The present invention relates to a method and device for foaming foamable liquids.
That is, the present invention relates to a method and device for producing foam from a liquid containing foaming agents and hereinafter referred to as a foamable liquid. It should be noted that the foamable liquid may be a solution of different liquids.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and device for producing and locally dispensing foam from a given foamable liquid. If the foamable liquid is cream, the device produces whipped cream; if the foamable liquid is milk, the device produces butter; if the foamable liquid is liquid soap/shampoo/hydrogen peroxide, the device produces foam detergent; if the liquid comprises oil, lemon juice and eggs, the device produces mayonnaise.
It should be noted that the term ‘foaming’ is intended to mean mixing and beating together a foamable liquid and gas to produce a foam.
Machines are known which produce various amounts of foam (e.g. whipped cream, butter or similar) from a foamable liquid, but which are permanent fixtures installed in one place. So the relative product is produced locally, and must be dispensed or employed using other (normally hand-operated) devices. Despite producing large amounts of product, machines of this type have the drawback that the product must either be used straightaway or preserved for later use. More often than not, to be dispensed and/or used, the foam product must be inserted inside a dispenser, which obviously involves waste and time-consuming work to clean the necessary implements.
Foamable liquids are also known to be foamed using electric whips or beaters, but these are bulky and call for a certain amount of skill on the part of the user (e.g. whip position and speed) to obtain a properly foamed product. Using these devices, the quality of the foam product therefore depends strictly on the skill of the user.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and device for producing and locally dispensing foam from a foamable liquid. The method and device according to the present invention are especially suitable for producing and dispensing whipped cream (e.g. for decorating cakes), or for producing shaving foam for immediate use, or for dispensing hair shampoo foam. The device according to the present invention may be used with any of various (edible or non-edible) foamable liquids.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a device designed to produce a foam product whose quality is independent of the skill of the user.
According to the present invention, there are provided a method and device for foaming foamable liquids, as claimed in the accompanying Claims.
A number of non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
As shown in
Device 1 also comprises an outlet tube 5 for foam 15; and a dispenser gun 6 located at the free end of outlet tube 5 and in turn comprising an outlet nozzle 8 and dispenser button 7.
Hereinafter, the terms ‘upstream’ and ‘downstream’ are used with reference to the flow direction of liquid 10.
Pump 12a is also, for example, a vibration pump, but may obviously be any type of pump capable of feeding liquid 10 to feed line L1.
As shown in
In the
In the
Deflector valves 330 and 331, for example, are three-way valves. And control unit 340 may be manual or electric.
Depending on the type of liquid 10 for foaming, control unit 340 regulates the flow of gas 14 and the route of liquid 10 along circuit C3 (i.e. the number of vibration pumps through which to feed the liquid 10 and gas 14 emulsion). More specifically, control unit 340 activates each deflector valve 330, 331 to only bypass vibration pump 312d, or to bypass both vibration pumps 312c and 312d.
Control unit 340 may operate on the basis of input from the user operating knob 311, or on the basis of the findings of sensor 350 indicating the actual stability of foam product 15 with respect to a predetermined value.
In the
In the
More specifically, circuit C5 comprises:
Deflector valves 530, 531, 532, 533 are preferably known three-way valves.
The control unit may be either electronic or manual.
Vibration pumps 12, 212, 312 and 412 are known types commonly used to pressurize liquid in coffee machines.
In another variation, not shown, devices 1, 201, 301, 401, 501 comprise a pressure switch located inside outlet tube 5 to open a known relief valve (not shown) and shut down vibration pumps 12, 212, 312, 412, 512 in the event dispenser gun 6 jams.
Devices 1, 201, 301, 401, 501 described are made of materials designed to ensure maximum hygiene and product quality, and which, in particular, are suitable for use in contact with food products.
Tubes 4, 204, 304, 404, 504 and 5, 205, 305, 405, 505 are preferably replaceable external tubes. And devices 1, 201, 301, 401, 501 can be supplied with gas 14 using any known type of gas feed system.
Devices 1, 201, 301, 401, 501 described may comprise a known cooling system (not shown) to prevent vibration pumps 12, 212, 312, 412, 512 from overheating. To produce foam product 15 from foamable liquid 10, device 1 operates as follows.
During operation of device 1, liquid 10 is drawn by pump 12a along tube 4. Pump 12a is a suction pump that forces liquid 10 into circuit C1 at a given pressure.
At the same time, pump 13 forces gas 14, in particular air, along pipe 21 to fitting 16.
At fitting 16, liquid 10 mixes with gas 14 to form an emulsion 17, which flows along portion 20b of pipe 20 to vibration pump 12b. Using knob 11, the user can adjust the flow of gas 14 into pipe 20 according to the type of liquid 10.
The emulsion 17 flowing through vibration pump 12b is beaten to form a foam product 15a in which the particles of foamable liquid and gas are smaller and mixed further with respect to emulsion 17.
Foam product 15a is then forced through vibration pump 12c, where it is beaten further to form a foam product 15b of a different stability from foam product 15a.
Finally, the end foam product 15b is expelled from dispenser gun 6. Using button 7 on dispenser gun 6, the user automatically activates device 1 to instantly produce foam product 15.
The type of end foam product 15 depends on the type of foamable liquid 10 fed into device 1. That is, cream will produce whipped cream; milk will produce butter; liquid soap will produce foam detergent; a solution of oil, eggs and lemon juice will produce mayonnaise; etc..
In the
Alternatively, control unit 340 varies the number of vibration pumps 312 through which emulsion 17 is fed according to the stability of end foam product 15 detected by control sensor 350.
In the
In the
In
Obviously, the number of vibration pumps 512 located along each feed line L, and the number of parallel feed lines L connected by bypass pipes may vary as required.
By means of control unit 340 or 540, the user therefore varies the number of vibration pumps 312 or 512 through which liquid 10 is fed according to the desired stability of end foam product 15.
Devices 1, 201, 301, 401, 501 are therefore substantially based on employing one or a number of series- or parallel-connected vibration pumps supplied with foamable liquid 10 and at least one source of gas 14.
As will be clear from the above description, vibration pumps 12, 212, 312, 412, 512 are extremely compact and so provide for obtaining highly compact, lightweight, and therefore easily portable devices 1, 201, 301, 401, 501.
Moreover, using devices 1, 201, 301, 401, 501, the quality of foam product 15 is independent of the skill of the user.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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UD2013U000022 | May 2013 | IT | national |
This application is the national stage entry of International Appl. No. PCT/IB2014/061340, filed May 9, 2014, which claims priority to Italian Patent Application No. UD2013U000022, filed May 10, 2013. All claims of priority to such patent application(s) are hereby made, and all such application(s) are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2014/061340 | 5/9/2014 | WO | 00 |