BEVERAGE DISPENSING MACHINE AND OPERATING METHOD

• US 20120328748A1
• Filed: 09/03/2012
• Published: 12/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rheavendors Services Spa (Larene SRL)
• Original Assignee: Rhea Vendors, S.p.A. (Larene SRL)
• Inventors: Doglioni Majer, Luca
• Granted Patent: US 10,117,541 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 426/231
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/461 Valves, e.g. drain valves
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/465 for the heated water
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/5251 of pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/5253 of temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/5255 of flow rate
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 31/56 having water-level controls; having temperature controls

Abstract

A beverage dispensing machine, for instance a coffee machine, provided with a brewing chamber and at least one valve for totally and/or partially blocking the beverage from exiting the chamber. Advantageously, the valve is an electrovalve, in particular a piezoelectric valve, which is continuously controllable to adjust the beverage flow rate being permitted to exit the chamber.

Claims

1. A beverage dispensing machine, comprising

a brewing chamber;

brew means for brewing a beverage within the brewing chamber, means for delivering the brewed beverage via a beverage delivering section; and

at least one electrovalve having a valve body with a wall having a discharge opening and a valve seat and having a shutter movable within the valve body between a closed position, which closes the discharge opening to block a flow of the brewed beverage from the brewing chamber into the beverage delivering section, and an open position, which opens the discharge opening to permit the flow of the brewed beverage into the beverage delivering section from the brewing chamber,

said brew means including the at least one electrovalve in fluid communication with the brewing chamber to selectively pressurize and depressurize the brewing chamber in dependence upon a relative position of the shutter with respect to the discharge opening.

2. The beverage dispensing machine of claim 1, further comprising a control unit that activates the at least one electrovalve to retract the shutter into the open position and that deactivates the at least one electrovalve to permit the shutter to move into the closed position, the control valve being configured to maintain pressure within the brewing chamber within a preset range.

3. The beverage dispensing machine of claim 1, wherein the brewing chamber contains ingredients having a grain size, further comprising a control unit that activates the at least one electrovalve to retract the shutter into the open position and that deactivates the at least one electrovalve to permit the shutter to move into the closed position, the control valve being configured to compensate for possible variation in the grain size of the ingredients.

4. The beverage dispensing machine according to claim 1, wherein the at least one electrovalve is operative for cleaning of the shutter and the valve seat by the shutter moving to clean surfaces of the valve seat from residues left by dispensed beverages.

5. The beverage dispensing machine of claim 1, wherein at least an associated one of the shutter and the valve seat is made of piezoelectric materials, the piezoelectric materials expanding upon supplying of a voltage to the associated one of the shutter and valve seat .

6. The beverage dispensing machine of claim 1, wherein at least an associated one of the shutter and the wall is made of piezoelectric materials, further comprising a control unit that excites the piezoelectric materials that results in expansion of the piezoelectric materials that causes a dimensional change.

7. The beverage dispensing machine of claim 1, wherein at least an associated one of the shutter and the wall is made of piezoelectric materials, further comprising a control unit configured so that, by means of an electric connection, activates the piezoelectric materials that expand, while at a same time overcoming a force of a spring element, thereby retracting a distal end of the shutter from the valve seat of the valve body to open the discharge outlet, which in turn allows the brewed beverage coming from the brewing chamber that enters the valve body to flow toward the discharge section, the control unit being further configured to deactivate the piezoelectric materials which allows the shutter to be pushed by the spring element back to the spring biased position, thereby causing the distal end to abut the valve seat and thereby closing the discharge outlet to prevent the brewed beverage from flowing outside the valve body toward the delivering section.

8. The beverage dispensing machine of claim 1, further comprising a spring element that exerts a spring bias, the shutter moving against the spring bias into the open position to open the discharge opening to permit flow of the brewed beverage into the beverage delivering section from the brewing chamber and moving under the spring bias into the closed position to close the discharge opening to block the flow of the brewed beverage from the brewing chamber into the beverage delivering section.

9. The beverage dispensing machine of claim 1, further comprising a control unit configured and arranged to operate said electrovalve, on the basis of memorized algorithms, to adjust pressure within the brewing chamber.

10. The beverage dispensing machine of claim 1, further comprising means for monitoring one or more operative parameters, and a control unit configured and arranged to operate said electrovalve to compensate for variations of one or more of said parameters from an expected value.

11. A method for operating a beverage dispensing machine;

comprising

brewing a beverage within a brewing chamber;

delivering the brewed beverage via a beverage delivering section;

moving a shutter within a valve body of at least one electrovalve between a closed position, which closes a discharge opening of a wall of the valve body to block a flow of the brewed beverage from the brewing chamber into the beverage delivering section, and an open position, which opens the discharge opening to permit the flow of the brewed beverage into the beverage delivering section from the brewing chamber;

fluid communicating the at least one electrovalve with the brewing chamber to selectively pressurize and depressurize the brewing chamber in dependence upon a relative position of the shutter with respect to the discharge opening.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising activating the at least one electrovalve with a control valve to retract the shutter into the open position and deactivating the at least one electrovalve with the control valve to permit the shutter to move into the closed position, the control valve maintaining pressure within the brewing chamber within a preset range.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising containing ingredients having a grain size in the brewing chamber;

activating the at least one electrovalve with a control valve to retract the shutter into the open position and deactivating the at least one electrovalve with the control valve to permit the shutter to move into the closed position, the control valve being configured to compensate for possible variation in the grain size of the ingredients.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising operating the at least one electrovalve to clean the shutter and the valve seat by moving the shutter to clean surfaces of a valve seat of the electrovalve from residues left by dispensed beverages.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein at least an associated one of the shutter and the valve seat is made of piezoelectric materials, the piezoelectric materials expanding upon supplying of a voltage to an associated one of the shutter and valve seat.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein at least an associated one of the shutter and the wall is made of piezoelectric materials, further comprising exciting the piezoelectric materials by a control valve that results in expansion of the piezoelectric materials to cause a dimensional change.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein at least an associated one of the shutter and the wall is made of piezoelectric materials, further comprising activating the piezoelectric materials with a control unit via an electric connection to expand the piezoelectric materials while at a same time overcoming a force of a spring element, thereby causing the shutter to retract a distal end of the shutter from a valve seat of the valve body to open the discharge outlet, which in turn allows the brewed beverage coming from the brewing chamber that enters the valve body to flow toward the discharge section, the control unit deactivating the piezoelectric element which allows the shutter to be pushed by the spring element back to the spring biased position, thereby causing the distal end to abut the valve seat and thereby closing the discharge outlet to prevent the brewed beverage from flowing outside the valve body toward the delivering section.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising exerting a spring bias with a spring element, moving the shutter against the spring bias into the open position to open the discharge opening to permit flow of the brewed beverage into the beverage delivering section from the brewing chamber and moving the shutter under the spring bias into the closed position to close the discharge opening to block the flow of the brewed beverage from the brewing chamber into the beverage delivering section.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising operating said electrovalve by a control unit on a basis of memorized algorithms to adjust pressure within the brewing chamber.

20. The method of claim 11, further comprising monitoring one or more operative parameters with a monitoring device;

and operating said electrovalve with a control unit to compensate for variations of one or more of said parameters from an expected value.

21. A beverage dispensing machine, comprising

selection means for selecting one of a plurality of different types of the beverage to exit the brewing chamber;

and

means responsive to said selection means for preparing a beverage within a brewing chamber by pressing ingredients with a piston within the brewing chamber, heating water with a water heater, pumping the heated water with a pump to feed and pressurize the heated water to the beverage chamber, and adjusting pressure within the brewing chamber by opening a discharge outlet of at least one electrovalve to an extent and for a duration that are in correspondence with an extent and a duration necessary to alter the beverage in a manner that yields the selected one of the plurality of different types of the beverage as the prepared beverage discharges from the brewing chamber, the at least one electrovalve being a piezoelectric valve.

22. The beverage dispensing machine of claim 21, further comprising an electronic control unit configured and arranged to operate said electrovalve on a basis of memorized algorithms to adjust pressure within the brewing chamber.

23. The beverage dispensing machine according to claim 21, wherein the at least one electrovalve is operative for cleaning of a valve shutter member and related seat of the at least one electrovalve by the valve shutter member moving to clean surfaces of the related seat from residues left by dispensed beverages.

24. The beverage dispensing machine of claim 23, wherein the electrovalve carries out the cleaning during a standby condition of the beverage dispensing machine.

25. A method of operating a beverage dispensing machine, comprising

selecting one of a plurality of different types of the beverage to exit the brewing chamber;

and

preparing a beverage within a brewing chamber in response to the selecting by pressing ingredients with a piston within the brewing chamber, heating water with a water heater, pumping the heated water with a pump to feed and pressurize the heated water to the beverage chamber; and

adjusting pressure within the brewing chamber by directing at least one electrovalve to open a discharge outlet to an extent and for a duration in correspondence with an extent and a duration necessary to alter the beverage in a manner that yields the selected one of the plurality of different types of the beverage as the prepared beverage discharges from the brewing chamber, the at least one electrovalve being a piezoelectric valve.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising operating said electrovalve by an electronic control unit on a basis of memorized algorithms to adjust the pressure within the brewing chamber.

27. The method of claim 25, further comprising operating the at least one electrovalve for cleaning of a valve shutter member and related seat of the at least one electrovalve by the valve shutter member moving to clean surfaces of the related seat from residues left by dispensed beverages.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the electrovalve carries out the cleaning during a standby condition of the beverage dispensing machine.