Pepsi Patents

image source:  Interbrand

For Pepsi, big money (and margins) comes from the right syrup/carbonated water mix and consistently high volumes of soda dispensed at bars and restaurants.  Reflecting this is their new patent from 12/20/2011, titled "Beverage dispensing system with a head capable of dispensing plural different beverages"--

A dispensing head is removably attached to a beverage dispensing system base without additional fasteners, wherein beverage forming liquids are supplied through a plurality of separate conduits in the base. Each base conduit has a normally closed valve that normally blocks fluid flow. The dispensing head has at least one passageway that receives liquid from an associated one of the base conduits. A projection associated with each dispensing head passageway opens the associated conduit valve to allow fluid flow from the base to the head. Dispensing valves in the dispensing head are independently accountable to regulate the dispensing of the beverage. In one version of the invention, four liquids are supplied to the dispensing head through the conduits, namely two liquid concentrates; carbonated water; and noncarbonated water. By selective opening of the dispensing valves, a plurality of beverages are formed from combinations of one or more of the liquids.

The Purchase, NY-based company has a total of 489 U.S. patents and patent applications, see them from most recent here.

Their first patent was in 1968, for (what else) a bottle.

Oddly, in 1974 Pepsi won a patent for... a tennis racket:

This invention is concerned with a tennis racket frame which comprises a pair of channel-shaped members in interengaging relationship, the channel-shaped members forming the faces of the head portion of the racket frame, and the sidewalls of each of the members having apertures therein in alignment to provide string holes therein. The racket frame is preferably composed of a synthetic resinous material which may be integrally reinforced with high modulus reinforcing fibers, or reinforced by attached facings of high strength, high modulus materials.

Pepsi was founded in 1965, so they're averaging about 10 patents per year.