GB2362634A - Beverage dispensing machine and method using permeable sachets - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of dispensing a beverage comprises storing the beverage in a dry granulated or powdered form within a permeable sachet 10a, 10b, 10c, passing a liquid through the sachet 10b and allowing the beverage to diffuse into the liquid, then dispensing the liquid into a cup. A machine may be used to carry out the method. Such a machine may have clamping means (20, 22, fig.3) to hold the sachet 10b of dry beverage, comprising upper and lower jaws. The jaws (20, 22, fig.3) may be coated with a non-stick material, and the upper edge of a cup (28, fig.3) may pass through the lower jaw (22, fig.3) to sit adjacent the sachet 10b. Preferably, the sachets are formed as a continuous web and the machine has means, such as tractor means, to advance the web of sachet's by one sachet each time. The machine may have a plurality of sachets (16a, 16b, 16c, fig.6), each containing a different dry beverage, and a single moveable spout (24, fig.6) which may be positioned over the appropriate sachet to dispense the desired drink. The sachets 10a, 10b, 10c may comprise two sheets of differing permeability, and they are spaced far enough from each other along the web to stop liquid seepage between them.

Description

2362634 - 1 Beverage Dispenser The present invention relates to beverage

dispensing machines.

In some known beverage dispensing machines, the beverages are made by mixing hot water with a soluble powdered form of the beverage, such as freeze dried tea or coffee powder, in a disposable cup. This way of making beverages does not lend itself well to all products and in particular the taste of tea made by adding water to a mixture of a freeze dried powder and dried milk leaves a great deal to be desired.

In other known beverage dispensing machines, the beverage is brewed within the machine using conventional ingredients before it is dispensed but such machines require a great deal of maintenance and in particular must be thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis.

The present invention seeks therefore to provide a machine that can be used to dispense a wide variety of beverages that does not require frequent cleaning yet can produces beverages of acceptable quality.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of dispensing beverages comprising the steps of storing the beverage in dry granulated or powdered form within a permeable sachet, passing a liquid through the sachet to allow its contents to infuse or dissolve into the liquid, and dispensing the resulting beverage into a cup.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a machine for dispensing beverages comprising means for storing the beverage in dry granulated or powdered form within permeable sachets, means for passing a liquid through a sachet to allow its contents to infuse or 2 dissolve into the liquid, and means for disp ensing the resulting beverage into a cup.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is further provided a web for use in a beverage dispensing machine formed of individual permeable sachets linked to one another and each filled with a powder for forming a beverage when a liquid is passed through the sachet.

An advantage of the present invention is that the same machine can be used to dispense a wide variety of products. The invention enables the design of a machine in which the liquid which has come into contact with ingredients within the appropriate sachet passes straight into the cup in which the beverage is dispensed without contacting and soiling any surface of the machine. This not only reduces the need for regular cleaning but also avoids cross- contamination between the dispensed beverages.

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a plan view of a plurality of sachets linked together by tractor drive bands to form a continuous web, Figure 2 shows a cross section through a storage bin showing of a beverage dispensing machine showing the web of Figure 1 stored therein in a fan fold fashion, Figures 3, 4 and 5 show a schematic section through a station of a beverage dispensing machine at which a liquid is passed through a sachet before, during and after the production of a beverage, respectively, and Figure 6 shows a further schematic section through the same station as shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5 but taken in a perpendicular plane.

- 3 Conventionally, dispensing and vending machines have supplied ready made beverages by introducing a powder or granular form of the beverage in a dispensable cup and then pouring in water. The present invention deviates from this in that it uses sachets instead of a granulated powder, it being generally accepted when brewing tea and coffee manually that the use of tea and coffee bags is preferable to the use of freeze dried powders.

Figure 1 shows a string of regularly spaced permeable sachets 10, similar to conventional tea bags, joined by continuous bands 12 having regularly spaced holes 14 thereby forming a web 16. These holes 14 serve to allow the web 16 to be driven along in the same way as tractor drive printer paper.

It is desirable for the sachets 10 to be spaced from one another so that water cannot spread across the web 16 to an adjacent sachet when in use.

Figure 2 shows the storage of such a web 16 in a fan fold fashion, once again similar to computer printer paper. This design enables efficient use of space when storing the sachets 10 in a dispensing machine. The web 16 may alternatively be stored on a reel.

Figure 3 shows a station within the dispensing machine at which the beverage is prepared from a sachet 10b. At the commencement of a dispensing cycle, a fresh sachet will have been aligned between the upper and lower jaws 20 and 22 of a clamping mechanism 18. The jaws 20 and 22 are each preferably an elongate rectangular plate with a circular cut-out coinciding with the location of the sachet, such that when brought together, in the manner shown in Figure 4, the desired sachet 10b is locked between the jaws by its edges yet liquid is free to pass through the two cut-outs and the permeable faces of the sachet.

- 4 A spout 24 connected to a liquid supply is located above the upper jaw 20 and has an inverted funnel shaped mouth 26 that serves to prevent splashing To form a beverage, liquid from the spout 24 is directed through the cut-out of the upper jaw 20 onto the top surface of the sachet 10b. The liquid then permeates through the sachet 10b and out through the cut-out in the lower jaw 22 to flow into a dispensing cup 28 as shown in Figure 4. While the liquid is passing through the sachet, the granular material in the sachet dissolves or infuses into it to form the desired beverage.

It is preferable for the mouth 26 and cup 28 to pass through the upper and lower jaws 20 and 22 respectively to make direct contact with the sachet 10b. The edges of the jaws are thereby shielded by the cup 28 and the funnel mouth 26 to avoid soiling of the interior of the machine. In this respect is also advantageous for the jaws of the clamping mechanism 18 to be coated with a non-stick material so any splashes that do occur do not result in the build-up of a residue When the preparation of the beverage is complete, the jaws 20 and 22 separate and the used sachet 10b is driven on by the indexing mechanism 30, simultaneously bringing a fresh sachet 10c into position for the production of the next beverage when required. The used sachet 10b will eventually be driven in the same manner as the illustrated sachet 10a. into a waste container 32, which is preferably maintained sterilise, for example by being filled with ozone.

As will be clear from Figure 6, the illustrated embodiment allows the use of several different webs 16a, 16b and 16c each containing sachets 10 for producing different beverages such as chocolate, tea or coffee. While it would be possible to use one set of jaws that move between webs, it is preferred to provide jaws 20 and 22 that are sufficiently long to straddle all of the different webs 16a, 16b and 16c to avoid the need to move the jaws laterally. The indexing mechanism 30 selectively chooses which of the webs 16a, 16b and 16c to advance depending on which sachet or beverage type is required.

It is possible to provide multiple selectively energised spouts 24 but it is less costly to provide a single spout 24 movable along the length of the upper jaw 20 so that the same spout can be used for all the beverages. Similarly, it is preferable to provide a single supply of cups 28 and to move a cup from the supply by means of a conveyor to the desired dispensing station.

It is desirable for the upper and lower permeable faces of the sachets 10 to be made of materials having a different porosity. If the upper face of the sachet 10 were to allow liquid through more readily than the lower face then any liquid flowing through would build up inside the sachet 10 until it filters through the lower face. This would increase the exposure time of the granular beverage to the liquid allowing more time for dissolution or infusion. This reduces the quantity of solute required for a given strength of the beverage.

To further improve taste, increasing the temperature of the liquid nearer to its boiling point will also increase the speed of infusion or dissolution. To this end, it is preferred to store the liquid at a temperature that is lower than the temperature of the dispensed beverage (for example 500C to 60OC) and to incorporate a heating element in the line leading from the liquid reservoir to the spout 24 to raise to a temperature nearer its boiling point (approximately 90OC).

6 - A drawback of this is that the cup 28 must be tolerant of the higher temperatures and a user of the dispensing machine may be scalded. It is, therefore preferable to partially fill the disposable cup 28 with a cold liquid such as milk or water, prior to the introduction of the hot liquid. This will reduce the beverage temperature in the cup 28 whilst still allowing the granular material in the sachets to brew at high temperature.

7 -

Claims (14)

Claims

1. A method of dispensing beverages comprising the steps of storing the beverage in dry granulated or powdered form within a permeable sachet, passing a liquid through the sachet to allow its contents to infuse or dissolve into the liquid, and dispensing the resulting beverage into a cup.

2. A machine for dispensing beverages comprising means for storing the beverage in dry granulated or powdered form within permeable sachets, means for passing a liquid through a sachet to allow its contents to infuse or dissolve into the liquid, and means for dispensing the resulting beverage into a cup.

3. A dispensing machine as claimed in claim 2, comprising clamping means having upper and lower jaws between which a sachet is sandwiched during use.

4. A dispensing machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the jaws of the clamping mechanism are coated with non-stick material.

5. A dispensing machine as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein in use the cup passes though the lower jaw of the clamping means so that the upper lip of the cup approaches the sachet.

6. A dispensing machine as claimed in any of claims 2 to 5, for use with a product packaged in individual sachets that are connected to one another in a continuous web, the machine comprising means for gripping and advancing the band by fixed increments corresponding to the lateral dimension of a sachet.

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7. A dispensing machine as claimed in any of claims 2 to 6, having a plurality of webs and means for advancing each web.

8. A dispensing machine as claimed in claim 7, wherein a movable single spout is provided for passing liquid through individual sachets of any one of the webs located separately within the machine.

9. A web for use in a beverage dispensing machine formed of individual permeable sachets linked to one another and each filled with a powder or granular material for forming a beverage when a liquid is passed through the sachet.

10. A web as claimed in claim 9, wherein the sachets 10 are attached to a tractor drive band.

11. A web as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein the individual sachets 10 are spaced from each other along the length of the web to prevent liquid seepage between them.

12. A web as claimed in claim 10 or 11, wherein the opposites sides of the sachets are formed of materials having different porosity.

13. A dispensing machine constructed substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

14. A web substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.