WO1997027793A1

WO1997027793A1 - Unit for preparing mixed beverages for machines for preparing coffee or other infused beverages

Info

Publication number: WO1997027793A1
Application number: PCT/EP1997/000383
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nello Dal Tio
Original assignee: C M A SpA
Current assignee: C M A SpA
Priority date: 1996-01-31
Filing date: 1997-01-29
Publication date: 1997-08-07
Anticipated expiration: 1998-07-31

Abstract

Unit for preparing mixed beverages for machines for preparing coffee or other infused beverages, housing one vessel (11) containing milk to be mixed with coffee or other infused beverages. Unit including one pump (13) communicating with the milk containing vessel (11) and emulsifying means (18), as well as with possible cleaning means (water reservoir 34) through a double delivery valve (16). Said pump (13) can draw milk from the vessel (11), by delivering it to the emulsifying means (18) where it is emulsified with air and heated, and subsequently mixed with coffee or another infused beverage, or at the end of the emulsifying cycle it can draw water from the reservoir (34) and convey it through the emulsifying means (18) in order to clean them from the remaining milk particles. Unit allowing the production of infused beverages of higher quality and best hygiene.

Description

UNIT FOR PREPARING MIXED BEVERAGES FOR MACHINES FOR PREPARING COFFEE OR OTHER INFUSED BEVERAGES

The invention relates to a unit for preparing beverages mixed with milk, suitable for machines for preparing coffee or other infused beverages.

There are known machines for preparing coffee or other infused beverages, adapted to mix coffee with milk in vessels housed in the machines in order to obtain beverages as white coffee or the like.

Some of these machines for this purpose are provided with at least one unit for mixing coffee with milk, including a suction chamber communicating with a milk containing vessel, with a hot steam generator and with the air outside through respective conduits provided with conventional flow regulating members.

In the machines referred to the steam passing through the mixing unit causes first of all the suction of the milk due to suction pressure and the emulsifying with air thereof as well as the contemporaneous heating of this emulsion by hot steam and subsequently the pouring of this emulsified milk into a vessel situated below, containing coffee prepared in advance in the same machines, so as to obtain white coffee. The present invention aims at improving the qualitative characteristics of white coffee or other infused beverages in the machines for preparing coffee or other infused beverages by emulsifying the milk according to different criteria and.without direct contact of the milk itself with steam, which implies that infused beverages obtained in this way are hygienically better. These goals are reached, according to the invention, thanks to a unit for preparing beverages mixed with milk arranged on machines for preparing coffee or other infused beverages and made with the constructive characteristics substantially described with particular reference to the attached patent claims. The invention will be better understood thanks to the following description by way of a not-limiting example only and by referring to the attached drawings , whereby:

Fig. 1 schematically shows the various components of the unit according to the invention in a first embodiment thereof;

Fig. 2 shows a constructive variant of the components of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a plan view of a component of Fig. 1, cutaway along the line A-A; - Fig. 4 schematically shows the various components of Fig. 1, incorporating a further component;

Fig. 5 schematically shows the various components of the unit according to the invention in a second embodiment thereof; - Fig. 6 shows a constructive variant of the components of Fig. 6;

Fig. 7 schematically shows the various components of Fig. 5 incorporating a further component. In the figures referred to, it is schematically represented a unit for preparing mixed beverages marked with the reference number 10, arranged on machines for preparing coffee or other infused beverages (camomile-tea, tea, etc..) in order to prepare infused beverages mixed with milk as for instance white coffee or the like.

In particular this unit, which is shown in Fig.s 1-4 in a first embodiment thereof, substantially includes a milk containing vessel 11, housed in a corresponding inner room of said machines (not shown) preferably provided in a refrigerating apparatus 12 incorporated in the machines themselves and meant for keeping milk at such a cooling temperature as to guarantee a proper conservation during the whole period of its consumption.

The present unit also includes a pumping device 13, preferrably composed of at least a per se known vibration pump, whose suction side 14 is communicating with the milk containing vessel 11 through a conduit 15 inserted into said vessel and meant for drawing milk and letting it pass, and at least a valve member 16 preferably in the form of a solenoid valve or the like, operable at the opened or closed position thereof in order to allow or prevent the drawing of the milk and whose delivery side 17 is communicating with an emulsifier unit 18, in which the milk drawn from the vessel 11 is emulsified with the air outside, through a further conduit 19. Said emulsifier unit 18 is substantially composed of a box-like housing 20 preferably of cylindrical form, provided with one inner wall 21 co-axially parallel to it along the whole extent thereof, which divides it into one inner room 22, in which milk is emulsified, and a hollow space 23 housing at least one heating element 24 for the emulsified milk, advantageously made in the form of an electric resistance, which is connected with the electric circuit of the machine and switched on and off again and again by a timer (not shown) for controlling the operating cycles of said machine.

The emulsifier unit 18 is also composed of at least one air-passage conduit 25 affected by valve means (not shown) regulating the port thereof and communicating with the air outside in order to let it into the inner room 22, said conduit being arranged in the present example in the upper side of the emulsifier unit and being made in such a way as to be arranged on the latter in different positions. In its turn the milk-passage conduit 19 is connected with the inner room 22 of the emulsifier unit 18 by passing through the peripheral hollow space 23 thereof and by partially entering said inner room, near the air-passage conduit 25, in order to allow the effective emulsifying of the milk drawn into the inner room with the air entering through the conduit 25. The conduit 19 advantageously enters tangentially the inner room, so that the milk can be spread by quasi helicoidal motion against the corresponding surface of the inner wall 21 (see Fig. 3) .thereby making the emulsifying of the milk with the air better and more homogeneous. The present emulsifier unit 18 is also composed of at least one outlet conduit 26, arranged at the bottom 27 of said unit and passing therethrough and made with a portion 28 having limited height housed in the inner room 22 and provided with a lateral opening 29 for the passage of the emulsified milk collected on the bottom of said inner room, as well as with an external portion 30 extending from said bottom downwards, ending near the glass or vessel 31 situated below and containing the respectively obtained beverages.

Finally, the unit 18 is further composed of at least one thermostat 32 or a similar temperature regulating means connected with the heating element 24 and provided with a sensing element 33 entering the inner room 22 for controlling the milk heating temperature, said thermostat being adjustable in advance in order to repeatedly switch on and off of the heating element, so that milk is heated at the respective desired temperatures. Of course, according to the invention, it is also possible to heat milk by using heating systems differing from the one just described by means of an example only, for instance by installing a gas heating system, a hot steam circulation heating system or the like being in heat-conducting contact with the inner wall 22 of the emulsifier unit 18 but not being in direct contact with the milk, thus without departing from the protection sphere of the present invention.

In its turn, the pumping device 13 can also be made communicate, in case, with a separate water reservoir 34 through the same valve member 16, which in this case is made as a double- delivery valve with selective opening towards the milk vessel 11 or towards the reservoir 34, in the latter case in order to allow the pouring of water for cleaning the milk particles out of the inner room 22 at the end of each milk - supply cycle.

This makes clear how the unit, according to the invention, operates which in this case allows the performing of cycles for preparing milk mixed with other infused beverages (coffee, tea, camomile-tea etc..) prepared in advance and poured into the corresponding glass or vessel 31, as well as cycles for preparing milk only.

In the first case, then, during each cycle the timer of the machine controls at first the valve member 16 in such a way as to make the pump 13 communicate with the milk vessel 11 only, thereby interrupting the communication with the reservoir 34, which implies that said pump draws the milk from the vessel 11 in the doses each time desired by the user and fixed by regulating in advance the duration of the pump insertion, and pours it into the inner room 22 where it is emulsified with air, thereby producing milk foam, said emulsifying being able to be optimized by properly regulating, through the valve means connected with the conduit 25, the quantity of the air introduced into the inner room, while said milk foam subsequently flows through the outlet conduit 26 and is mixed with coffee or other infused beverages contained in the glass or vessel 31. Then, at the end of said cycle, the timer of the machine controls the valve member 16 in order to make the pump 13 communicate with the reservoir 34 only, thereby interrupting the communication with the milk vessel 11, which implies that said pump draws water from the reservoir and pours it into the inner room 22, thereby cleaning it from the remaining milk particles and discharging it outside through the conduit 26. In the second case, each cycle is performed in the way just described except for the fact that the emulsified milk is poured into the glass or vessel 31 below, without being mixed with the respective infused beverage, since this one is not supplied.

In this way and thanks to the fact that the milk is not put into direct contact with the respectively used heating systems, it is possible to considerably improve the quality characteristics of white coffee or other mixed infused beverages, or those of milk only, the beverages obtained in this way being therefore more hygienic than those obtained by means of the above described systems in use.

By looking now at Fig.2, which shows a possible constructive variant of said unit, it can be observed that the outlet conduit 26 of the unit differs from the above described one, and for this purpose it is connected with one distribution unit 35 situated below it, in which there are arranged various supply conduits 36 , in this case two of them, communicating with the outlet conduit 26 and directed downwards from this unit so as to contemporaneously pour the infused beverage into the corresponding glasses or vessels 31 situated below them. Finally, referring to Fig. 4 showing said unit, which is substantially identical, from a structural and operational point of view, to the one represented in Fig. 1, it can be noticed that in this case said unit is also provided with a distribution device 37 situated in the external portion 30 of the outlet conduit 26 and used for strewing the infused beverage already poured into the underlying glass or vessel 31 with cocoa, chocolate or similar sweeting powders, this device being for this purpose advantageously composed of a drilled structure 38 and an overlying lamellar sprung-structure 39, onto which the desired sweeting powder 40 is strewn in advance and then distributed every time in the underlying glass or vessel 31 , by turning the lamellar structure 39 against the action of its spring (not shown) in order to temporarily free the holes 41 of the drilled structure 38 and let the sweeting powder pass therethrough and then by letting resiliently such structure return back to the original rest position thereof, in which it closes the holes 41 and prevents the passage of the powder therethrough. Look now at Figs. 5-7, _.which show said unit for preparing mixed beverages in a second embodiment thereof and is marked with the same reference numbers in the parts that are identical to those of the previously described unit. In this case, however, the milk drawing conduit 15 is provided with at least one air intake 42 with a proper port - regulating device (not shown) , suitable for letting air in variable amount into the conduit - milk vessel-assembly in order to allow an efficacious drawing of the milk from the vessel itself.

In its turn the emulsifier unit 18 is hermetically closed outside and delimits one inner room 22 housing a conduit 43 preferrably shaped in the form of a coil which goes through the inner room in vertical direction practically along almost its whole extent, said conduit being connected by its upper end 44, inserted into and passing through the wall 45 of the box-like housing 20, with the delivery side 17 of the pump 13, said conduit being inserted into and passing with its lower part across the bottom 27 of the box-like housing 20, from which it extends downwards with a short portion 46 ending in an opened lower edge 47, below which the glass or vessel 31 collecting the beverages is arranged. In the portion of the conduit 46 there is also provided an air intake 25, through which the air outside is sucked in, entering said conduit.

It seems therefore evident that the action of the pump 13 causes the suction of the milk from the vessel 11 and the subsequent passage, thereof through the whole conduit 43, as well as the suction of the air outside through both air intakes 42 and 25, with the consequence that such air is emulsified with the milk thereby obtaining emulsified milk, which passes through the lower side 47 of said conduit and is then poured into the underlying glass or vessel 31, containing the infused beverage prepared in advance and poured thereinto. In this way, thanks to the fact that the milk is made circulate with helicoidal motion through the conduit 43, which implies that the air sucked in is mixed uniformly with milk, it is possible to make the emulsifying of milk better and more homogeneous.

The present emulsifier unit is also provided with a water - supply system, suitable for pouring water into the inner room 22 for the purposes hereinafter described, which, in the embodiment here represented, is substantially composed of at least one valve member 48 such as a solenoid valve or the like, which is connected with the electric circuit of the machine and controlled by the timer thereof which is situated outside the emulsifier unit 18 and is communicating both with the inner room 22 of said unit, through a conduit 49 entering it as far as close to the bottom 27 thereof, and, through another conduit 50, with the solenoid valve 16, which in this case is made in the form of double - delivery valve suitable for selectively making the milk vessel 11 communicate with the coil conduit 43, thereby interrupting the communication with the inner room 22, when it is moved to the opened position thereof, and the inner room 22 with the coil conduit 43, thereby interrupting the communication between the latter and the milk vessel 11, when it is moved to the closed position thereof.

Said inner room also houses one or more heating elements 51 for the water that is introduced into said room, according to the criteria hereinafter described, in order to heat thereby such water and, thanks to the heat-conducting contact with the coil conduit 43, also the milk circulating through said conduit. Said heating elements 51 are made like the heating element 24 previously described. in this case too the unit 18 is composed of at least one thermostat or one similar temperature-regulating system, which is connected with the heating element/s 51 and provided with a sensing element 33 entering the inner room 22 and regulating the water-heating temperature and therefore that of the milk, and can be operated in the same way and for the same purposes as above described. Of course, and according to the invention, it is also possible to heat milk by using heating systems differing from the ones described by means of an example only, for instance by providing a gas or hot steam heating system or the like, being in heat-conducting contact with the milk, and always excluding a direct contact with the latter, thus without departing from the protection sphere of the present invention.

By operating the pump 13 and properly commutating the valve 16 on either one of the circulation ways of milk or water, the emulsifier unit 18 is thus able to circulate the milk for its emulsifying and to draw from the inner room 22 the water, which has been poured into it in advance through another supply valve (not shown) , communicating with a water supply system and with said inner room, the water level covering the entire coil conduit 43.

Hereinafter it is described how the unit according to the invention, operates, which in this case allows the performing of cycles for preparing milk mixed with other infused beverages (coffee, tea, camomile-tea etc..) prepared in advance and poured into the respective glass or vessel 31, as well as cycles for preparing milk only. In the first case, then, the timer of the machine controls at first the valve member 16 in such a way as to make the pump 13 communicate with the milk vessel 11 only and with the coil conduit 43, thereby interrupting the communication with the inner room 22, which implies that said pump draws the milk from the vessel 11 in the doses every time desired by the user and fixed by regulating in advance the duration of the pump insertion, and makes it circulate through this coil conduit, where it is heated by water at the temperature set in advance and emulsified with air, thereby producing milk foam, said emulsifying being able to be optimized by properly regulating the air quantity introduced into the conduit by means of port-regulating devices associated with both air intakes 42 and 25, whereby said milk foam subsequently flows through the end portion of the conduit 46 and is mixed with coffee or other infused beverages contained in the glass or vessel 31. Then, at the end of said cycle, the timer of the machine controls the valve member 16 in order to let the pump 13 communicate with the inner room 22 only, through the solenoid valve 48 and the conduits 49 and 50, thereby interrupting the communication with the milk vessel 11, which implies that said solenoid valve 48 is energized and said pump draws water from the inner room 22, by making it circulate through the coil conduit 43 thereby washing out the milk particles remaining at the end of the emulsifying cycle and subsequently discharging them outside through the end portion 46 of said conduit. In the second case, each cycle is performed in the way just described except for the fact that the emulsified milk is poured into the underlying glass or vessel 31, without being mixed with the respective infused beverage, since this one is not supplied. In this way and thanks to the fact that milk is not in direct contact with the respectively employed heating systems, it is possible to considerably improve the quality characteristics of white coffee or other mixed infused beverages, or those of the milk only, the beverages obtained this way being therefore more hygienic than those obtained by means of the above described systems in use. By looking now at Fig.6, which shows a possible constructive variant of said unit, it can be observed that the end portion of the conduit 46 differs from the above described one, and for this purpose it is connected with one distribution unit 35 situated below and identical to the one previously described. Finally, referring to Fig. 7, showing said unit, which is substantially identical, from a structural and operational point of view, to the one represented in Fig. 5, it can be noticed that in this case too, said unit is provided with a distribution device 37 situated in the end portion of the conduit 46, and made in the same way and for the same purposes as previously described.

Claims

1. Unit for preparing mixed beverages for machine for preparing coffee or other infused beverages, housing at least one vessel containing milk to be mixed in case with infused beverages such as coffee, tea, camomile-tea or the like, preferably arranged in a refrigerating apparatus associated with the machine, characterized by pumping means ( 13 ) for drawing milk from said vessel ( 11 ) and emulsifying it with the air in emulsifying means ( 18 ) before it is mixed with the respective infused beverage, said pumping means ( 13 ) being communicating with said milk vessel ( 11 ) through valve means ( 16 ) and with said emulsifying means ( 18 ) , communicating in their turn with at least one glass or vessel ( 31 ) containing the relative infused beverage, said valve means ( 16 ) communicating also with possible cleaning means ( 34 ) containing substances like cleaning water for milk residue, and being set for selectively making said pumping means ( 13 ) communicate with said milk vessel ( 11 ) or said cleaning means ( 34 ) respectively before, during and after the emulsifying of milk with the air.

2. Unit according to claim 1, characterized in that said pumping means include at least one pump ( 13 ) , preferably of a per se known vibration type, whose suction side ( 14 ) is communicating with said milk vessel ( 11 ) through .said valve means ( 16 ) and at least one conduit ( 15 ) inserted into the vessel itself, and whose delivery side ( 17 ) is communicating with said emulsifying means ( 18 ) through another conduit ( 19 )

3. Unit according to claim 2, characterized in that said emulsifying means ( 18 ) include a box-like housing ( 20 ) preferably of a cylindrical form, provided with one inner wall ( 21 ) co-axially parallel to it along the whole extent thereof , which divides it into one inner room ( 22 ) and one peripheral hollow space (23), said inner room ( 22 ) communicating with said further conduit ( 19 ) , and with the outside as well as with said glass or vessel ( 31 ) , respectively through an air conduit ( 25 ) and an outlet conduit ( 26 ) .

4. Unit according to claim 3, characterized in that said further conduit ( 19 ) is connected to said inner room ( 22 ) by passing through said peripheral hollow space ( 23 ) , and entering partially the same inner room, preferably tangentially thereto, near said air conduit ( 25 ) .

5. Unit according to claim 3, characterized in that said outlet conduit ( 26 ) is fitted through the bottom (27) of said box-like housing ( 20 ) , and is provided with one first portion ( 28 ) of limited height housed in the inner room ( 22 ) and provided with a lateral opening ( 29 ) for the passage of the emulsified milk which is collected on the bottom of the same inner room, and one external portion ( 30 ) extending from such bottom downwards and ending near the underlying glass or vessel ( 31 ) . 6. Unit according to the previous claims, characterized in that it also includes additional valve means ( 48 ) connected with said valve means ( 11 ) and with said cleaning means ( 16 ) 7. Unit according to claim 1, characterized in that said pumping means include at least one pump ( 13 ) , preferably of the per se known vibration type, whose suction side ( 14 ) is communicating with said milk vessel ( 11 ) through said valve means ( 16 ) and at least one conduit ( 15 ) , inserted into the same vessel and provided with at least one air intake ( 42 ) , and whose delivery side ( 17 ) is communicating with at least one conduit ( 43 ) housed within said emulsifying means ( 18 ) and preferably shaped in the form of a coil. 8. Unit according to claim 7, characterized in that said emulsifying means ( 18 ) include a box-like housing ( 20 ) hermetically closed outside and delimiting one inner room ( 22 ) housing said coil conduit ( 43 ) , and crossed by this latter almost for the whole extent thereof, as well as a closing bottom ( 27 ) in which said conduit is made passing through and the end portion (46) of which extends from said bottom downwards up to near the underlying glass or vessel ( 31 ) , and is provided with at least one air intake ( 25 )

9. Unit according to the previous claims, characterized in that said cleaning means include at least one separate 5 water reservoir ( 34 ) 10.Unit according to the previous claims, characterized in that said cleaning means are composed of said inner room ( 22 ) , of which the water contained therein is in heat-conducting contact with said coil conduit ( 43 ) 1011.Unit according to the previous claims characterized by heating means ( 24,51 ), suitable for heating the milk at the desired temperature.

12. Unit according to claim 11, characterized in that said heating means ( 24 ) include at least one electric

15 heating element ( 24 ) housed in said peripheral hollow space ( 23 ) and arranged in heat-conducting contact with said inner wall ( 21 ) , as well as connected with the electric circuit of the machine and associated with at least one regulating thermostat

20 ( 32 ) or similar temperature -regulating means.

13. Unit according to claim 12, characterized in that said electric heating element ( 51 ) is housed in said inner room ( 22 ) and covered with the water contained therein.

25 14. Unit according to claim 11, characterized in that said heating means ( 24 , 51 ) include one gas or hot steam circulation heating system or the like. 15. Unit according to the previous claims, characterized in that said valve means include at least one valve member ( 16 ) preferably in the form of a double delivery solenoid valve. 516. Unit according to the previous claims, characterized in that it includes at least one distributing device ( 37 ) for strewing cocoa, chocolate or similar sweeting powders, to be added to the respective infused beverages, said distribution device 0 being composed of one drilled structure ( 38 ) applied to with said outlet conduit ( 26 ) or said end portion of the conduit ( 46 ) , and one overlying lamellar sprung-structure ( 39 ) meant for collecting the relative sweeting powder and being movable with respect to the 5 previous structure so that the holes ( 41 ) of the latter are temporarily freed and allow the passage of said sweeting powder therethrough.