A liquid dispenser may include a container having an upper opening, a pump provided in the container, a pipe through which liquid discharged from the pump is transferred, a top plate having an upper surface over which liquid flows, a filter assembly provided below the top plate, a base provided below the container, and a thermoelectric element provided in the base to cool the liquid in the container.

A vending machine comprising multiple subsystems typically including container receiving, container cleaning, container storage, container filling, container vending, a computer system, and a user interface. A vending machine for dispensing, receiving, cleaning and/or filling containers comprising container receiving means for receiving a first container, container cleaning means for cleaning the first container, container dispensing means for dispensing the first container, and container filling means for filling the first container or a second container.

Disinfecting devices and related methods are provided that apply germicidal ultraviolet light to disinfect dispensing components of food and beverage dispensers. A disinfecting holster for a bar gun includes a support surface configured to interface with a bar gun to support the bar gun when stowed in the holster, a housing coupled with the support surface and surrounding a dispensing nozzle of the bar gun when the bar gun is stowed in the holster, and an ultraviolet light source configured to emit germicidal ultraviolet light onto the nozzle. The housing substantially contains the ultraviolet light within the housing during the application of the ultraviolet light to the dispensing nozzle. The ultraviolet light can be periodically applied to maintain the nozzle in a disinfected state.

Liquid dispensing systems which sanitize the liquid and liquid-contacting parts of a liquid dispensing system using ozonation, by periodically flushing the system with ozonated gas or liquid. Also disclosed and claimed are an apparatus and method for controlling temperature variations between the liquid in holding (e.g., cold and/or hot) tanks and the liquid as it is dispensed, which may be used with an Insta-Boil feature.

An apparatus (100) for purifying liquid comprises an irradiation chamber (102) upon which are disposed a plurality of UV-LEDs (112) which irradiate a flow (110) of liquid as it passes therethrough; a coolant conduit (104) is disposed about said irradiation chamber (102) and UV-LEDs (112), which conducts a flow (126) of a coolant fluid through it thereby cooling the flow (110) of liquid and the plurality of UV-LEDs (112).

A method for providing a safe and healthy water and water-based product, comprising: testing pretreated reverse osmosis water to determine whether it meets a first set of pre-defined specifications; introducing a pre-defined nutrient composition into the water, wherein the predefined nutrient composition comprising one or more of mineral nutrients, trace elements and nutritional supplements; testing the water to determine whether it meets a second set of predefined specifications; and disinfecting the water along with its container by UV irradiation from a UV light source to obtain a water product.

Systems, apparatus, methods, and articles of manufacture provide for a beverage dispensing system configured to form one of a plurality of available types of carbonated and non-carbonated beverage types in response to a user selection.

A vending machine comprising multiple subsystems typically including container receiving, container cleaning, container storage, container filling, container vending, a computer system, and a user interface. A vending machine for dispensing, receiving, cleaning and/or filling containers comprising container receiving means for receiving a first container, container cleaning means for cleaning the first container, container dispensing means for dispensing the first container, and container filling means for filling the first container or a second container.

A method for providing a safe and healthy water and water-based product, comprising: testing pretreated reverse osmosis water to determine whether it meets a first set of pre-defined specifications; introducing a pre-defined nutrient composition into the water, wherein the predefined nutrient composition comprising one or more of mineral nutrients, trace elements and nutritional supplements; testing the water to determine whether it meets a second set of pre-defined specifications; and disinfecting the water along with its container by UV irradiation from a UV light source to obtain a water product.

A water heating system is provided. The water heating system includes an inlet connectable to a supply of untreated water, supply and return lines connectable to a point-of-use water treatment system, and an output for dispensing a supply of treated and optionally heated water. An internal heating element is adapted to heat the treated water to one of a plurality of pre-selected temperature settings. Temperature control can be achieved by cycling the power applied to the heating element and/or controlling the flow rate of treated water through the heating element. The water heating system includes additional improvements in electrical compatibility, energy consumption, and remote failure detection.