Importance

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Abstract

An apparatus for dispensing a beverage by gravity feed from a container mounted in the outside of a door of a refrigerated cabinet, such as a home refrigerator, comprises a vented spout assembly for dispensing a beverage from a container by gravity feed at a substantially constant flow rate in combination with an actuation mechanism mounted in the door of the refrigerator. The vented spout assembly includes a valve assembly collar connectable to a discharge opening in the container, a vent tube extending from a location in the collar to a location in the container spaced from the discharge opening, the vent tube defining a vent passage therethrough. The collar has a discharge wall with a liquid discharge port therethrough. A rotary valve element is mounted for rotation in the discharge wall between OPEN and CLOSED positions. The rotary valve has a liquid discharge conduit and a vent conduit therethrough alignable with the discharge port and the vent passage, respectively, when in the OPEN position of the valve element, a spout extends from the liquid discharge conduit of the rotary valve element and an actuation lever extends from the rotary valve element for engagement with the actuation mechanism mounted in the door.

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First Claim