GB2603169A

GB2603169A - A carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus and an associated method

Info

Publication number: GB2603169A
Application number: GB2101239.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Rory Rigg Edward; Roy Douglas Osborn Oliver
Original assignee: Carbonation Techniques Ltd; Eds Trading Ltd
Current assignee: Carbonation Techniques Ltd; Eds Trading Ltd
Priority date: 2021-01-29
Filing date: 2021-01-29
Publication date: 2022-08-03
Anticipated expiration: 2041-01-29
Also published as: GB202101239D0; GB2603169B

Abstract

Chilled liquid from refrigeration device 20 goes into a first chamber 51 of a carbonator 50. The liquid is carbonated and entered into a recirculation loop 70. The carbonated liquid remains circulating in the circuit 70 until it is extracted therefrom by a beverage dispenser 90. While the carbonated liquid circulates in the loop 70, it passes through a second chamber 52 of the carbonator 50 where it is re-cooled. A circulation pump 64 may be provided. A further refrigeration unit 63 may be provided in the circuit 70. The second chamber 52 of the carbonator 50, which is for cooling circulating liquid, may surround the first chamber 51, which is for carbonating.

Description

TITLE

A Carbonated Beverage Dispensing Apparatus and an Associated Method

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus and an associated method. In particular, they relate to an apparatus and method for dispensing carbonated soft drinks.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Water may be carbonated by injecting and dissolving carbon dioxide in the water. The carbonated water may then be mixed with a flavoured syrup/concentrate to form a flavoured soft drink.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the invention there is provided a carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus, comprising: one or more refrigeration devices arranged to receive liquid; a carbonator, arranged to receive refrigerated liquid from the one or more refrigeration devices, comprising a first chamber for carbonating the received refrigerated liquid and a second chamber for re-cooling previously carbonated liquid; a liquid recirculation circuit arranged to receive carbonated liquid from the first chamber of the carbonator and circulate the carbonated liquid back to the carbonator, such that at least some of the carbonated liquid is conveyed through the second chamber of the carbonator; and a beverage dispenser arranged to extract and dispense carbonated liquid from the liquid recirculation circuit.

The first chamber may be an inner chamber and the second chamber may be an outer chamber. The outer chamber may be positioned at least partially around the inner chamber.

The carbonator may comprise at least one wall dividing the first chamber from the second chamber. The wall(s) may be arranged to be cooled by refrigerated liquid received in the first chamber and thereby re-cool previously carbonated liquid in the second chamber. The wall may be an outer wall of the first chamber and an inner wall of the second chamber.

The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus may further comprise: a re-circulation pump for circulating liquid around the liquid recirculation circuit.

The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus may further comprise: at least one further refrigeration device, separate from the carbonator, arranged to cool carbonated liquid received from the first chamber of the carbonator.

The further refrigeration device(s) may be arranged to cool carbonated liquid circulating in the liquid recirculation circuit.

The carbonator may be configured to pressurise the liquid to a carbonating pressure when carbonating the liquid. The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus may further comprise: an over pressure pump arranged to receive carbonated liquid from the first chamber of the carbonator, arranged to increase the pressure of the carbonated liquid above the carbonating pressure, and arranged to provide carbonated liquid to the liquid recirculation circuit.

The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus may further comprise: a carbonator input pump arranged to receive refrigerated liquid from the one or more refrigeration devices and provide the received refrigerated liquid to the first chamber of the carbonator.

The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus may further comprise: a valve arranged to control input of refrigerated liquid from the one or more refrigeration devices to the carbonator input pump.

The carbonator may comprise a liquid level sensor, and activation of the carbonator input pump and/or the valve may depend, at least in part, on at least one input from the liquid level sensor.

The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus further comprise: a deaerafion exhaust for deaerating liquid in the first chamber of the carbonator.

The liquid received by the one or more refrigeration devices may be still water.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the invention there is provided a method, comprising: refrigerating liquid; receiving the refrigerated liquid at a first chamber of a carbonator; carbonating the refrigerated liquid in the first chamber of the carbonator; providing the carbonated liquid to a liquid recirculation circuit; extracting and dispensing some of the carbonated liquid from the liquid recirculation circuit; circulating some of the carbonated liquid back to the carbonator, using the liquid recirculation circuit, such that at least same of the carbonated liquid is conveyed through a second chamber of the carbonator in order to re-cool the carbonated liquid; and extracting and dispensing some of the re-cooled carbonated liquid from the liquid recirculation circuit.

The carbonator may comprise at least one wall dividing the first chamber from the second chamber. The wall(s) may be arranged to be cooled by refrigerated liquid received in the first chamber and thereby re-cool previously carbonated liquid in the second chamber.

The wall may be an outer wall of the first chamber and an inner wall of the second chamber. The method may further comprise: cooling carbonated liquid, received from the first chamber of the carbonator, using at least one further refrigeration device that is separate from the carbonator.

The further refrigeration device may be arranged to cool carbonated liquid circulating in the liquid recirculation circuit.

The carbonator may pressurise the liquid to a carbonating pressure when carbonating the liquid. The method may further comprise: receiving carbonated liquid from the first chamber of the carbonator at an over pressure pump, and increasing the pressure of the carbonated liquid above the carbonating pressure using the over pressure pump, and provide carbonated liquid to the liquid recirculation circuit using the over pressure pump The liquid received by the one or more refrigeration devices may be still water.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of various examples of embodiments of the present invention reference will now be made by way of example only to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic of a first example of a carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus; Fig. 2A, 28 and 20 illustrate exploded, side and plan views of an example of a carbonator respectively; and Fig. 3 illustrates a schematic of a second example of a carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus; and Fig. 4 illustrates a flow chart of a method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention relate to a carbonated dispensing apparatus and an associated method. The apparatus and method advantageously maintain previously carbonated liquid at an optimal temperature for dispensing. This is described in detail below.

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic of a first example of a carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus 100. The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus 100 comprises: one or more refrigeration devices 20, a carbonator 50, a liquid recirculation circuit 70 and a beverage dispenser 90.

The elements 20, 50, 70, 90 of the apparatus 100 are operationally connected. In some examples, they might be directly connected such that there are no other elements therebetween. In other examples, one or more elements might exist between any of the elements 20, 50, 70, 90, for example as described below in relation to Fig. 3.

In the examples described herein there are multiple refrigeration devices 20, but in other examples there might merely be a single refrigeration device 20. The refrigeration devices 20 are arranged to receive liquid. The liquid may be a beverage, or a constituent of a beverage. In some examples, the liquid is still (uncarbonated) water.

The refrigeration devices 20 are configured to cool the liquid in preparation for carbonation of the liquid. In some examples, the refrigeration devices are configured to cool the liquid to a temperature between 0°C and 10°C. In some of the examples, the cooling temperature might be between 2°C and 8°C. It might, for instance, be between 3°C and 5°C, such as 4°C.

The carbonator 50 is arranged to receive refrigerated liquid from the one or more refrigeration device(s) 20. The carbonator 50 comprises a first chamber 51 and a second chamber 52 (not shown in Fig. 1). The first chamber 51 is for carbonating the received refrigerated liquid. Carbonation is performed by dissolving carbon dioxide in the refrigeration liquid. The second chamber 52 is for re-cooling previously carbonated liquid.

The liquid recirculation circuit 70 is arranged to receive carbonated, refrigerated liquid from the first chamber of the carbonator 50. The liquid recirculation circuit 70 may comprise at least one conduit for this purpose.

The beverage dispenser 90 is arranged to extract and dispense carbonated liquid from the liquid recirculation circuit 70. The beverage dispenser 90 is user operated. In some examples, the beverage dispenser 90 might comprise one or more user input devices that, when actuated, cause the carbonated liquid to be extracted from the liquid recirculation circuit 70 and dispensed, for instance, into a glass. The beverage dispenser 90 might be or comprise a hand-held beverage dispenser such as a bar gun. The beverage dispenser 90 might be configured to receive concentrate/flavoured syrup via a conduit that is separate from the liquid recirculation circuit 70. If so, the beverage dispenser 90 is configured to combine the concentrate with the carbonated liquid (e.g., carbonated water) to form and dispense a flavoured carbonated drink, such as a soft drink.

Some of the carbonated liquid might remain in the liquid recirculation circuit 70 for a period of time without being dispensed if the apparatus 100 has remained unused.

During this time, the carbonated liquid may increase in temperature due to the ambient temperature around at least some of the liquid recirculation circuit 70 being greater than the temperature of the carbonated liquid in the liquid recirculation circuit 70.

If the carbonated liquid were extracted and dispensed from the liquid recirculation circuit 70 after its temperature had increased, the carbonated liquid would be unstable, resulting in heavy foaming occurring at the point of dispensing. The dispensed beverage would also be of a temperature that is higher than desired. Given both of these factors, a barperson would likely choose not to serve the dispensed beverage to a consumer and the beverage would instead be thrown away as waste. This results in waste not only of the carbonated liquid, but also of any concentrate that was combined with the carbonated liquid by the beverage dispenser 90 when dispensing.

In embodiments of the invention, advantageously, unused carbonated liquid is re-cooled prior to it being extracted and dispensed by the beverage dispenser 90. In order to achieve this, the liquid recirculation circuit 70 is arranged to circulate unused carbonated liquid back to the carbonator 50 prior to it being extracted and dispensed by the beverage dispenser 90. The unused carbonated liquid is conveyed back through the second chamber 52 of the carbonator 50 in which it is re-cooled prior to it being extracted and dispensed by the beverage dispenser 90.

Fig. 2A, 2B and 2C illustrate exploded, side and plan views of an example of the carbonator 50 respectively. The carbonator 50 comprises an inner housing 151 and an outer housing 152. Each of the housings 151, 152 is substantially cylindrical in shape in the illustrated example, but that need not be the case in other examples.

The inner housing 151 is positioned (at least partially) within the outer housing 152. The first (inner) chamber 51 of the carbonator 50 is within the inner housing 151 and the second (outer) chamber 52 is located between the inner housing 151 and the outer housing 152. At least one wall of the inner housing 151 divides the first chamber 51 from the second chamber 52. In the example illustrated in Figs 2A, 2B and 2C the wall is a single circumferential wall, but in other examples multiple walls might be provided.

As explained above, carbonation of refrigerated liquid is performed in the first (inner) chamber 51. The carbonator 50 may be configured to pressurise the refrigerated liquid to a carbonating pressure when carbonating the liquid, such as 100kPa (1 bar).

The second chamber 52 is used to re-cool previously carbonated liquid that is circulated back to the carbonator 50 by the liquid recirculation circuit 70.

The base of the inner housing 151 might be connected to the base of the outer housing 151 (e.g., by welding) in order to secure the housings 151, 152 together. The inner housing 151 comprises a projecting portion 156 which extends through an aperture 158 in the outer housing 152, further securing the housings 151, 152 together. A mount 155 for a liquid level sensor is connected to the projecting portion 156. The mount 155 may be a ferrule.

The carbonator 50 further comprises an end cap 153 and a ferrule 154. The end cap 153 is arranged to attach to an upper portion of the second housing 152. The ferrule 154 is arranged to be extend through the end cap 153, thereby providing the carbonator 50 with increased rigidity.

In some examples, a thermally insulating material may be located around at least part of the outer housing 152 in order to mitigate the transfer of heat from the atmosphere to the liquid in the second chamber 52 or the first chamber 51. The thermal conductivity of the thermally insulating material might be less than 1 W/mK. In some instances, it might be less than 0.5 W/mK such as less than 0.1 W/mK. In this regard, the thermally insulating material might, for example, be or comprise a thermally insulating wool or foam.

Fig. 3 illustrates a schematic of a second example of the carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus 100. The second example of the carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus 100 comprises all of the elements 20, 50, 70, 90 of the first example of the carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus 100, along with some additional elements. The carbonator 50 described above in relation to Figs 2A, 2B and 2C is present in the second example of the carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus 100.

In the example illustrated in Fig. 3, the liquid being carbonated is (still) water and the apparatus 100 comprises a water filter 10 that is configured to receive and filter still water. If the liquid being carbonated is not water, the filter 10 might not be present.

Filtered still water might be directly output to the beverage dispenser via a conduit 11. The liquid for carbonation (filtered still water) is provided to one or more refrigeration devices 20 via another conduit 12. In this example, there are multiple refrigeration devices 20 in the form of multiple refrigeration coils. Each refrigeration coil 20 contains a refrigerant that cools the liquid as the liquid passes by the coil.

The apparatus 100 illustrated in Fig. 3 comprises a valve 30 and a carbonator input pump 40. The valve 30 is fluidly connected to at least one of the refrigeration devices and is therefore arranged to receive refrigerated liquid from the refrigeration devices 20. The valve 30 is in a closed state by default, in which refrigerated liquid is prevented from reaching the carbonator input pump 40. In the event that the carbonator input pump 40 is activated, the valve 30 is activated, enabling liquid to flow to the carbonator input pump 40. In this regard, the valve 30 may be electrically connected to the carbonator input pump 40 to cause it to open upon activation of the carbonator input pump 40.

The carbonator 50 is fluidly connected to the carbonator input pump 40. It is arranged to receive refrigerated liquid from the carbonator input pump 40 via a first inlet 53. The carbonator 50 is also arranged to receive pressurised carbon dioxide from a container comprising pressurised carbon dioxide (not shown) via a second inlet 54.

A liquid level sensor 48 is positioned within the first chamber 51 of the carbonator 50.

In the illustrated example the liquid level sensor 48 is mounted to the mount 155, as discussed above. The liquid level sensor 48 is arranged to provide outputs which indicate whether the amount of carbonated, refrigerated liquid in the first chamber 51 of the carbonator 50 meet or exceeds a predetermined threshold.

The carbonator input pump 40 is controlled via inputs from the liquid level sensor 48. If the liquid level sensor 48 indicates that the amount of carbonated, refrigerated liquid in the first chamber 51 does not meet or exceed the threshold level, the carbonator input pump 40 is activated. Activation of the carbonator input pump 40 causes refrigerated liquid to be pumped into the first chamber 51 of the carbonator 50 via the first inlet 53.

The carbonator 50 comprises a first outlet 55 that fluidly connects the (first chamber 51 of the) carbonator 50 to a deaeration exhaust 80. The deaeration exhaust 80 is for deaerating liquid in the first chamber 51 by enabling unwanted gases, such as oxygen and nitrogen, to be released to atmosphere during carbonation.

The carbonator 50 comprises a second outlet 56 that fluidly connects the (first chamber 51 of the) carbonator 50 to an inlet 62 of an over pressure pump 60. The over pressure pump 60 comprises an outlet 62 that fluidly connects the over pressure pump 60 to the liquid recirculation circuit 70.

The over pressure pump 60 is arranged to increase the pressure of the refrigerated carbonated liquid above the carbonating pressure. This advantageously stabilises the saturation of the carbon dioxide in the carbonated liquid to enable further routing of the carbonated liquid within the apparatus 100. For example, the (upstream) pressure of carbonated liquid entering the over pressure pump 60 at the inlet might be in the region of 100kPa (1 bar), and the (downstream) pressure of carbonated liquid exiting the over pressure pump 60 is a predefined pressure which might be in the region of 200kPa (2 bar).

The over pressure pump 60 is configured to detect downstream pressure in the liquid recirculation circuit 70 via at its outlet 62. A reduction in downstream pressure in the liquid recirculation circuit 70 will occur, for example, when carbonated liquid is dispensed by the beverage dispenser 90.

The over pressure pump 60 is configured to be activated if the downstream pressure falls beneath the predefined pressure (e.g., 200kPa; 2 bar). The over pressure pump is configured to restore the downstream pressure to the predefined pressure.

In the example illustrated in Fig. 3, the liquid recirculation circuit 70 comprises at least one further refrigeration device 63 (that is separate from the other refrigeration devices 20 and the carbonator 50), which may be at least one further refrigeration coil. The process of carbonating the refrigerated liquid in the carbonator 50 increases the temperature of the liquid. The further refrigeration device 63 is configured to re-cool the liquid following carbonation. In some examples, the further refrigeration device 63 is configured to re-cool the carbonated liquid to the pre-carbonation temperature. For instance, if the refrigeration devices 20 are configured to cool the liquid to 4°C prior to carbonation, the further refrigeration device 63 may be configured to re-cool the carbonated liquid to 4°C following carbonation. This re-cooling of the carbonated liquid advantageously reduces or eliminates instability in the carbonated liquid that would otherwise manifest itself upon dispensing the carbonated liquid from the beverage dispenser 90.

The liquid circulation circuit 70 further comprises a re-circulation pump 63 for circulating liquid around the liquid recirculation circuit 70. In this example, the recirculation pump 63 is operational whenever the apparatus 100 is operational. That is, the re-circulation pump 63 is configured to constantly circulate the carbonated liquid around the liquid recirculation circuit 70.

The liquid recirculation circuit 70 receives carbonated liquid from the over pressure pump 60 and circulates the carbonated liquid back to the carbonator 50. The liquid recirculation circuit 70 comprises at least one conduit for this purpose. The recirculated carbonated liquid is conveyed through the second chamber 52 which re-cools the carbonated liquid. No further carbonation is performed when the recirculated carbonated liquid is conveyed through the second chamber 52 of the carbonator 50. In this example, after the recirculated carbonated liquid has been conveyed through the carbonator 50 and thereby re-cooled, it may be further re-cooled as it passes through the further refrigeration device 63.

While the apparatus 100 remains operational, if no carbonated liquid is requested by the beverage dispenser 90, the carbonated liquid will continue to circulate around the liquid recirculation circuit 70 under the pressure provided by the liquid recirculation pump 64, passing through the second chamber 52 of the carbonator 50 and the further refrigeration device 63. This advantageously maintains the carbonated liquid at a suitable temperature for dispensing (e.g., substantially the same temperature at which the liquid was carbonated in the first chamber of the carbonator 50), reducing or eliminating the instability (e.g., foaming) that would otherwise result if such cooling did not take place. This enables suitable carbonated liquid to be instantly dispensed from the beverage dispenser 90, saving time and reducing waste.

The further refrigeration device 63 is located in the apparatus 100 in the fluid path between first chamber 51 of the carbonator 50 and the beverage dispenser 90. This means that even if some carbonated liquid is extracted from the liquid recirculation circuit 70 without having being circulated back to the carbonator 50 for re-cooling, it will be re-cooled by the further refrigeration device 63, thereby increasing its stability.

If a user provides input at the beverage dispenser 90 in order to provide a drink to a consumer, the beverage dispenser 90 extracts refrigerated carbonated liquid from the liquid recirculation circuit 70 and dispenses it. The carbonated liquid might be combined with concentrate in order to dispense a flavoured, carbonated soft drink.

The extraction of the carbonated liquid from the liquid recirculation circuit 70 causes a reduction in pressure to occur in the liquid recirculation circuit 70. This is detected by the over pressure pump 60, which responds by supplying carbonated liquid from the first chamber 51 of the carbonator 50 and increasing the pressure in the liquid recirculation circuit 70. The supply of carbonated liquid from the first chamber 51 of the carbonator 50 may cause the amount of carbonated liquid to fall below the threshold level that is monitored by the liquid level sensor 48. If so, the liquid level sensor 48 indicates this to the carbonator input pump 40, activating the carbonator input pump and switching on the valve 30. This causes refrigerated liquid to flow into the carbonator input pump 40 and enables it to supply that refrigerated liquid under pressure to the first chamber 51 of the carbonator 50 for carbonation.

At least some aspects of the carbonated beverage dispensing system 100 may be co-located in a housing. The housing may be suitable for placement in a pub, bar or restaurant. For example, the housing might be a cabinet shaped for positioning underneath a tabletop bar. The housing might, for example, house one or more of the water filter 10, the refrigeration devices 20, the valve 30, the carbonator input pump 40, the carbonator 50, the over pressure pump 60, the further refrigeration device 63, the liquid recirculation pump 64, at least part of the liquid recirculation circuit 70 and the deaeration valve 80.

Fig. 4 illustrates a flow chart of a method 400 of using the carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus 100 described above.

At block 401 in Fig. 4, the liquid is refrigerated by the one or more refrigeration devices 20. At block 402 in Fig. 4, the refrigerated liquid is received at the first chamber 51 of the carbonator 50 from the refrigeration devices 20, via the valve 30 and the carbonator input pump 40 as described above. At block 403 in Fig. 4, the refrigerated liquid is carbonated in the first chamber 51 of the carbonator 50.

At block 404 in Fig. 4, the carbonated liquid is provided to the liquid recirculation circuit 70, via the over pressure pump 60 as described above.

At block 405 in Fig. 4, some of the carbonated liquid from the liquid recirculation circuit 70 is extracted and dispensed by the beverage dispenser 90.

At block 406 in Fig. 4, some of the carbonated liquid is circulated back to the carbonator 50, using the liquid recirculation circuit 70, such that at least some of the carbonated liquid is conveyed through a second chamber of the carbonator 50 in order to re-cool the carbonated liquid. The liquid recirculation pump 62 causes the carbonated liquid in the liquid recirculation circuit 70 to circulate back to the carbonator 50, as described above.

At block 407 in Fig. 4, some of the re-cooled carbonated liquid is extracted and dispensed from the liquid recirculation circuit 70 by the beverage dispenser 90.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in the preceding paragraphs with reference to various examples, it should be appreciated that modifications to the examples given can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed. For example, the further refrigeration device 63 might not be present.

Features described in the preceding description may be used in combinations other than the combinations explicitly described.

Although functions have been described with reference to certain features, those functions may be performable by other features whether described or not.

Although features have been described with reference to certain embodiments, those features may also be present in other embodiments whether described or not.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

I/we claim:

Claims

CLAIMS1. A carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus, comprising: one or more refrigeration devices arranged to receive liquid; a carbonator, arranged to receive refrigerated liquid from the one or more refrigeration devices, comprising a first chamber for carbonating the received refrigerated liquid and a second chamber for re-cooling previously carbonated liquid; a liquid recirculation circuit arranged to receive carbonated liquid from the first chamber of the carbonator and circulate the carbonated liquid back to the carbonator, such that at least some of the carbonated liquid is conveyed through the second chamber of the carbonator; and a beverage dispenser arranged to extract and dispense carbonated liquid from the liquid recirculation circuit.
2. The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first chamber is an inner chamber and the second chamber is an outer chamber.
3. The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the outer chamber is positioned at least partially around the inner chamber.
4. The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the carbonator comprises at least at least one wall dividing the first chamber from the second chamber, wherein the at least one wall is arranged to be cooled by refrigerated liquid received in the first chamber and thereby re-cool previously carbonated liquid in the second chamber.
5. The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one wall is an outer wall of the first chamber and an inner wall of the second chamber.
6. The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus of any of the preceding claims, further comprising: a re-circulation pump for circulating liquid around the liquid recirculation circuit.
7. The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus of any of the preceding claims, further comprising: at least one further refrigeration device, separate from the carbonator, arranged to cool carbonated liquid received from the first chamber of the carbonator.
8. The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least one further refrigeration device is arranged to cool carbonated liquid circulating in the liquid recirculation circuit.
9. The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the carbonator is configured to pressurise the liquid to a carbonating pressure when carbonating the liquid, and the carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus further comprises: an over pressure pump arranged to receive carbonated liquid from the first chamber of the carbonator, arranged to increase the pressure of the carbonated liquid above the carbonating pressure, and arranged to provide carbonated liquid to the liquid recirculation circuit.
10. The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus of any of the preceding claims, further comprising: a carbonator input pump arranged to receive refrigerated liquid from the one or more refrigeration devices and provide the received refrigerated liquid to the first chamber of the carbonator.
11. The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 10, further comprising: a valve arranged to control input of refrigerated liquid from the one or more refrigeration devices to the carbonator input pump.
12. The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus of claim 10 or 11, wherein the carbonator comprises a liquid level sensor, and activation of the carbonator input pump and/or the valve depends, at least in part, on at least one input from the liquid level sensor.
13. The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus of any of the preceding claims, further comprising: a deaeration exhaust for deaerating liquid in the first chamber of the carbonator.
14. The carbonated beverage dispensing apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the liquid received by the one or more refrigeration devices is still water.
15. A method, comprising: refrigerating liquid; receiving the refrigerated liquid at a first chamber of a carbonator; carbonating the refrigerated liquid in the first chamber of the carbonator; providing the carbonated liquid to a liquid recirculation circuit; extracting and dispensing some of the carbonated liquid from the liquid recirculation circuit; circulating some of the carbonated liquid back to the carbonator, using the liquid recirculation circuit, such that at least some of the carbonated liquid is conveyed through a second chamber of the carbonator in order to re-cool the carbonated liquid; and extracting and dispensing some of the re-cooled carbonated liquid from the liquid recirculation circuit.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first chamber is an inner chamber and 20 the second chamber is an outer chamber.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the outer chamber is positioned at least partially around the inner chamber.
18. The method of claim 15, 16 or 17, wherein the carbonator comprises at least at least one wall dividing the first chamber from the second chamber, wherein the at least one wall is arranged to be cooled by refrigerated liquid received in the first chamber and thereby re-cool previously carbonated liquid in the second chamber.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the at least one wall is an outer wall of the first chamber and an inner wall of the second chamber.
20. The method of any of claims 15 to 19, further comprising: cooling carbonated liquid, received from the first chamber of the carbonator, using at least one further refrigeration device that is separate from the carbonator.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the at least one further refrigeration device is arranged to cool carbonated liquid circulating in the liquid recirculation circuit.
22. The method of any of claims 15 to 21, wherein the carbonator pressurises the liquid to a carbonating pressure when carbonating the liquid, and the method further comprises: receiving carbonated liquid from the first chamber of the carbonator at an over pressure pump, and increasing the pressure of the carbonated liquid above the carbonating pressure using the over pressure pump, and provide carbonated liquid to the liquid recirculation circuit using the over pressure pump.
23. The method of any of claims 15 to 22, wherein the liquid received by the one or more refrigeration devices is still water.