Beverage flavoring and dispensing apparatus and method of construction

摘要

A beverage flavoring and dispensing apparatus 10 for use in a fluid having a capped upper body chamber 12 which interfaces with a dissolvable lower housing 18, the upper body chamber having fused thereto a central spine member 14 with a plurality of horizontally extending vanes 16. The spine member and the vanes extend from the top of the chamber 12 to the bottom of the lower housing 18 forming a plurality of compartments 20 between adjacent vanes 16 and the chamber 12 and housing 18 for carrying a plurality of selected flavoring ingredients 22 therein. The lower housing 18 is comprised of a dissolvable film such as methyl cellulose or gelatin which dissolves upon immersion in a fluid simultaneously dispensing each of the flavoring ingredients in the fluid. The spine member 14 and the associated vanes 16 are then utilized as a stirring stick for mixing the ingredients of the beverage. The apparatus 10 substantially increases the number of separated dissolvable flavoring ingredients carried in a single dispenser and improves the dispensing efficiency by simultaneously releasing each of the ingredients. Alternative embodiments 100, 200 are also disclosed which eliminate the spine member and vanes for forming a single compartment 120, 220 which dispenses a single premixed ingredient 122, 222 through a plurality of dissolvable film covered window openings 104, 204 when immersed in a fluid.