GB2619751A - Machine that produces drinks with distinctive layers - Google Patents

Abstract

A machine dispensing liquid from one or more reservoirs in one or more glasses via one or more dispensing units 1 at the same time while being able to produce drinks with distinctive layers for different liquids. The machine also contains a component 3, which can dissipate the kinetic energy of the liquid, decreasing any mixing with the existing liquid 5, which creates a layered drink. The latter design reduces the kinetic energy by delivering the flow from a tube 7 placed at the bottom of the glass 4. It may also use sensors to detect the interfaces or the presence of a glass. It also has a cleaning reservoir that can clean the other lines and has a check valve so that the cleaning fluid cannot enter the reservoirs.

Description

Patent Application: Machine that produces drinks with distinctive layers

Description:

This invention relates to a machine that can dispense liquids in a container to create stratified layers.

Dispensing liquid in a container holding another liquid by conventional methods causes the mixing of the newly poured liquid with the existing liquid. It is usually difficult to create distinct layers between two different liquids.

The use of a layering tool/spoon, or slowly pouring a liquid on the walls of the glass (4) minimise the mixing of the existing and newly poured liquid. However, these methods are lengthy and often with poor performance. To overcome these problems, the present invention proposes a liquid dispensing unit equipped with a sensor (8) and a dispensing liquid kinetic energy dissipation component (3), or a tube (13).

This device achieves stratified layer by two methods namely (a) continuous detection of the liquid/gas interface, Figure 1, and (b) reverse order dispensing by use of a tube, (13) located at the base of the glass, Figure 2.

In method (a), the sensor (8) continuously detects the liquid-gas interface, via a duct (7), and by moving the device (1) at the same speed as the liquid level, the newly poured liquid does not mix with the existing liquid. The sensing is preferably performed with a pressure sensor, although it may also be provided by other means, such as ultrasound, electrical conductivity, vision system or other means. The sensor (8) can be situated inside the device (1) or in the main machine and be connected with a tube. A component (3) is mounted between the air-liquid interface (1) and the ejection point (2) of the newly dispensed liquid to minimize the kinetic energy of this liquid. The ejection point is targeted to the centre of the component (3). The dispensing unit is mounted on rails (10) that allows the ejection point and sensor to move perpendicularly to the liquid-gas interface.

In method (b), a tube assembly (13) is inserted at the base of the glass and liquid is dispensed in a sequence from the highest layer to the lowest layer. In this method, the glass base is used as the kinetic energy dissipation mechanism. The fluid is dispensed in the opposite direction of the liquid/liquid interface direction of motion, and this further serves to reduce mixing.

The dispensing unit (1) can be moved via different systems, such as a belt, a gear, or a screw thread traverse system. The speed and acceleration of the traverse system can be adjusted, so that the liquid delivery can be optimised to minimise mixing and vary the speed of delivery.

A motor (11) with positional feedback, either stepper or motor with rotary encoder can be used to drive the traverse system, and the angular position of the motor can be used to determine the height of the glass.

The liquid from the reservoir can be delivered to the dispensing device by two methods: (i) a pump, Figure 4, or (ii) by pressurising the reservoir using an air compressor, Figure 5.

The method with the pump is represented in Figure 4, where each reservoir for the liquid has a pump connecting it to the nth duct (2) (n is the number of reservoirs). The method with the compressed air is shown in Figure 5. This method uses a n-way connector (n is the number of reservoirs), which compresses the air in the reservoirs, that gets delivered to the nth duct (2) once the nth valve is activated.

Patent Application: Machine that produces drinks with distinctive layers In method (i), a pump can be used to deliver the liquid, for example a peristaltic pump. This type of pump provides a repeatable volume of liquid per pump revolution. Therefore, the liquids can be delivered to a glass (4) at fixed volume or at fixed height. Furthermore, it is possible to determine the volumetric profile of the glass, as well as the height of the glass.

In method (ii), air is used to pressurise each reservoir and the required liquid is dispensed by opening the valve relevant to the reservoir. This embodiment contains a single shared compressed line to each reservoir, and a pressure relief valve on this line. This method eliminates the requirement of a liquid pump on each liquid line. The rate of fluid flow is controlled by the pressure in the reservoir. This control is achieved by either controlling the power of the air compressor or the control of the restriction in the compressed air line using a proportional valve control.

Furthermore, by measuring or controlling the line pressure, the machine can be used to estimate the viscosity of a liquid.

The dispensing machine implements one or both of the following safety features to address the absence of a glass (4): A glass detector, strain gauge or optical or ultrasound or other sensor that is placed in the glass holder (12) that prevents the act of dispensing if a glass is not present.

a timeout is set if the sensor does not detect liquid for more than a set period of time, hence the dispensing unit does not move, an absence of a glass is assumed, and the dispensing is aborted.

The dispensing machine could contain a cleaning circuit to sterilise the tubes after use. The fluid circuit for each liquid contains a check valve, which prevents the cross-contamination between different liquids during the cleaning process.

The invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a dispensing device in a glass (4) with pre-filled fluid, with a device to minimize the kinetic energy (3) and a pressure sensor (8) to detect the liquid-gas interface.

Figure 2 shows a dispensing device in a glass (4) with pre-filled fluid, with a tube at the bottom of the glass to minimize the kinetic energy (3).

Figure 3 shows a dispensing unit mounted on a linear rail system (10).

In Figure 1, a dispensing unit (1) includes a liquid pipe (2) or more, preferably 8 which delivers the liquid. The liquid impacts on a component (3) which is used to reduce the kinetic energy of the dispensed fluid. The latter is poured in a glass (4) which may contain already other liquid (5). As the liquid is delivered, the pressure in the chamber (6) increases. The chamber is connected via a duct (7) to a pressure sensor (8).

The component (3) has dual objectives. It creates a seal between the existing liquid and the air contained in the chamber (6) and it reduces the kinetic energy of the newly poured liquid. The air seal also serves as a means to prevent liquid contamination of the pressure/sensor tube.

The liquid level of the reservoir can be measured using a conductivity and/or an ultrasound sensor and/or vision, and/or capacitance and/or mass methods.

Patent Application: Machine that produces drinks with distinctive layers As the device can measure/estimate the volume of liquid dispensed, the device can estimate the volume of liquid remaining in the bottles by subtraction. The user inputs the initial volume of liquid in the reservoir and the device will subtract the volume dispensed. The device continuously monitors the liquid levels in all the reservoirs and will alert the user by method of an alarm.

In Figure 2, a dispensing unit (1) includes a liquid pipe (13) or more which delivers the liquid to the bottom of the glass (4). The liquid impacts on the glass which reduces the kinetic energy of the dispensed fluid. The latter is poured in a glass (4) which may contain already other liquid (5).

Figure 3 shows the dispensing unit (1) mounted on rails (10) to allow the continuous movement as the liquid is poured and the level in the glass (4) increases.

The dispensing unit is mounted on a belt drive traverse with an adjustable belt tensioning system, which a stepper motor (11), to prevent backlash and increase position accuracy. A positional encoder can be used to further increase positional accuracy.

The collision detection between the glass (4) and the unit (1) is performed via monitoring the torque of the motor, either by electrical or torque sensor methods. A sudden increase in motor torque during a traverse can indicate a collision.

The location for the traverse endstops can be achieved either by collision detection or an endstop switch.

The glass volumetric profile, i.e. volume delivered at different height of the glass, is performed via a weighing scale and measuring the height of the liquid level.

The device can be used to calibrate the volumetric profile of the glass. This is performed by measuring the volumetric flow delivered as the dispensing unit (1) moves upwards. This provides the relationship between height and volume delivered.

If the volumetric profile of the glass is known, the device can be used to calibrate its internal flowrate measurement by adjusting the speed of the pumps and measuring the volume dispensed by means of using the liquid level height and the volumetric profile of the glass.

The machine has one main dispensing unit (1), but it can be built with various dispensing units (1) that could simultaneously or independently dispense liquid into one or more glasses (4).

Claims (8)

1. Patent Application: Machine that produces drinks with distinctive layers Claims: 1 Machine dispensing liquid from one or more reservoirs in one or more glasses via one or more dispensing units (1) at the same time while being able to produce drinks with distinctive layers for different liquids 1.1. The above machine can dispense above the gas-liquid layer or between liquid-liquid layer 1.1.1. For the gas-liquid layer, the component (3) can dissipate the kinetic energy of the liquid coming from (2) and this decreases any mixing with the existing liquid (5).1.1.2. The cavity (6) created between the liquid (5) and the component (3) is connected via one or more tubes (7) to one or more sensors.1.1.3. The sensors continuously detect the liquid-gas interface by means of pressure, or other means such as ultrasound, electrical conductivity, vision system.1.1.4. The device (1) moves at the same speed as the liquid level increase.1.1.5. For the liquid-liquid layer, the above machine (1.1) dispenses from one or more tubes located at the bottom of the glass/es, as a mean to dissipate the kinetic energy, and prevent mixing between different liquids.1.
2. 2. The above (1.1) machine can also control the speed at which it dispenses, can use peristaltic pump and or compressed reservoirs with a pressure release valve.1.
3. 3. The above machine can control the speed at which it travels, using belt or gears or screw thread.1.
4. 4. The above machine can detect the presence of a glass either by a sensor, e.g. weight, strain gauge, ultrasound and or by sensorless motor torque control during collision or by means of a timeout after dispensing and no liquid is detected.1.
5. 5. The above machine can detect the presence and height of the liquid using a sensor, e.g. pressure sensor, conductance, ultrasound, vision system.1.
6. 6. The above machine can assess the height of the liquid dispensed by estimating the volumetric flow rate of the pumps and or by motor steps/ glass height and characterise the shape of the glass.1.
7. 7. The above machine can utilise a cleaning reservoir that can clean all other lines and with the aid of a check valve the cleaning fluid cannot enter the main reservoir.1.
8. 8. The above machine can measure the liquid level for all reservoirs (float, ultrasound, visual, capacitance, inductance) or calculated from the volumetric flow rate of the pumps.