Patent Description:
The present invention relates to a choke device and to a feed assembly for a granular or powder product provided with such a device.

In particular, the present invention finds advantageous but not exclusive application in the feeding of a granular or powder product in an automatic beverage vending machine, to which the following discussion will make explicit reference without thereby losing generality.

Here and hereinafter, the term "product" means any soluble or partially soluble or hygroscopic material or any mixture of materials having any particle size and organoleptic properties to be preserved and maintained during their feeding.

As is well known, automatic beverage vending machines are normally connected to the water supply network and generally comprise tanks containing granular or powder products and feed assemblies for feeding the aforementioned products.

An example of such feed assemblies is the one associated with an espresso brewing assembly for feeding sugar or other sweetener product into the coffee cup.

Regardless of the material dispensed, most of the known feed assemblies comprise a conveying pipe, which has its own product discharge section ending above the beverage container.

Although they are universally used, many of the known feed assemblies of the type defined above suffer from the main drawback of being poorly efficient and reliable.

The foregoing is due to the fact that the known assemblies do not allow the dosage of the fed product to be kept constant over time, in some cases, and they are not able to maintain the chemical-physical and/or organoleptic characteristics of the fed products unchanged, on the other hand.

As a result of tests and experiments, the Applicant was able to establish that the above-mentioned problems are essentially the result of the fact that the discharge section of the duct flows into an environment in which humid vapours, i.e. containing more or less fine water particles in suspension, are present.

These humid vapours inevitably, and especially when they are hot vapours, penetrate into the discharge section of the duct and gradually ascend the duct itself, lapping the internal walls of the duct until reaching the product dosing valve, if any.

With each dispensing, the internal walls of the duct progressively retain, firstly, the more volatile parts and, then, also the less volatile ones of the vapours with the consequence that the passage section of the duct is progressively reduced creating resistances to the feeding of the product. The resistances grow with each dispensing to the point in which they constitute a real obstacle to the feeding of the product, the dosage of which therefore varies uncontrollably.

The powderier the product and the more humidity-sensitive its organoleptic qualities, the more serious the problem becomes.

For this reason, known vending machines must undergo periodic check, cleaning and sanitisation interventions. Each intervention entails inevitable costs and continuous machine downtimes and service interruption.

Attempts to close the outlet opening of the duct using external closure plates or plugs have proved ineffective in some cases and insufficiently reliable as well as complicated and expensive in others.

<CIT> describes a feed device for feeding a granular product, wherein an elastically deformable intermediate section of a feed tube is choked by a thrust head moving orthogonally to the tube between two extreme end positions.

Document <CIT> describes a liquid control valve, which is preferred for application in the field of washing machines or dishwashers for dosing the cleaning liquid by chocking the liquid delivery tube by overturning a part of the same delivery tube arranged upstream of the outlet section.

<CIT> discloses a vending machine for hair cream or like viscous substances having features according to the preamble of claim <NUM>.

<CIT> discloses a soft food and beverage dispenser having features according to the preamble of claim <NUM>.

<CIT> discloses a flexible tube-metering devices having features according to the preamble of claim <NUM>.

<CIT> discloses a control device for a fluid supply hose having features according to the preamble of claim <NUM>.

<CIT> discloses a device for choking fluid flow having features according to the preamble of claim <NUM>.

<CIT> discloses a bottle valve system having features according to the preamble of claim <NUM>.

Aim of the present invention is to realize a choke device, particularly for an automatic beverage vending machine, which allows the problem exposed above to be solved in a simple, efficient and economical way.

According to the present invention, a choke assembly device is realized as claimed in Claim <NUM>.

The present invention also relates to a feed assembly for feeding a granular or powder product, particularly for an automatic beverage vending machine.

According to the present invention a feed assembly for feeding a granular or powder product as claimed in Claim <NUM> is realized.

The present invention finally relates to a feed method for feeding a granular or powder product into a container, particularly a container of an automatic beverage vending machine.

According to the present invention, there is provided a feed method for feeding a granular or powder product into a container as claimed in Claim <NUM>.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures to allow a skilled person to make and use it. Various modifications of the embodiment described will be immediately clear to the skilled person and the general principles disclosed can be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the protection scope of the present invention, as defined in the enclosed drawings. Therefore, the present invention shall not be limited to the shown and described embodiments, but it must be granted the widest protection scope in accordance with the features disclosed and claimed.

Unless otherwise defined, all the herein used technical and scientific terms have the same meaning commonly used by the ordinary skilled in the art of the present invention. In case of conflict, the present invention, including definitions provided, will be binding. Furthermore, the examples are provided for merely illustrative purposes and must not be regarded as limiting.

In order to ease the understanding of the herein described embodiments, reference will be made to some specific embodiments and a specific language will be used to describe them. The terminology used in the present document aims at describing only particular implementations, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

In <FIG>, reference number <NUM> denotes an automatic beverage vending machine as a whole.

The vending machine <NUM> comprises an external casing or container <NUM>, in turn, comprising, a floor support base <NUM>, a rear wall <NUM>, two side walls <NUM> and an upper wall <NUM> facing the support base <NUM>.

The support base <NUM> and the side <NUM> and upper <NUM> walls delimit a chamber <NUM> which is accessed through a front or anterior opening <NUM> facing the rear wall and closed by a hinged door <NUM>.

Within the chamber <NUM>, the container <NUM> houses a plurality of assemblies <NUM> for preparing beverages in general and dispensing the same beverages into cups <NUM> (only one of which is visible in <FIG>) distributed by distributing assemblies <NUM>, per se known and configured to feed the cups <NUM> into a compartment <NUM> outside the door <NUM>.

Each assembly <NUM> comprises a relative storage tank <NUM> for a granular or powder material which is arranged resting on a shelf <NUM> that is adjacent to the upper wall <NUM> and ducts <NUM> for dispensing a beverage or relative product into the cup <NUM> housed in the compartment <NUM>.

Again with reference to <FIG>, the vending machine <NUM> also comprises a feed assembly <NUM> for feeding a granular or powder product.

In the example described, the assembly <NUM> is associated with an assembly <NUM> for the preparation and distribution of espresso coffee, which is also per se known and not described in detail. In this case, the assembly <NUM> feeds a mass of granular or powder sweetener product, e.g. sugar, directly into the cup <NUM>.

In the example described, the assembly <NUM> comprises, a sweetener product storage tank <NUM> which rests on the shelf <NUM> and a feed duct <NUM> to guide the product towards the cup <NUM> along a feed path <NUM> (<FIG> and <FIG>).

The duct <NUM> comprises an inlet section <NUM> configured, in a per se known manner, to receive the sweetener product from the tank <NUM> and a discharge section <NUM> for discharging the product into the cup <NUM>.

Preferably, the discharge section <NUM> is connected in a disconnectable manner to the inlet section <NUM> by means of a releasable joint <NUM>, which is per se known and, conveniently, of the sliding engagement type.

Preferably, the discharge section <NUM> is made entirely of elastomeric material and therefore of elastically deformable material and comprises a portion <NUM> joining the inlet section <NUM>, a terminal portion <NUM> delimiting an outlet opening <NUM> for the sweetener product, and an intermediate portion <NUM>.

Alternatively, according to a variant not shown, only the intermediate portion <NUM> is made of elastically deformable material, while the joining portion <NUM> and the terminal portion <NUM> may be made of different materials or be substantially rigid tubular portions.

Still with reference to <FIG> and, in particular, <FIG> and <FIG>, the assembly <NUM> further comprises a choke device <NUM> to elastically deform the intermediate portion <NUM> and at least partially choke the discharge section <NUM>, as will be evident from the following.

The choke device <NUM> comprises its own frame <NUM>, which is arranged resting on a shelf <NUM> fixed to the container <NUM>.

Conveniently, the frame <NUM> is releasably connected to the shelf <NUM> by means of screws or other releasable attachment devices so that it can be easily removed and replaced by opening the door <NUM>.

The choke device <NUM> then comprises a choke member <NUM>, in turn, comprising a rear attachment portion <NUM>, which is U-shaped and crossed by the intermediate portion <NUM>. The rear portion <NUM> is hinged to the frame <NUM> by means of a hinge pin <NUM> arranged orthogonally to the path <NUM> and below the path <NUM> itself and the intermediate portion <NUM>.

The choke member <NUM> then comprises an anterior support portion <NUM>, which is shaped to delimit a recess <NUM>, into which a rear section 29A of the terminal portion <NUM> extends. The rear section 29A perpetually rests on a back wall 41A of the recess <NUM> and is retained in the recess <NUM> by a collar <NUM>.

An anterior section 41B of the same terminal portion <NUM> protrudes, however, in a cantilever fashion beyond the choke member <NUM>.

The back wall 41A extends in a position spaced away from the pin <NUM> (<FIG> and <FIG>).

The choke member <NUM> is rotatable with respect to the frame <NUM> and about a fixed hinge axis 38A defined by the pin <NUM> under the thrust of a motorized actuator device <NUM>, to rotate between a support position, in which it maintains the terminal portion <NUM> in a condition of feeding the product into the cup <NUM>, shown in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, and a position that is overturned backwards with respect to the support position, shown in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, in which it elastically bends and deforms the intermediate portion <NUM> and chokes the intermediate portion <NUM> itself by pushing it into contact with the wall 41A, effectively fluid-tightly isolating the inlet duct <NUM> and part of the discharge duct <NUM> from the outside.

Alternatively, according to a variant not shown, the choke member <NUM> chokes the intermediate portion <NUM> without, however, completely occluding the passage so that the inlet section <NUM> is not mechanically isolated from the outside in a fluid-tight fashion.

As can be seen from <FIG> and <FIG> and, in particular, <FIG>, when the choke member <NUM> is arranged in its overturned position, the back surface 41A of the recess <NUM> extends in a substantially vertical position, the terminal portion <NUM> extends upwards by arranging its outlet <NUM> facing upwards in the direction opposite to the cup <NUM>.

Referring again to <FIG> and <FIG>, the motorized actuator <NUM> comprises a connecting rod-crank transmission <NUM> and an electric motor <NUM> for operating the connecting rod-crank transmission <NUM>.

Conveniently, the transmission <NUM> comprises a connecting rod defined by a fork <NUM> having arms arranged on opposite parts of the rear attachment portion <NUM> and pivoted on the rear portion <NUM>, and a pair of connecting rods defined by parts of the rear portion <NUM> itself.

From the foregoing, it is evident that the choke device <NUM> described prevents vapours or sprays of the beverage and, in general, all volatile substances at temperature and not present in the discharge area of the sweetener product, i.e. in or around the compartment <NUM>, from penetrating into the feed duct <NUM> through the opening <NUM> both before and after the dispensing of the product by spraying or simply humidifying the internal surface of the same feed duct.

The foregoing is due to the fact that a portion of the duct <NUM> close to the outlet is choked and compressed until its passage section is nullified, thereby fluidically isolating the feed duct from the outside.

In addition to this, the backward overturning of the terminal portion <NUM> results in a distancing of the outlet opening <NUM> from the dispensing area and the upward orientation of the same outlet opening <NUM> further hindering and, in practice, preventing the entry into the terminal section <NUM> of vapours or substances present in the dispensing area.

In this way, the environment inside the duct <NUM> is kept dry and clean, preventing, on the one hand, parts of the fed product, including the most powdery ones, from adhering to the internal surface of the duct and crystallising, thus creating roughness or obstacles to the free feeding of the product and, on the other hand, variations in the expected chemical, physical and organoleptic characteristics of the same product necessary to perform a predefined sweetening from occurring.

Experimentally, it was then possible to ascertain that the maintenance of a substantially anhydrous condition of the internal volume of the duct <NUM> is maintained, in some cases, even without completely occluding the intermediate portion, but simply chocking it also being the outlet opening <NUM> oriented on the other side of the cup <NUM> and, in general, arranged in an area "away" from the product feeding area when the choke member <NUM> is arranged in its overturned position. The degree of chocking is variable, for example, depending on the cross-section of the duct, the sensitivity of the product to humidity and the aggressiveness of the humid or contaminated vapours.

From the foregoing, it is also evident that the described feed assembly <NUM> operates independently of the type and characteristics of the product to be fed.

For this reason, it is evident that the feed assembly <NUM> described can be associated not only with any beverage preparation assembly provided inside the automatic beverage vending machine <NUM> but it can be used in all those cases in which, regardless of the container provided to receive it, the product is dispensed in an environment in which vapours or volatile substances are present or sprays can be generated which can enter the duct through the outlet and compromise not only the efficiency and functional reliability of the feed assembly but also modify both the chemical-physical characteristics of the product and its organoleptic qualities.

The fact of providing a releasable joint between the discharge section <NUM> and the inlet section <NUM> facilitates and speeds up the maintenance and/or replacement operations of the elastically deformable section, i.e. of that section which, according to the foregoing, is subject to high fatigue cycles and therefore to deterioration and wear, leaving the remaining part of the duct <NUM> unaltered.

Moreover, the replacement of the discharge section <NUM> is possible by simply removing the same discharge section <NUM> from the choke device <NUM>, therefore without any special technical knowledge and without the use of specific or dedicated tools, the use of which is always undesirable, especially in automatic beverage vending machines where there is very little room for manoeuvre.

Finally, the fact that the feed assembly <NUM> comprises its own attachment frame <NUM> and that it can be connected to a fixed support structure by means of simple screws or other equivalent releasable connecting systems, as well as the presence of the joint <NUM>, allow the entire device <NUM> to be removed and replaced easily and in a very short time.

From the foregoing, it is also evident that changes and variations can be made to the described assembly <NUM> without thereby leaving the protective scope defined by the independent claims. In particular, the choke member <NUM> could be coupled to the frame <NUM> in a manner other than that described to move along paths other than the one indicated, as well as it could be moved by a drive assembly without mechanical lever transmissions using, for example, an electric linear motor, or transmissions of the nut screw-screw type.

Claim 1:
A feed assembly (<NUM>) for feeding a granular or powder product for an automatic beverage vending machine (<NUM>), the feed assembly (<NUM>) comprising a feed duct (<NUM>) for feeding said granular or powder product to guide the product along a feed path (<NUM>) and towards a product discharge container (<NUM>), the duct (<NUM>) having a discharge section (<NUM>) delimiting a product outlet opening (<NUM>) towards the container (<NUM>), the discharge section (<NUM>) comprising at least one intermediate portion (<NUM>) made of elastically deformable material and a terminal portion (<NUM>) delimiting said outlet opening (<NUM>); the feed assembly (<NUM>) furthermore comprising a choke device (<NUM>) configured to receive said discharge section (<NUM>) and comprising: an attachment frame (<NUM>) designed to be connected to a fixed support (<NUM>); and
a choke member (<NUM>) coupled to said attachment frame (<NUM>) and having a support surface (41A) for said discharge section (<NUM>);
characterized in that, the feed assembly (<NUM>) comprising motorized means (<NUM>) for moving said choke member (<NUM>) with respect to said attachment frame (<NUM>) between a support position, in which it maintains the discharge section (<NUM>) in a product feed condition, and an overturned position, in which said support surface (41A) extends in a substantially vertical position to elastically deform and at least partially choke said intermediate portion (<NUM>) and said discharge section (<NUM>) upstream of said outlet opening (<NUM>) in the product feed direction along said feed path (<NUM>), and maintains said outlet opening (<NUM>) facing upwards;
when the choke member (<NUM>) is arranged in its overturned position, said terminal portion (<NUM>) being overturned backwards with respect to the support position and said outlet opening (<NUM>) facing upwards.