Today in 1989, US Patent EP 0244031 B1 was issued, an invention of Johannes Antoinetta Michael Ummels, for his “Device For The Storage And Cooling Of Beer Intended For Supply To A Tap.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
The invention relates to a device for the storage and cooling of beer and the supply thereof to a tap via a water cooled beer pipe (python), which device further comprises at least one storage container and a cooling element arranged parallel thereto, consisting of a jacket with a cooling water inlet and an outlet, which jacket accommodates a beer pipe in the shape of a brake coil and a heat exchanger containing a pipe for passing a cooling medium e.g. freon. The invention also relates to a tap installation provided with such a device.
