Beverage dispenser with whipper assembly

The invention concerns a beverage dispenser comprising: a frame (1) for supporting the components of the dispenser, a whipper assembly (2) comprising a whipper 9b housing (21), a whipper device (22) and a back wall (23), the whipper housing and the back wall forming a whipper chamber (24) in which is lodged the whipper device, a drive shaft (3) for driving the whipper device (22), said drive shaft being supported by the frame (1), detachable connection means (4a, 4b) for attaching the back wall to the whipper housing, wherein it further comprises detachable connection means (5) for attaching the whipper housing to the frame.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/EP2011/067920, filed on Oct. 13, 2011, which claims priority to European Patent Application No. 10187565.6, filed Oct. 14, 2010, the entire contents of which are being incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a dispenser for the production of beverages implementing a whipper device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many beverages like espresso and other coffee beverages, milk beverages, chocolate beverages, . . . are often prepared by mixing a food soluble powder or a food liquid concentrate with a diluent. Mixing devices are known for speedier preparation of such beverages by mixing the soluble food component with the diluent, such as water. These devices typically comprise a mixing chamber in which the soluble component and the diluent are fed. The diluent can be introduced into the dissolution chamber in order to create a whirlpool to efficiently dissolve the soluble component in the hot water or the hot diluent can be introduced under the form of jets that provides mixing, dissolving and frothing. The mixture can also eventually be frothed by a whipper in a whipping chamber to reconstitute the beverage and produce foam. The beverage is then usually evacuated from the mixing chamber through the bottom of the mixing chamber and dispensed into a receptacle for drinking.

The internal parts of the dispenser that are in contact with the diluted food component must be regularly cleaned to avoid the growth of bacteria due to residues of beverages in the machine and avoid clogging. This cleaning usually concerns at least the dissolution chamber and the whipping chamber which comprise several mechanical components. For cleaning operation, theses parts must be dismantled, then cleaned and then reassembled. This operation takes time and it must done by people that have been trained for the disassembling and the reassembling to avoid errors and further failure in the beverages production. Usually this cleaning is made by an operator dedicated to the maintenance of the beverages production machines.

Now there is need for decreasing the time for the cleaning operation to limit the perior of time during which the dispenser is not operable. There is also a need for having this operation made by any non trained person so that it is not necessary to ask a specific operator to come and clean the machine. The cleaning should be made by any person briefly trained on the cleaning operations. This cleaning operation must also be so short that he can be made more often depending on the nature of the food ingredients.

EP 2 105 076 proposes a beverage dispenser in which the cleaning operation is improved. This dispenser improves the easy dismantling of the different components of the dispenser in particular the housing and the back wall of the mixing chamber and the impeller. More precisely the easy dismantling consists in first separating the housing of the mixing chamber from the back wall of the mixing chamber and the impeller; the back wall of the mixing chamber remains fixed to the frame and the impeller remains anchored to the drive shaft. Then in a second step the housing of the mixing chamber is separated from the frame and by moving it from its mounted position to its dismounted position, the whipper is also moved towards the free end of the drive shaft and dismounted. The drive shaft presents a specific cross section or the impeller is made of a specific resilient material so that it cannot be moved out of the drive shaft by hand alone between the first and the second dismantling steps.

Although this dispenser enables an easy dismantling of the different components of the whipping unit, it presents several drawbacks. First it presents the risk of dirtying the dispenser during the first step of dismantling the whipper housing. Actually if the chamber still contains some liquid, then this liquid would fall downwards: it could fall from the mixing housing during its displacement from the machine to a work surface and from the back wall until it is also placed on the work surface. It could cause as lot of mess. Secondly with this dispenser the dismantling requires the operator to displace himself two times in front of the dispenser: for the first step and then for the second step. If the work surface for cleaning the whipping unit components is not just aside from the dispenser, the operator loses time. Thirdly in the dispenser of the prior art, the operator is not obliged to dismantle the back wall and the impeller from the frame, he can clean them on the frame. Yet such a cleaning is not optimal and the operator who wants to save time can tend towards never dismantling these elements from the frame and never operating a correct cleaning.

One aim of the present invention is to solve these problems and to propose a beverage dispenser comprising a whipping unit of which components can be easily and rapidly dismantled for cleaning.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect, the invention concerns a beverage dispenser comprising:a frame for supporting the components of the dispenser,a whipper assembly comprising a whipper housing, a whipper device and a back wall, the whipper housing and the back wall forming a whipper chamber in which is lodged the whipper device,a drive shaft for driving the whipper device, said drive shaft being supported by the frame,detachable connection means for attaching the back wall to the whipper housing,
wherein it further comprises detachable connection means for attaching the whipper housing to the frame.

The whipper assembly of the dispenser of the present invention comprises a whipper housing and a back wall configured for forming a whipping chamber when they are assembled together. The whipping assembly also comprises a whipper device for whipping the prepred beverage such as an impeller, a rotating disk, . . . . The whipper device is driven by a driveshaft supported by the frame and extending through the back wall of the whipper assembly.

Some components of the whipper assembly of the beverage dispensers are assembled with connection means that can be detached for easy disassembling and then cleaning. In particular, the back wall and the whipper housing are attached through detachable connection means. Moreover the whipper housing is attached to the frame through detachable connection means. These detachable connection means can be any connection means that can be reversely disconnected and then reconnected like cam and cam tracks, clips or magnetic parts. According to the preferred embodiment the detachable connection means for attaching the back wall to the whipper housing is composed of at least a cam and at least a corresponding cam track. Preferably the at least one cam is present on the whipper housing and the at least one cam track is a slot in the back wall which fits with the cam. The cam track can be designed so that the connection enables the linear sliding of the whipper housing cam in the back wall cam track and then the rotating sliding of the whipper housing cam in the back wall cam track to anchor the whipper housing in the back wall.

According to the preferred embodiment the frame comprises a receiving area for positioning the whipper assembly and the receiving area and the whipper housing present corresponding detachable connection means. These detachable connection means between the receiving area and the whipper housing can be any connection means that can be reversely disconnected and then reconnected. Preferably the receiving area of the frame is a cylinder in which the whipper chamber is able to slide. The detachable connection means of the receiving area can be a locking means pivotally mounted to the cylinder at two symmetric pivot points. In particular, the detachable connection means of the whipper housing can be a guiding pin and the locking means can comprise a slot cooperating with said guiding pin so that said guiding pin is able to slide in the slot while the locking means is pivoted and while the whipper housing is linearly slid out of the receiving area.

The whipper assembly can comprise a handle for helping its removal from the receiving area of the frame when the locking means are disengaged.

The locking means can comprise a handle to help its rotation while connecting or disconnecting the whipper assembly from the receiving area.

According to a specific embodiment the whipper assembly can comprise a dissolution chamber above the whipper housing. The dissolution chamber and the whipper housing can be moulded in one single piece. The outlet of the dissolution chamber comes out in the whipper housing. Preferably the whipper assembly can comprise guiding means for positioning the dissolution chamber relatively to the frame. This guiding means is at least one tube able to fit in a corresponding hole in the frame. According to a preferred mode the at least one tube is a diluent supply tube.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention the back wall of the whipper assembly comprises:an opening for holding the driving end of the drive shaft anda recess for positioning the whipper device.

Preferably at least one of the driving end of the drive shaft or the whipper device is made at least partially of a magnetic material and the other of a metallic material. Consequently, when the whipper assembly is reconnected to the frame, the whipper device is attracted by the drive shaft end and automatically find its position in the recess of the whipper device.

According to a second aspect the invention concerns a method for cleaning a beverage dispenser according to any of the precedent claims comprising the steps of:disconnecting the whole whipping assembly from the frame, and thendisconnecting the back wall from the whipper housing,separately cleaning the back wall, the whipper housing and the whipper member,connecting the back wall and the whipper housing with the whipper member in the whipper chamber,connecting the whole whipping assembly to the frame.

The whipper assembly presents that advantage of being wholly detachable from the frame without separating the whipper housing, the whipper device and the back wall.

The whipper assembly also presents that advantage that its dismantling can be handled with only one hand.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The other parts of the dispensers—in particular the reconstitution means3for preparing a beverage from a dose of the food or beverage ingredient powder—are common to existing prior art.

With reference toFIG. 1the beverage dispenser comprises two food ingredient storing units14a,14bconnected to respective dosing units13a,13bable to provide food ingredient doses to a common dissolution chamber5. According to another embodiment the beverage dispenser can comprise a single dosing unit connected to the different storing units. The storing units14a,14bcan be a disposable tank like a cartridge, a can or tin, a pouch, . . . or it can be a non disposable canister that is refilled with powder food ingredients.

The food ingredient can be any ingredient that forms a beverage when mixed with a liquid diluent. It can be a soluble powder or a soluble liquid concentrate like for example coffee, decaffeinated coffee, dehydrated culinary products, tea, chocolate or milk. When different storing units are present, they preferably contain different food ingredients.

In the illustrated embodiment, each of the dosing units consists in a barrel closely integrated in a cylindrical chamber. The end of the drive shaft of the barrel can present coupling means able to be coupled to a drive motor in the dispenser. Each of the dosing devices is placed at the bottom of the storing units to receive the powder therefrom by gravity.

The dose of food ingredient issued from a dosing unit13a,13bis delivered to the dissolution chamber8where it is mixed with a diluent, usually water, introduced from a diluent inlet27. The shape of the chamber8and the orientation of the diluent inlet27are such that the diluent creates a sufficiently turbulent stream that helps the dissolution of the food ingredient in the diluent in the chamber. The mixture of the dissolved food ingredient is then introduced in a whipping chamber24constituted by the assembly of a whipping housing21and a back wall23. The whipping chamber24comprises a whipper device22such an impeller. The whipper device is connected to a drive shaft3fixed to the frame1of the dispenser. The drive shaft is actuated by a motor12. The whipped beverage leaves the whipper chamber24through an outlet16that can be connected to an outlet tube and is delivered in a cup15.

FIG. 2Aillustrates the whipper unit of a dispenser such as described inFIG. 1according to the present invention in its mounted position.

The frame1of the dispenser supports the motor12that actuates the whipper assembly. The frame presents a receiving area11which in the illustrated embodiment has the shape of a horizontal cylinder in which the whipper assembly can fit in the mounted position.

The receiving area and the whipper housing21comprise corresponding detachable means for connecting each other together. In the whipper housing21this detachable means consists in two guiding pins50symmetrically placed on the lateral sides of the whipper housing (in the present invention the term lateral is understood relatively to the position of the whipper housing in its mounted position in the dispenser). These guiding pins50fit in slots11aof the lateral sides of the cylinder of the receiving area11. In the receiving area11the detachable means comprises a locking means51pivotally mounted to the cylinder of the receiving area11at two pivot points53symmetrically placed on the lateral sides of the cylinder. The locking means51is preferably a lever pivotally mounted at two pivot points53. The lever can be pivoted between the mounted position ofFIG. 2Aand the dismounted positions ofFIGS. 2band2C. The detachable means of the receiving area11also comprises a slot52cooperating with the guiding pin50of the whipper housing21so that said guiding pin50is able to slide in the slot52while the locking means51is pivoted and while the whipper housing is linearly slid out of the receiving area. For this reason the slot preferably presents a linear part52aenabling the linear sliding of the whipper housing guiding pin50in or out of the receiving area and a curved part52benabling the rotation of the locking means51around the whipper housing21while said whipper housing is mounted in the receiving area11. The slots11aon each internal sides of the receiving area cylinder and the slots52on each internal lateral sides of the locking means51act as a guiding curves for the guiding pins50during the mounting and dismounting operation of the whipper assembly on the frame. OnFIG. 2A, this locking means51is represented in a transparent fashion in order to make the cooperation of the guiding pin50and the slot52apparent.

The whipper assembly comprises a dissolution chamber8above the whipper housing21. The dissolution chamber comprises a tube9ato set the positioning of the whipper assembly relative to the frame in the mounted position. The frame presents hole10in which the tube9ais able to slide for helping this positioning. It also presents a similar hole on the other side of the whipper assembly to connect the diluent inlet27to the dissolution chamber. The whipper assembly ofFIG. 2Apresents two tubes9a,9bsymmetrically disposed on the lateral sides of dissolution chamber8. One of the tube9ais full and has only a guiding function, whereas the other tube9bis hollow and is also the diluent supply for the dissolution chamber.

For dismounting the whipper assembly from the dispenser, the locking means51of the receiving area11is detached by applying a downward force on said locking means (arrow a). If the outlet16of the whipper chamber24is connected to a tube, this tube is previously disconnected from the outlet16to enable the movement of the locking means51. The application of the force can be helped by the presence of a handle7on the locking means51. Due to this downward force, the locking means51rotates around the pivot points53which makes the slot52slides around the guiding pin50of the whipper housing. The length of the curved part52bof the slot52is defined so that when the end of said curved part52breaches the guiding pin50of the whipper housing, then the locking means51is totally disengaged from the front part of the whipper housing21and the latter can freely horizontally slide out of the receiving area11. The front part is defined by opposition to the back wall of the whipper assembly.FIGS. 2B and 2Cillustrate the downward movement of the locking means51from the position according toFIG. 2Auntil the dismounting position according toFIG. 2C. During the downward movement, the locking means can simultaneously initiate a forward movement of the whipper assembly, during which the disconnection of the tubes9a,9bfrom the tubes10starts as it appears from the successive views onFIGS. 2B and 2C. The linear part52aof the slot52is oriented so that when the end of the curved part52bhas reached the guiding pin50of the whipper housing, the linear curve52ais horizontally oriented. In this position the linear curve52acovers the horizontal slot11aof the receiving area11. Then after the application of the downward force (arrow a), a horizontal force (arrow b) can be applied to horizontally pull the whipper assembly out of the receiving area11. The application of the force can be helped by the presence of a handle6on the whipper housing or on the dissolution chamber. It can be noticed that inFIGS. 2B and 2C, the locking means51present a slightly different shape from the locking means ofFIG. 2Aand in particular that the slots in each internal lateral sides of the locking means51are dug through the whole thickness of the locking means sides. This particular arrangement doesn't change the functions of the different elements and remains in the scope of the present invention.

Further to that last step the whipper assembly is dismounted from the frame1such as illustrated inFIG. 3. The whipper assembly still comprises the whipping device25inside and the back wall23which avoids dirtying the dispenser and the place around the dispenser if a fluid remains in the chamber24. The operator can in one step take all the whipper assembly components to the place where he is going to clean them. Once the operator is ready to clean the different parts of the whipper assembly, he can separate the back wall23from the whipper housing21by rotating the back wall23relatively to the whipper housing21according to the arrow c.FIGS. 4 and 5illustrate the connection means that removably attach the back wall23to the whipper housing21and that are composed of a cam4aon the whipper housing and a cam track4bon the back wall. Further to this step the three elements21,22,23of the whipper assembly can be separately thoroughly cleaned.

For reassembling, the back wall23and the whipper housing21are connected again with the whipper device22in between.FIG. 5illustrates the recess26in the front face of the back wall23that enables the positioning of the whipper in the whipper chamber24and that helps the reassembling of the different elements together and the cooperation of the whipper with free end of the drive shaft. The opening22ais forced to cooperate with the opening25of the back wall such as is made apparent inFIG. 3during reassembling.

Then the whipper assembly such as illustrated inFIG. 3can be reassembled with the frame1: the assembly is slid in the receiving area11; the two guiding pins50slide in the slot11aof the receiving area and the linear slot52aof the locking means. At the end of the sliding, the guiding tube10and hole10in the frame help the operator to correctly position the whipper assembly. The operator simultaneously connects the tube9bfor the diluent supply. Due to the linear guiding of the whipper assembly in the receiving area, the opening22aat the centre of the whipper device automatically meets the end of the drive shaft. The connection is helped by having whipper device opening22aand end of the drive shaft presenting corresponding shapes. One of these components can also be at least partially made of a magnetic material so that they connect together. Finally the operator attaches the whipper assembly to the frame by upwardly closing the locking means51around the whipper housing21. The locking means51preferably presents an internal shape that fits exactly with the external shape of the whipper housing to prevent any movement of the whipper assembly during the use of the dispenser.

The dispenser of the present invention presents the advantage that the whipper assembly is wholly detachable from the frame without separating the whipper housing, the whipper device and the back wall. Consequently it avoids that some rest of the beverage in the mixing chamber falls in the internal parts of the machine during dismantling.

The present invention presents also the advantage of enabling an easy and rapid disassembling and reassembling of the components of the whipper assembly.

The present invention presents also the advantage of forcing the operator to dismount all the parts of the whipper assembly and then to clean all of them. He cannot skip the cleaning of some components. The different parts of the whipping assembly can then be thoroughly cleaned with a brush and even wash in a dish washer.