ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 5 -- United States Patent no. 12,698,198, issued on Aug. 4, was assigned to Diageo Ireland UnLtd. Co. (Dublin).
"Beverage dispense apparatus" was invented by Christopher Murphy (Dublin), Gerald Gillen (Dublin), James Ryan (Dublin), Haris Velagic (Dublin), Paul Smith (Essex, Great Britain), Stephen Hendron (London), Steve Gilsenan (Dublin) and Alan Johnston (Dublin).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A beverage dispense apparatus and associated method, comprises a frame (11) for removably locating and holding a sealed beverage unit package (C) in a vertical orientation. A first piercing element (14) punctures a vent opening into a headspace of the beverage package (C) and, sub...