses receive beer with identical foam characteristics from the separated supply line, maintaining uniformity even when filling multiple glasses simultaneously at high speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The supply line with partial filling creates homogeneous foam-separated beer that is then distributed to all outlets. This homogeneity in the supply line ensures consistent foam head formation across all glasses being filled simultaneously, regardless of the number of outlets active.
4Speed
If supply line is completely filled to increase flow rate, then dispensing speed improves, but foam separation capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the beer conduit into a supply line with partial filling for foam separation and a distributor area with complete filling for high-speed dispensing. This segmentation allows the supply line to maintain low fill level for effective foam separation while the distributor area operates at high pressure and complete filling for maximum flow rate to multiple outlets.
Solution Approach 2:
The supply line operates with partial filling (less than complete) to enable foam separation, while the distributor area operates with complete filling to maximize flow rate. This partial action in the supply line followed by excessive action in the distributor area achieves both foam separation and high dispensing speed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables rapid and uniform filling of multiple glasses with a consistent foam head, preventing overflow and maintaining beer quality by separating foam and liquid, thus achieving high dispensing speed and optimal foam formation.
Implementation Method 1
the supply line is partially filled to separate foam from liquid
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a bar system (1) for simultaneously pouring beer (3) from a reservoir (2) into a plurality of containers such as glasses (4), comprising a supply line (5) having an adjoining distributor region (6) having a plurality of outlets (7), wherein the beer (3) can be conducted via the supply line (5) into the distributor region (6) and via the latter into the containers such as glasses (4). In order to fill the containers such as glasses (4) uniformly with beer (3) and with a head of foam of equal height, it is possible according to the invention to fill the distributor region (6) completely with beer (3) when the supply line (5) is partially full. The invention further relates to a method for simultaneously pouring beer (3) into a plurality of containers such as glasses (4), the beer (3) being conducted from a reservoir (2) for the beer (3) via a supply line (5) to a distributor region (6) having a plurality of outlets (7) and the beer (3) being discharged via the outlets (7) and taps into the containers such as glasses (4). According to the invention the beer (3) is guided from a reservoir (2) via a supply line (5), partially filling said supply line, into the distributor region (6), completely filling said distributor region, and the beer (3) is poured when the distributor region (6) is full.