Patent Application
20100223946
This application claims the priority of German Patent Application No. DE 20 2009 001 489.4, filed on Feb. 6, 2009, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an appliance for dispensing beverages, in particular coffee-based beverages, comprising a brewing unit through which hot water can flow for extraction, wherein a prepared beverage can be filled into a container at a beverage dispensing unit. The appliance further comprises a cooling device which supplies the ice for cooling a beverage.
German patent document DE 34 05 396 discloses a device for preparing a beverage by extraction, wherein a hot or cold beverage can optionally be prepared. A brewed beverage is prepared which optionally flows through a cooling container with ice. The filling of the cooling container with ice can cool down the brewed beverage. However, the dosing of the amount of ice depends on the user, and the beverage is cooled more or less, depending on the processing time, the size and the number of ice cubes. The resulting taste of the prepared beverage is therefore subject to strong fluctuations.
A device for crushing or comminuting ice cubes is known from the U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,527, by which ice cubes or crushed ice are optionally dispensed. A specific dosing can thus be used for the production of ice cubes, wherein the ice cubes are discharged directly into a container.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to create an appliance for dispensing beverages which also allows preparing cooled drinks of high quality.
The above and other objects are accomplished according to the invention wherein there is provided, according to one embodiment, an appliance for dispensing beverages, comprising: a brewing unit through which hot water can flow for extraction; a beverage dispenser coupled to the brewing unit to dispense a prepared beverage into a container; a cooling device to supply ice for cooling a beverage; and a dosage device for ice cubes to automatically dose ice during the beverage preparation.
Therefore, according to the invention, the appliance for dispensing beverages comprises a dosage device for ice cubes in addition to the brewing unit and cooling device, wherein the dosage device permits an automatic dosing during the beverage preparation. The user is thus ensured that with the aid of a control unit, a specified beverage can be dispensed, which is cooled as desired with the aid of a predetermined amount of ice. A watering-down of the beverage resulting from too much ice or following an excessively long contact of the brewed beverage with the ice is thus avoided or, vice versa, the insufficient cooling due to an excessively short contact time is also avoided. The invention consequently makes it possible to prepare hot as well as cold beverages of high quality.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the dosage device comprises a replaceable receptacle for holding a plurality of ice cubes. The user can thus place the receptacle with the ice cubes into a freezer compartment and, when preparing a cooled beverage, can insert the receptacle with the ice cubes into the appliance, wherein this requires only a few steps. As a result, an involved cooling and the production of ice cubes in the device can be omitted. The receptacle is advantageously embodied in the shape of a tray and comprises several separate chambers with respectively one ice cube arranged therein.
For a precise dosing, the dosage device can be provided with an ejector for ejecting one or more ice cubes from the receptacle, wherein the receptacle is preferably arranged rotating inside the appliance. The receptacle may be moved to a predetermined position relative to the immovably arranged ejector for the ejection of an ice cube. The ejector can be operated with the aid of a cam shaft and can comprise a lever, which can be moved against a bottom section of the receptacle, such that the ice cube is released from the receptacle as a result of deformation or an ejection force and drops down into a container for a cooling device. To ensure easy handling, the receptacle may be made of a flexible material, in particular rubber, silicon or a plastic material.
According to a different embodiment of the invention, a holding mechanism is provided in each chamber to prevent an ice cube arranged therein from falling out since the receptacle in most cases is arranged with the open side facing downward. With only a slight melting of the ice cube, it could therefore drop down unintentionally. By installing a corresponding holding mechanism in the chamber, for example in the form of strips, projections or other elements, the ice cubes are prevented from falling out of the receptacle.
According to a another embodiment of the invention, the dosage device for ice cubes also comprises a device for crushing or comminuting ice cubes. As a result, it is ensured that not only large ice cube pieces, but also crushed pieces are metered out, thereby considerably reducing the time for cooling a beverage since the crushing considerably increases the surface area of the ice cubes. The time during which the beverage remains inside the appliance can thus be reduced noticeably. The ice cubes can optionally be transported to a container where they are collected for cooling the hot, brewed beverage, or directly into a container at a beverage dispenser.
A sensor for detecting a filling of a chamber or receptacle may be provided, so that the dosage device can also process a receptacle where only some of the chambers are filled with ice cubes. As a result, the receptacle can be reinserted into the appliance even if not all ice cubes have been used.
These and other features and advantages of the invention will be further understood from the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention.
Referring initially to
The beverage dispenser 15 is shown schematically as a collecting device provided with an outlet below which a container 14, especially a cup, is positioned.
A dosage device 16 is arranged above the device 2 for supplying ice and can be operated automatically to release one or a plurality of ice cubes into the device 2. The dosage device 16 in this case can be a storage container, or a collecting device for ice cubes, or a device for the production of ice cubes.
The device 2 for supplying the ice cubes comprises a container with a disc 17 arranged therein for crushing or comminuting the ice. A motor drives the disc 17 via a shaft 18, wherein a gear or clutches can optionally also be used. A projecting circulating element 20 is provided on the disc 17 by means of which ice cubes in the container are moved against a schematically shown blade 23, so that they can be comminuted or crushed and the crushed ice can be released into the collecting container 9, as shown with the arrow 21. The blade 23 may be adjustable so that the size of the crushed or comminuted ice pieces can be adjusted.
A switchable outlet can be activated if a discharge of the crushed ice into the container 14 is desired, so that the crushed ice is moved directly from the device 2 to the beverage dispenser 15, as indicated schematically with the line 22 shown herein.
For dispensing a hot beverage, the brewing unit 3 is filled with hot water and an extraction substance from the dosage device 5. Subsequently, the brewing unit dispenses the brewed beverage via the line 6 and the line 13 to the beverage dispenser 15.
Insofar as the dispensing of a cold beverage is desired, for example ice coffee or ice tea, the brewed beverage may be cooled inside the appliance 1. To accomplish this, the brewing unit 3 can be activated and at the same time and, parallel thereto, one or several ice cubes can be provided via the dosage device 16 to the device 2 for supplying the ice. In the device 2, the one or a plurality of ice cubes is then crushed and transferred to the collecting container 9. In the collecting container 9, the brewed beverage arriving from the line 8 and the crushed ice cubes from the device 2 are then collected, wherein the valve 11 can be closed for a specified interval, for example ranging from 10 to 60 seconds. During this time, the crushed ice cubes in the collecting container 9 will dissolve and can cool the brewed beverage to the desired temperature. Following this interval, the valve 11 can be opened with the aid of an adjustment element and the cooled beverage can be fed via the dispensing line 12 of the beverage dispenser 15 into the container 14. A central control (not shown) for the appliance 1 can be used to trigger the brewing unit 3, the device 2, as well as the valve 11. The device illustrated in FIG. 1 is described in more detail in co-owned U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Atty. Docket No. 31928-284237) filed concurrently with this application, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The dosage device 16 for metering out the ice cubes is illustrated in
An ejector 34 in the form of a lever, which is positioned rotating around an axis 36, is provided on respectively one chamber 26 of the receptacle 25. The ejector 34 can be activated by a cam 37 on the side opposite the axis 36, wherein this cam moves the ejector 34 counter to the force of a spring 35 toward a bottom section of a chamber 26 and, in the process, pushes an ice cube out of the chamber 26.
A motor 50 shown in
The individual components of the dosage device are shown in
The ejector 34 and the drive elements are located in a recess 33 of the housing 30, wherein the ejector 34 is rotatably positioned rotating on the housing 30 via an axis 36 (see
Also arranged on the housing 30 is the motor bearing 51 for the motor 50 that rotates the receptacle 25. With the aid of a drive shaft 52, the motor 50 drives a first drive wheel 53 which in turn drives a second drive wheel 55 with the aid of a belt 54. The drive wheel 55 is coupled via a coupling 58 to the receptacle 25, so that the receptacle 25 can be rotated intermittently inside the housing 30.
A sensor 47 is provided for detecting the filling level of a chamber 26, wherein this sensor can also detect whether or not a chamber 26 contains an ice cube.
A fixed cover 46 and a movable cover 45 are furthermore provided on the housing 30.
If the user wants to obtain a cooled beverage instead of a hot beverage from the appliance 1, a request for first inserting a receptacle 25 filled with ice cubes is sent following a program selection via a display (not shown). For this, the cover 45 can be pivoted away so that the user can insert a receptacle 25 into the housing 30, wherein the receptacle 25 is either filled completely or partially with ice cubes.
With the aid of a control unit (not shown), it is then determined whether one or several ice cubes 26 are required for preparing the selected beverage. The respective number of ice cubes is released via the ejector 34 into a container of the cooling device 2 in which the ice cubes are subsequently crushed and from which they are optionally released into the storage container 9 or directly into the beverage dispenser 15.
Once all the cooled beverages have been prepared in the appliance 1, the receptacle 25 can be removed once more from the appliance 1 and deposited in the freezer compartment of a refrigerator, if applicable by filling it with water for producing further ice cubes.
In
The receptacle 25 can also take on other shapes for producing the ice cubes. In particular, it is possible to produce ice cubes having a round, square, rectangular or other geometry in place of the segment-shaped chambers. It is furthermore possible to embody the chambers 26 of the receptacle 25 with extremely low volume, so that a device for crushing or comminuting the ice cubes can be omitted.
It will be understood that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications, changes and adaptations, and the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 2009 001 489.4 | Feb 2009 | DE | national |
