Patent Application
20120037662
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to product dispensing equipment and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to methods and an apparatus for a sanitizable mixing nozzle in a product dispenser.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the product dispensing industry, it is often desirable to dehydrate products to reduce transport costs. Food product manufacturers routinely prepare high concentration products that may be reconstituted on demand through the use of a product dispenser. However, the multitude of products and product varieties available from today's food manufacturers creates issues with both the product and the product dispensers.
On the product side of the problem, the multitude of product varieties requires multiple solutions, because products, dependent upon their consistency, act differently when being reconstituted. In particular, thick products or products having low quantities of water go from flowable to almost stagnant during the dehydration process, and, therefore, the dehydrated product must be acted upon to move the product. Still further, usage temperatures, storage temperatures, and the like, provide further variability between the products.
On the product dispenser side of the problem, products with limited life or having spoilage issues often require refrigeration, thereby creating interface issues between the refrigerated compartment and the ambient environment. Often, an easily reconstituted product package including a tube is placed into a storage chamber, the tube is engaged by a pumping device disposed within the confines of the product dispenser, and product from the product package is delivered to a mixing nozzle that protrudes from the product dispenser to deliver a reconstituted product.
Problems arise when the product package provides enough product for extended use. Illustratively, a product package including enough product for a hundred reconstituted drinks may remain in the product dispenser for days because of low usage resulting in spoilage of the product. Moreover, the problem is compounded when the mixing nozzle retains reconstituted product for extended periods. This exposes the reconstituted product to the ambient environment, thereby providing bacteria disposed on the mixing nozzle ample time to multiply.
An attempt to rectify this problem includes product packages formed with a disposable mixing nozzle. Unfortunately, the increased component cost associated with the distribution of product packages including disposable mixing nozzle makes such distribution less than desirable. Moreover, while disposable mixing nozzles are supposed to eliminate clean up, this is often not the case, and the disposable mixing nozzles must be cleaned anyway, which is problematic as disposable mixing nozzles are typically constructed from injection molded components not easily separable.
Accordingly, a product dispenser with a sanitizable mixer assembly reduces the cost of the product package, and ensures a sanitary environment at the mixer assembly.
In accordance with the present invention, a mixer assembly includes a mixer body and a mixer cover coupled to the mixer body. The mixer body includes an inner wall defining a mixing chamber having an inlet and an outlet. The inner wall includes a plurality of protrusions disposed on top of the inner wall that form a plurality of passes therebetween. The mixer body further includes a shell disposed around the inner wall that forms a diluent chamber between the inner wall and the shell. Diluent entering the diluent chamber flows through the plurality of passes and into the mixing chamber for mixing with product entering from the inlet of the mixing chamber. Mixed product exits the mixer body from the outlet of the mixing chamber. The mixing chamber includes a deflector disposed therein such that diluent moving through the plurality of passes contacts the deflector which forces a change in direction of the diluent and the product entering the mixing chamber to increase the interaction between the product and the diluent.
The mixer body still further includes a drain relief disposed in the outlet of the mixing chamber. The drain relief forces the mixer body to fully drain, and, in this preferred embodiment, the drain relief is a slot in the outlet of the mixing chamber that prevents a symmetrical fluid meniscus from forming. The mixer body even further includes a flow director disposed in the outlet of the mixing chamber for streamlining erratic flow delivery of mixed product.
The mixer cover includes a shelf angled toward the outlet of the mixing chamber. The angled shelf closes out the diluent chamber and extends over the plurality of passes such that diluent entering the diluent chamber moves through the plurality of passes along the angled shelf and into the mixing chamber at an increased velocity. The diluent moving through the plurality of passes moves along the angled shelf and continues toward a center of the mixing chamber. Moreover, the diluent passing through the plurality of passes inherits the angle of the angled shelf, thereby engaging the product in the mixing chamber at an angle. The mixer cover further includes an outlet port adaptable to the shell of the mixer body. The outlet port is placed over the shell until the angled shelf contacts the plurality of protrusions and the shell, thereby closing out the diluent chamber.
The mixer cover still further includes an inlet port adaptable to a product package. A product outlet of the product package is coupled to the inlet port such that the product moves from the product package into the mixer assembly. The coupling of the product package outlet to the inlet port of the mixer cover eliminates exposure to an ambient environment and eliminates errant splashing as the product moves from the product package to the mixer assembly. The mixer cover is removable from the mixer body for cleansing of both the mixer cover and the mixer body.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a mixer assembly usable with a variety of products and product concentrates.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mixer assembly with a mixer cover separable from a mixer body for cleansing of both the mixer cover and the mixer body.
Still other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become evident to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the following. Also, it should be understood that the scope of this invention is intended to be broad, and any combination of any subset of the features, elements, or steps described herein is part of the intended scope of the invention.
a provides a perspective view of a product dispenser according to the preferred embodiment.
b provides a section view of the product dispenser according to the preferred embodiment.
a provides a perspective view of a mixer assembly according to the preferred embodiment.
b provides a section view of a mixer body according to the preferred embodiment.
a provides a perspective view of a mixer cover according to the preferred embodiment.
b provides a front view of a mixer cover according to the preferred embodiment.
c provides a section view of a mixer cover according to the preferred embodiment.
a provides a perspective view of a product circuit according to the preferred embodiment.
b provides a section view of the mixer assembly according to the preferred embodiment.
a provides a perspective view of a product circuit according to an extension of the preferred embodiment.
b provides a section view of the product circuit according to the extension of the preferred embodiment.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. It is further to be understood that the figures are not necessarily to scale, and some features may be exaggerated to show details of particular components or steps.
As shown in
In this particular example, the housing 110 includes a chamber 112 for receiving a product package configuration, and a door 113 for closing out the chamber 112. The housing 110 further includes a cold source for chilling. Also in this particular example, the cold source is a refrigeration circuit 105 having coils disposed in an ice-water bath 106. Coils of the diluent circuit 103 are similarly submerged in the ice/water bath 106 to chill a diluent passing through the coils. Within this particular example, the cold source also chills the chamber 112 by passing refrigeration lines through heat exchangers disposed within the chamber 112. While this particular example has been shown with the chamber 112 being cooled by a refrigeration circuit 105 and heat exchangers disposed within the chamber 112, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other forms of chilling are available, including ice-cooled equipment having a cold plate, and the like.
As shown in
The product dispenser 100 further includes a pumping device 115 disposed in proximity to the door 113, such that the pumping device 115 may be accessed when the door 113 is in an open position. In this particular example, the pumping device 115 is a peristaltic pump that engages a tube connected to a product package. While this particular example is shown as having a peristaltic pump, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that virtually any type of pumping device may be utilized to move product from a product source to a product outlet.
As shown in
The mixer body 121 further includes an inlet portion 131 having an inlet passage 132 leading to the diluent chamber 125, and a diluent inlet port 133 in fluid communication with the inlet passage 132. The diluent chamber 125 further includes a floor 134.
The mixer body 121 further includes a mixing chamber 135 disposed within the inner wall 124, and an outlet portion 136 extending from a floor 138 of the mixer body 121. The mixer body 121 still further includes a deflector 137 disposed within the mixing chamber 135. The deflector 137 is a circular protrusion extending from the floor 138 of the mixing chamber 135, and is disposed substantially centrally within the mixing chamber 135. The outlet portion 136 is cylindrical in shape, and includes an outlet port 139 and an outlet passage 140 passing from the mixing chamber 135 to the outlet port 139. The outlet passage 140 includes at least one flow director 141 to help streamline erratic flow delivery. The outlet port 139 includes a drain relief 142 to ensure all fluids drain from the mixer assembly 120. In this particular example, the drain relief 142 is a slot in the outlet port 139, wherein the slot creates an unsymmetrical meniscus, thereby forcing the fluid to drain from the mixer body 121.
The mixer cover 122 includes a first cylindrical section 145 and a second cylindrical section 146 disposed coaxially. The first and second cylindrical sections 145-146 are hollow, and, therefore, include an outlet port 153 and an inlet port 154, respectively. The outlet port 153 includes a first inner diameter 147 that is complementary to an outer diameter 143 of the cylindrical shell 123 of the mixer body 121, and the inlet port 154 includes a second inner diameter 148. In this particular example, the second inner diameter 148 of the second cylindrical section 146 is smaller than the inner diameter 147 of the first cylindrical section 145. The mixer cover 122 further includes an annular shelf 149 disposed within the first cylindrical section 145. The annular shelf 149 is disposed at an angle 150 and extends downward, thereby forming an inner port 151 that passes through the mixer cover 122. The second inner diameter 148 of the inlet port 154 is complementary in size to an outer diameter 163 of a tube 162 extending from a product package 160. The mixer cover 122 further includes a lip 152 extending around the outlet port 153 and a recess 155 extending along the first inner diameter 147 in proximity to the outlet port 153. The recess 155 is complementary in shape to the interlock feature 144 disposed on the mixer body 121. In this particular example, the mixer cover 122 is constructed from sanoprene, and, therefore, is pliable. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other food grade materials may be utilized.
On assembly of the mixer assembly 120, the outlet port 153 of the first cylindrical section 145 is pushed over the upper port 127 of the mixer body 121 until the annular shelf 149 contacts the ridge 126 and the inner ridge 128, and the interlock feature 144 moves into the recess 155 of the mixer cover 122. Upon assembly, the diluent chamber 125 is partially closed out by the annular shelf 149 of the mixer cover 122. As such, a diluent flowpath through the mixer assembly 120 moves from the diluent inlet passage 132 into the diluent chamber 125, through the passes 130 disposed between the protrusions 129, and into the mixing chamber 135. The reduced area flow path created by the protrusions 129 and the passes 130 creates increased flow velocities through the passes 130 and into the mixing chamber 135. Once in the mixing chamber 135, the diluent moves into the deflector 137 for increased turbulence and better mixing, and then exits the mixing chamber 135 through the outlet passage 140 and the outlet port 139.
The assembled mixer assembly 120 is installed into the product dispenser 100 by opening the door 113, and inserting the diluent inlet port 133 onto the diluent outlet 119. In this particular configuration, the diluent outlet 119 is a dole connection, and, accordingly, the mixer assembly 120 may be removed and replaced, as desired. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the mixer assembly 120 requires restraint, and the mixer assembly 120 may be restrained by the closed door 113 or any other suitable restraint.
The controller 108 conducts dispensing operations. In this invention, the term controller 108 may be any form of processing device commonly utilized in the industry, and able to conduct component operations of hardware associated with controlling fluid flows, as well as related operations.
In a simplest configuration, shown in
The method of loading the product circuit configuration 102 into the product dispenser 100 commences with an operator opening the door 113 to access the chamber 112. Next, the operator installs the mixer assembly 120 by placing the diluent inlet port 133 onto the diluent outlet 119, and securing the mixer assembly 120 in place. At this point, the diluent inlet port 133 is in fluid communication with the diluent circuit 103 of the product dispenser 100. The operator then places the product package 160 into the chamber 112, orients the tube 162 through the pumping device 115, and inserts the outlet end 164 of the tube 162 into the inner port 151 of the mixer assembly 120. The operator may then close the door 113 to close out the chamber 112 and to restrain the product circuit configuration 102 components within the chamber 112.
In operation as illustrated in
Substantially simultaneously, the pumping device 115 removes product from the product package 160. In this particular example, the pumping device 115 is a peristaltic pump that engages the tube 162. The product moves to the outlet end 164 of the tube 162 and is dispensed into the mixing chamber 135 for interaction with the diluent.
Upon the presence of both streams in the mixing chamber 135, the product stream in the mixing chamber 135 is engaged by the diluent entering the mixing chamber 135. In this particular example, the diluent moves along the angle 150 of the annular shelf 149, and into the product stream. The partially mixed product and diluent then moves into the deflector 137 and is redirected, thereby causing increased interaction between the diluent and product concentrate. The mixture then moves from the mixing chamber 135 to the outlet passage 140 and exits the mixer assembly 120 through the outlet port 139. The drain relief 142 at the outlet port 139 forces virtually all of the diluent and product that moves into the mixer assembly 120 to evacuate the mixer assembly 120. Fluids attempting to form a meniscus in the outlet port 139 are forced into an unstable situation at the non-circular outlet port 139, and, therefore, fully drain from the mixer assembly 120.
The mixer assembly 120 may also be cleansed by adjusting the delivery sequence of the product and the diluent as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,334,706, herein incorporated by reference. Accordingly, diluent may be delivered before the delivery of product to pre-wet the mixer assembly 120, diluent may be delivered for a predetermined interval after the product to rinse the mixer assembly 120, or a combination of both may occur to pre-wet and rinse the mixer assembly 120, thereby promoting the sanitizing of the mixer assembly 120. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the pumping device 115 and the diluent valve 116 may be instructed by the controller 108 to conduct the pre-wet or post-rinse routines.
Sanitizing of the mixer assembly 120, preferably, is accomplished outside of the product dispenser 100, thereby ensuring that all parts of the mixer assembly 120 are exposed to cleansing agents or dilutions thereof. Illustratively, in this preferred embodiment, the method of sanitizing the mixer assembly 120 follows the method flowchart provided in
In an alternative embodiment, shown in
In this particular example, the product circuit configuration 202 includes the components of the product circuit configuration 102, and further includes a self-sealing dispensing valve 265 to provide a barrier between the product and an ambient environment. As shown in
While this invention has been shown with a replaceable product circuit, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that a product circuit permanently disposed within the product dispenser is possible when utilizing a remote product source in similar fashion to the diluent source of the previous embodiments. Illustratively, a beverage syrup circuit 302 may be employed to deliver a chilled product to the mixer assembly 120. As shown in
Although the present invention has been described in terms of the foregoing preferred embodiment, such description has been for exemplary purposes only and, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, many alternatives, equivalents, and variations of varying degrees will fall within the scope of the present invention. That scope, accordingly, is not to be limited in any respect by the foregoing detailed description; rather, it is defined only by the claims that follow.
