Beverage dispense apparatus

1 . A beverage dispense apparatus, comprising:

a receiving structure for removably locating and holding a sealed beverage package over a delivery vessel;

a dispense nozzle for dispensing beverage therethrough;

a first piercing element configured for puncturing a vent opening into a headspace of the beverage package; and

a second piercing element configured for puncturing an outlet opening into the beverage package below a level of beverage contained therein;

wherein the outlet opening is aligned with a dispense end of the dispense nozzle for enabling a direct flow path of beverage, for minimising turbulence therethrough toward the delivery vessel;

a controller configured for initiating a dispense sequence wherein the first piercing element is configured to puncture the vent opening prior to puncturing of the outlet opening by the second piercing element; and

wherein the first piercing element is configured to selectively control a duration and/or speed of dispense out of the sealed beverage package.

2 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 1 , including an ultrasound generation element for transmitting ultrasound to the beverage.

3 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first piercing element comprises a hollow channel that is in communication with a closeable valve, the closeable valve enabling control of dispense speed out of the sealed beverage package.

4 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the closeable valve is actuated via a biasing element with a resilient force greater than a force required to puncture both the vent opening and outlet opening.

5 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first piercing element is configured to control dispense speed out of the sealed beverage package by advancing and/or withdrawing relative to the vent opening.

6 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second piercing element comprises a hollow channel, in communication with the beverage through the outlet opening.

7 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 1 , including a first seal element configured for location over and about the vent opening.

8 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the first seal element is annular, surrounding the first piercing element.

9 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 1 , including a second seal element configured for location over and about the outlet opening.

10 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the second seal element is annular, surrounding the second piercing element.

11 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is electronic for initiating the dispense sequence that forms the vent opening by the first piercing element prior to forming the outlet opening by the second piercing element.

12 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the controller controls the duration and/or speed of dispense by controlling a motor to actuate the first piercing element and/or by operating a valve to close or restrict airflow through the vent opening.

13 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 1 , comprising a cradle for supporting the delivery vessel underneath the sealed beverage package, wherein the cradle is pivotally mounted and includes a bias element to bias the cradle, with a delivery vessel in place, in a tilted position, being configured to move toward an upright position when beverage fills the delivery vessel.

14 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first piercing element is moveable toward the sealed beverage package to form the vent opening and translates compressive force through the sealed beverage package to the second piercing element to form the outlet opening.

15 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 1 , comprising at least one telescopic strut or leg spanning a gap between the first and second piercing elements, configured for collapsing for storage and/or to adjust to the size of the beverage package.

16 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the sealed beverage package defines a longitudinal axis and at least the second piercing element moves substantially along the longitudinal axis to puncture the outlet opening and in line with the dispense nozzle for dispensing beverage vertically therefrom.

17 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises a manually operated lever configured to initiate the dispense sequence.

18 . The beverage dispense apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a manually operated valve in communication with the first piercing element for controlling dispense speed and/or duration.

19 . A method of dispensing beverage from a beverage package, including the sequential steps of:

locating and holding a sealed beverage package in a receiving device over and proximate a dispense nozzle;

initiating a dispense sequence by:

puncturing a vent into a headspace of the beverage package by a first piercing element;

puncturing an outlet into the beverage package below a level of beverage contained within the package by a second piercing element; wherein

the outlet is aligned with a dispense end of the dispense nozzle to enable beverage to pour in a direct flow path under gravity through the dispense nozzle for minimizing turbulence, into a drinking vessel;

selectively controlling the first piercing element to control at least one of a duration or speed of dispense out of the sealed beverage package into the drinking vessel.

20 . The method of dispensing beverage of claim 19 , including the step of applying ultrasonic excitation to the beverage.

21 . The method of dispensing beverage of claim 20 , wherein the ultrasonic excitation is applied at the nozzle.

22 . The method of dispensing beverage from a beverage package according to claim 19 , wherein a dispense flow rate is controlled by adjusting the effective vent size between zero and a maximum.