Brewed iced tea or non-carbonated drink dispenser

Abstract

A beverage dispensing apparatus includes a mixing chamber for mixing hot water, a beverage concentrate and cold water, as well as one or more additives. The hot water and cold water are supplied at a predetermined flow rate at a predetermined proportion, regardless of the pressure of the water supply. A water heater supplies the hot water within a specified pressure range and without significant entrapped air.

1 . A mixing duct comprising:
 a hot water inlet provided near a distal end of the mixing duct;   a cold water inlet disposed downstream of the hot water inlet;   a concentrate inlet disposed between the cold water inlet and the hot water inlet; and   a nozzle configured to dispense a beverage provided at a proximal end of the mixing duct, wherein the nozzle changes a flow direction of the beverage from horizontal to vertical.   
     
     
         2 . The mixing duct according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the cold water inlet and the concentrate inlet is provided with a check valve to prevent backflow. 
     
     
         3 . The mixing duct according to  claim 2 , wherein the check valve comprises a duckbill valve. 
     
     
         4 . The mixing duct according to  claim 1 , further comprising at least one additive port disposed downstream of the hot water inlet. 
     
     
         5 . The mixing duct according to  claim 1 , wherein the concentrate inlet is disposed closer to the hot water inlet than to the cold water inlet. 
     
     
         6 . The mixing duct according to  claim 1 , wherein the mixing duct is contained within cladding to appear as a leaf tea brewing urn. 
     
     
         7 . The mixing duct according to  claim 1 , further comprising internal flow vanes for mixing. 
     
     
         8 . The mixing duct of  claim 1 , wherein a hydraulic diameter of the mixing duct decreases in at least one location between the distal end and the proximal end. 
     
     
         9 . A mixing duct comprising:
 a chamber having a distal end, a proximal end, and a central bore;   a hot water inlet provided near the distal end of the chamber and being configured to transport hot water;   a cold water inlet disposed downstream of the hot water inlet and being configured to transport cold water, wherein the cold water inlet is disposed at an angle transverse that is to an axis of the central bore;   a concentrate inlet disposed between the hot water inlet and the cold water inlet and being configured to transport concentrate,   an outlet provided at the proximal end of the chamber, wherein the outlet is configured to output a beverage resulting from mixing of at least two of the hot water, the cold water, and the concentrate within the mixing duct; and   a nozzle configured to dispense the beverage.   
     
     
         10 . The mixing duct according to  claim 9 , wherein at least one of the cold water inlet and the concentrate inlet is provided with a check valve to prevent backflow. 
     
     
         11 . The mixing duct according to  claim 10 , wherein the check valve comprises a duckbill valve. 
     
     
         12 . The mixing duct according to  claim 9 , wherein the concentrate inlet is disposed closer to the hot water inlet than to the cold water inlet. 
     
     
         13 . The mixing duct according to  claim 9 , further comprising an additive port disposed downstream of the hot water inlet and being configured to provide an additive. 
     
     
         14 . The mixing duct according to  claim 13 , wherein the additive port is configured to transport at least one of an aroma-causing substance and a sweetener. 
     
     
         15 . The mixing duct according to  claim 9 , wherein the hot water inlet is coaxial with the central bore. 
     
     
         16 . The mixing duct according to  claim 9 , further comprising a sweetener inlet located downstream of the cold water inlet and upstream of the outlet. 
     
     
         17 . The mixing duct according to  claim 9 , wherein the mixing duct is contained within cladding to appear as a leaf tea brewing urn. 
     
     
         18 . The mixing duct according to  claim 9 , wherein the mixing duct comprises internal flow vanes for mixing. 
     
     
         19 . A method comprising:
 providing, via a hot water inlet, hot water to a chamber of a mixing duct, the chamber having a distal end, a proximal end, and a central bore;   providing, via a concentrate inlet, beverage concentrate to the chamber;   mixing, within the chamber, the hot water and the beverage concentrate to create a diluted concentrate;   providing, via a cold water inlet, cold water to the chamber;   mixing, within the chamber, the cold water and the diluted concentrate to create the beverage; and   dispensing the beverage.   
     
     
         20 . The method of dispensing a beverage of  claim 19 , further comprising providing, via an additive inlet, an additive to the chamber, wherein the mixing of the cold water and the diluted concentrate further comprises mixing with the additive to create the beverage.