LIQUID FOAMING COMPOUND

Description

BE2025 / 5698 2 SummaryoftheInvention

[0005] Itisthereforeanaimofthepresentinventiontosolveoratleastpartially alleviateoneormoreoftheabove-mentioneddrawbacks.Inparticular,theinvention aimsatprovidinganimprovedliquidfrothingassemblywhichisrelativelyversatileinuse5 withrespecttodifferenttypesand / orvolumesofliquidswhileremainingrelatively compactandeasytouse.Tothisaim,accordingtoafirstaspectoftheinvention,there isprovidedaliquidfrothingassemblyforfrothingaliquidthroughsteaminjectionhaving thefeaturesofclaim1.Inparticular,theliquidfrothingassemblycomprisesatleastone containerconfiguredtocontainaliquidtobefrothed,asteamnozzleconnectabletoa10 steamgeneratorandconfiguredtoinjectsteamunderasurfaceleveloftheliquidwhen containedintheatleastonecontainer,andadrivingsystemconfiguredtocausea movementofthesteamnozzlewithrespecttotheatleastonecontainerinasubstantially verticaldirection.Saidmovementisarelativemovementofthesteamnozzlewith respecttotheatleastonecontainer.Itmaybeobtainedbytheatleastonecontainer15 beingdrivenawayfromthesteamnozzleorbythesteamnozzlebeingdrivenawayfrom theatleastonecontainer,orbyacombinationofboth.Theverticaldirectionmaybe definedasbeingtransversetoasurfaceleveloftheliquidwhencontainedinthe container.Inaninventiveway,thedrivingsystemisfurtherconfiguredtoadjustan angularpositionofthesteamnozzlewithrespecttotheatleastonecontainerina20 substantiallyhorizontalplane.Suchanadjustmentoftheangularpositionisagaina relativemotionandincludesarevolvingaroundasubstantiallyverticalaxisoutsideof theatleastonecontainerorthestealnozzlecontrarytoarotationaroundaninternal axisofsaidbodies.Thesteamnozzlecanbedriventorotateawayfromtheatleastone containerincreasinganangularseparationbetweenthesteamnozzleandtheatleast25 onecontainer.Alternatively,theatleastonecontainercanbedrivenawayfromthe steamnozzle,oracombinationofboth.Asaresult,apositionofinsertionofthesteam nozzleintotheliquidintheatleastonecontainercanbefinetuned,forexample dependingonavolumeand / orafillingleveloftheatleastonecontainer.Further advantagesofthisadjustmentinangularpositionwillbeexplainedthroughoutthe30 description.

[0006] Theliquidfrothingassemblycanpreferablyfurthercompriseadrivehousing configuredtoenclosethedrivingsystem,saiddrivehousingbeingrotatablearounda substantiallyverticalaxis.Thedrivingsystemcanforexampleincludeasteppermotor35 whichcanadvantageouslydrivethemovementbetweenthesteamnozzleandtheat 2025 / 5698 BE2025 / 5698 3 leastonecontainerinarelativelypreciseway.Othermotortypescanalsobeusedtoan advantage.Thedrivehousingispreferablyseparatefromamainhousing.Suchamain housingcanforexampleenclosefurtherasteamgeneratorifany,electronics,printed circuitboardsand / oracontrolunitconfiguredtocontrolthedrivingsystem.Therotatable drivehousingcanbeconsideredasaseparateinvention,whichcanprovidearobust5 solutioncombiningverticalandhorizontalmovement.Inaparticularlyadvantageous embodiment,thedrivehousingcanhaveacylindricalshape,withalongitudinalaxis beingpositionedsubstantiallyvertically.Inthisway,arotationalmovementaroundits longitudinalaxiscanprovideanadjustmentofanangularpositioninahorizontalplane. 10

[0007] Itispreferredthatthedrivingsystemisconfiguredtodrivethesteamnozzle alongthesubstantiallyverticaldirection.Drivingthesteamnozzleratherthantheatleast onecontainercanprovideanassemblywhichisrelativelysimplermechanicallysince thesteamnozzleissmallerthanthecontainer.Moreover,movingthecontainerwhile beingfilledwithliquidmaybehazardous,evenifthatiswhatbaristasusuallydowhen15 manuallyfrothingliquid.Thedrivingsystemmaybeconfiguredtolowerthesteamnozzle inadownward,substantiallyverticalmovement,intotheliquidtobefrothedata predeterminedheightunderthesurfaceleveloftheliquid.Thedrivingsystemmayfurther beconfiguredtolowerand / orraisethesteamnozzleinanupward,substantiallyvertical movementduringsteaminjection.Speedand / ortimingoftheseupwardanddownward20 movementofthesteamnozzlemaybeadjustable.

[0008] Thedrivehousingcanadvantageouslyincludeasubstantiallyverticalslit throughwhichthesteamnozzleextends.Theslitcanthusguideasubstantiallyvertical movementofthesteamnozzlealongthisslit.25

[0009] Theliquidfrothingassemblymayfurthercompriseacleaningstation configuredtoreceiveatleastatipofsaidsteamnozzleforcleaning.Thecleaningstation canincludeacleaningfluidinletconnectabletoasourceofcleaningfluid,whichmaybe waterwithorwithoutadetergent,oranyothercleaningfluid.Thecleaningstationmay30 furtherincludeafluidoutletconnectabletoadischarge.Thecleaningstationmaybe configuredtosprayacleaningfluidontoatleastatipofthenozzle.Additionally,the assemblymaybeconfiguredtoprovideasteamflowthroughthesteamnozzletorinse aninteriorofthesteamnozzle,thesteambeingdischargedviathefluidoutlet.Sucha cleaningstationcanallowtheassemblytobeusedwithavarietyofliquidstobefrothed35 2025 / 5698 BE2025 / 5698 4 sincethesteamnozzlecanbecleanedinbetweenfrothingsessionsthuspreventing cross-contaminationbetweendifferentliquids.

[0010] Thecleaningstationispreferablypositionedsuchthatthesteamnozzleis receivableinthecleaningstationthroughadjustmentoftheangularpositionofthesteam5 nozzle.Inotherwords,thecleaningstationispositionedonanarcofacircleformedby ahorizontalmovementofthesteamnozzle.Withasinglerotationalmovement,the steamnozzlecanbemovedbetweentheatleastonecontainerandthecleaningstation.

[0011] Thecleaningstationmaybereleasablymountedtoamainhousingofthe10 assembly.Asmentionedbefore,themainhousingmaybeconfiguredtoenclosefor exampleasteamgenerator,printedcircuitboardsand / oracontrolunitconfiguredto controlthedrivingsystem.Themainhousingmaypreferablybeafixed,non-rotatable housing.Thereleasablemountingofthecleaningstationcanforexamplebeprovided byclippingthecleaningstationtothemainhousing,orbyanyotherknownreleasable15 mount.Thereleasablemountingcanfacilitatecleaningofthecleaningstationitself.

[0012] Theliquidfrothingassemblycanfurthercompriseasecondcontainer.The secondcontainercanpreferablybepositionedsuchthatthesteamnozzleispositionable overthesecondcontainerthroughadjustmentoftheangularpositionofthesteam20 nozzle.Inotherwords,alsothesecondcontainercanbeplacedsuchthatamovement ofthesteamnozzlebetweenthefirstcontainerandthesecondcontainerisanarcof circle.Justasforthecleaningstation,suchajudiciouspositioningcanallowthatasingle revolvingmovementofthesteamnozzlearoundasubstantiallyverticalaxiscanbeused betweenafirstcontainerandanyfurthercontainer,and,ifany,toandfromacleaning25 station.

[0013] Theliquidfrothingassemblycanfurthercomprisealiquidnozzleconfigured toprovidealiquidtobefrothedtotheatleastonecontainer.Inthisway,automationof theprocesscanbeimproved.Alternatively,theliquidcanbeprovidedmanuallytotheat30 leastonecontainer,orbyaseparatedevice.

[0014] Thedrivingsystemmaybeconfiguredtomovetheliquidnozzlesubstantially inparallelwiththesteamnozzle.Theliquidnozzlecanpreferablybemountedadjacent toandparalleltothesteamnozzle.Theliquidnozzlecanevenbeattachedtothesteam35 nozzle.Jointmovementofthesteamnozzleandtheliquidnozzlecanfacilitatecontrol 2025 / 5698 BE2025 / 5698 5 ofthedrivingsystemandsimplifythedrivingsystemandtheliquidfrothingassembly. Alternatively,theliquidnozzlecanbedrivenindependentlyfromthesteamnozzle.

[0015] Theliquidfrothingassemblycanadvantageouslyfurthercomprisea proportionalsteamvalveandasteampressuresensormountedupstreamofthesteam5 nozzleanddownstreamoftheproportionalsteamvalveandconfiguredtosensea pressureofthesteam.Anopeningoftheproportionalsteamvalveispreferably controllablebasedonsaidsensedsteampressure.Inthisway,theliquidfrothing assemblycanguaranteeagoodfrothingresultinmanydifferentsituations.Asan example,pressuregeneratedbyasteamgeneratormaynotalwaysbeatthepressure10 neededforagivenliquidand / orvolume,inparticularwhentheassemblyisconnected toanexternalsteamgenerator.Bymeasuringpressurebetweenasteamvalveandthe tipofthesteamnozzle,anunsuitablepressuremaybedetectedandcorrectedforby adjustinganopeningoftheproportionalsteamvalve.Additionally,andoralternatively, steampressurecanbecontrolledandfinetuneddependingonthebeveragepreparation15 thefrothedliquidistobeusedin,and / ordependingonforexampleacontainervolume, aliquidvolumeand / oratypeofliquid.Theproportionalsteamvalveisconfiguredtobe openableoverdifferentratiosbetweenfullyopenandfullyclosed,notjust100%openor closed.Theproportionalsteamvalvecanpreferablybeapulse-width-modulationvalve (PWMvalve)butothervalvesallowingpartialopeningmayalsobeused.Ithasbeen20 shownthatsuchaproportionalvalveissimplerandprovidesbetterresultsthanusinga pluralityofclassicalsteamvalvesmountedinparalleltoregulatepressure.Theuseofa proportionalvalveincombinationwithapressuresensorcontrollingtheproportional valveforregulatingsteampressureinaliquidfrothingassemblycanbeconsideredasa separateinvention.25

[0016] Theliquidfrothingassemblycanfurthercompriseatleastonecontainer supportelement.Saidatleastonecontainersupportelementcanpreferablyincludea weighingsensorconfiguredtosenseaweightofthecontainerwhenplacedonsaid containersupportelement.Knowledgeoftheweightofthecontainerfilledwiththeliquid30 tobefrothedcanallowtodetermineasurfaceleveloftheliquidinthecontainerwhen combinedwithknowledgeofavolumeand / ordimensionsofthecontainerand knowledgeoftheliquidinthecontainer.Alternatively,asurfaceleveloftheliquidinthe containercanforexamplebedeterminedbyavisualsensor. 35 2025 / 5698 BE2025 / 5698 6

[0017] TheatleastonecontainercanadvantageouslyincludeanRFIDtag configuredtostorecomputer-readabledatawithrespecttoatleastavolumeofthe container.SaidRFIDtagcanbereadbyacontrolunitoftheliquidfrothingassembly.TheRFIDtagcanalsoincludedatawithrespecttoatypeofliquidthecontaineris configuredtobefilledwith,todimensionsofthecontainer,toaweightofthecontainer5 whenemptyand / ortoapredeterminedminimaland / ormaximalfillinglevelofthe container.Inthisway,theassemblycanbecontrolledinawaywhichisadaptableto manydifferentrecipesofbeveragepreparationsneedingfrothingofaliquid.

[0018] Theliquidfrothingassemblycanfurthercompriseacontrolunitconfigured10 tocontrolthedrivingsystem.Thedrivingsystemcanbecontrolledinmanyways:the controlunitcanforexampleprovideautomatedcheckstostartand / orstopthedriving system,forexamplewithrespecttoaweightoftheatleastonecontainer,toasurface leveloftheliquidtobefrothed,toasteampressureinthesteamnozzle,and / ortoa frothingresult.Thecontrolunitcanfurtherincludeamemoryonwhichrecipedatacan15 bestored.Saidrecipedatacanforexampleincludeaheightundertheliquidsurface levelatwhichsteamneedstobeinjected,apreferredtemperatureoftheliquidtobe frothed,durationofsteaminjection,steampressureneededforagivenrecipe,quantity and / ortypeofliquid,aminimumand / ormaximumlevelofaliquidtobefrothed,and / or otherrecipedata.Saidrecipedatamayvaryaccordingtoabeveragepreparationin20 whichthefrothedliquidistobeused.Thecontrolunitcanalsoincludeauserinterface allowingausertoprovideinputtothecontrolunitwithrespecttooneormoreofthese features.Asanexample,ausercanlinkeachoftheatleastonecontainertoa predeterminedrecipe.Theuserinterfacecanforexampleincludeadisplay,preferably atouchscreen.Thedisplaymaybeconfiguredtodisplayprogressofthefrothingprocess25 and / orvariablevalues,suchastemperatureoftheliquid,steampressureorother information.Inanadvantageousembodiment,theliquidfrothingassembly,inparticular thecontrolunit,maybeconfiguredtoshowasurfaceleveloftheliquidinthecontainer onthedisplay,whichispreferablyadjustedcontinuouslyduringfilling,aswellasa predeterminedminimumand / ormaximumliquidsurfacelevel,whichcanincrease30 visibilityofsuchlevelfortheuseroveranyindicationinthecontaineritself.Inthisway, automationofthefrothingprocesscanbeimprovedwhileatthesametimeaccelerating theprocessandprovidingreliablefrothingresults. 35 2025 / 5698 BE2025 / 5698 7 BriefDescriptionoftheDrawings

[0019] Aspectsoftheinventionwillnowbedescribedindetailwithreferencetothe appendeddrawings,whereinsamereferencenumeralsillustratesamefeatures.

[0020] Figure1showsaperspectiveviewofapreferredembodimentoftheliquid5 frothingassemblyaccordingtotheinvention;

[0021] Figures2aand2bshowaperspectiveviewoftheliquidfrothingassemblyof Figure1inanoperatingposition; 10

[0022] Figures3aand3bshowaperspectiveviewofasecondembodimentofthe liquidfrothingassemblyinanoperatingposition;

[0023] Figure4showsaperspectiveviewonathirdembodimentoftheliquid frothingassemblyaccordingtotheinvention;15

[0024] Figures5a,5band5cshowasideview,aperspectiveviewandacross- sectionalviewonapreferredembodimentofacleaningstationoftheliquidfrothing assemblyofFigures1,3aor4. 20 DetailedDescriptionofEmbodiments

[0025] Figure1showsaperspectiveviewofapreferredembodimentoftheliquid frothingassembly1accordingtotheinvention.Theliquidfrothingassembly1comprises acontainer2configuredtocontainaliquidtobefrothed,whichcanforexamplebemilk ofanimalorigine,suchascowmilkorgoatmilk,oranyothermilkreplacingdrinkof25 vegetalorigin,suchasoatmilk,soymilk,ricemilk.Suchacontainer2canforexample beamilkjugincludingahandleandaspouttopourthefrothedliquidintoanotherdrink, suchasforexampleanycoffeeorteapreparation.Theassemblypreferablyincludesa pluralityofcontainers2,forexamplehavingdifferentvolumes,forexamplerangingfrom 25mlto125mlormoreorless.Thecontainers2canincludeacomputerreadabletag,30 suchasanRFIDtag,storingforexampleavolumeand / ordimensionsoftherespective container,whichdatacanbereadbyacontrolleroftheassembly.Thecontainers2may additionallybededicatedtoatypeofliquid,whichmaybeindicatedtotheuserbywords and / orcoloursorbyanyothermeans.Asanintuitiveexample,awhitecontainermaybe dedicatedtomilkofanimalorigin,agreencontainermaybeformilkreplacingdrinksof35 2025 / 5698 BE2025 / 5698 8 vegetaloriginandablackcontainermaybeusedformilkmixtureslikechocolatemilkor matchaoranyothermixtures.Sinceviscositiesbetweenthesedifferentliquidsmay furthervary,thecontainersmayincludemorededicatedindicationsfortheuser,suchas anoatsignforoatmilk,oracowforcowmilk.Thesedataindicatingforwhichtypeof liquidthecontainer2isdedicated,canalsobestoredonthecomputerreadabletag5 includedinthecontainer2.Theassemblypreferablyincludesacontainersupport element3,whichmaybeattachedtothemainhousing4.Thecontainersupportelement 3mayforexamplebeaplatformincludinganupstandingridgeormayalternativelybea plate-likeelement.Thecontainersupportelementmayincludemeansforweighingthe container2,forexampleaweightsensor.Basedontheweightofthecontainerin10 combinationwithdatastoredonthecomputerreadabletagofthecontainer2,the controlleroftheassemblycandetermineasurfaceleveloftheliquidinthecontainer. Thecontrollercanthencontrolthedrivingsystem,whichcancontrolamovementofthe steamnozzlebeforeandduringsteaminjection. 15

[0026] Theassemblyfurthercomprisesasteamnozzle5configuredtoinjectsteam underasurfaceleveloftheliquidwhencontainedinthecontainer2.Thesteamnozzle 5isconnectabletoasteamgenerator(notshown)whichmaybeenclosedinthemain housing4orwhichmaybeaseparatedevice,orwhichmaybeincludedinaseparate device,forexampleinanexpressomachine.Thesteamnozzle5isconfiguredtobe20 movableinasubstantiallyverticaldirection,inparticularbefore,duringandaftersteam injectionintotheliquidinordertoinjectsteamatapredeterminedheightunderthe surfaceleveloftheliquidinthecontainer2.Thesteamnozzle5isconnectedtoasteam conduit,whichispreferablyflexible,tofollowamovementofthesteamnozzle5.The steamconduitcanthenincludeaconnectingportforconnectingtosaidsteamgenerator.25 Movementofthesteamnozzle5iscausedbythedrivingsystem(notshown).Thedriving systemcanforexampleincludealinearslide,preferablysubstantiallyvertical,and / ora steppermotor.Thedrivingsystemcanadvantageouslybeincludedinadrivehousing6 whichisrotatablearoundasubstantiallyverticalaxis.Thedrivehousing6canfor examplehaveacylindricalshape,oranyothershape,andbeconfiguredtorotatearound30 itscentrallongitudinalaxis.Thedrivehousing6ispreferablyseparatefromthemain housing4butpositionedadjacenttosaidmainhousing4.Therotatabledrivehousing6 canbeconsideredasaseparateinvention.Thedrivehousing6canincludeaslit7 extendingalongalongitudinaldirectionofthedrivehousing.Theslit7isconfiguredto receivethesteamnozzle5whichcanextendthroughsaidslit7.Theslit7canguidea35 substantiallylinearmovementofthesteamnozzle5whileachangeinangularposition 2025 / 5698 BE2025 / 5698 9 ofthesteamnozzle5withrespecttothecontainer2ispreferablycausedbyarotation ofthedrivehousing6itselfarounditslongitudinalaxis,aswillbeshowninFigures2a and2b.

[0027] Figures2aand2bshowaperspectiveviewoftheliquidfrothingassemblyof5 Figure1inrespectiveoperatingpositions.Theassembly1mayfurtherincludeacleaning station10whichmaybereleasablemountedtothemainhousing4.Thecleaningstation 10willbedescribedinmoredetailwithrespecttoFigures5a,5band5c.Thecleaning station10isconfiguredtoreceiveatipofsaidsteamnozzle,asshowninFigure2a,for externaland / orinternalcleaningofthesteamnozzle5,forexampleinbetweentwo10 frothingoperationswithdifferentliquids.Thecleaningstation10ispreferablypositioned suchthatthecleaningstation10isreachablebythesteamnozzle5throughadjustment oftheangularpositionofthesteamnozzle5,optionallyincombinationwithalinear movementofthesteamnozzle5alongtheslit7.Insteadofjustrotatingthesteamnozzle 5,thedrivehousing6isadvantageouslyconfiguredtorotateortoswivelasawhole15 arounditscentrallongitudinalaxissuchthatthesteamnozzle5canmovebetweena cleaningoperation,asshowninFigure2a,andafrothingoperation,asshowninFigure 2b.

[0028] Figures3aand3bshowaperspectiveviewofasecondembodimentofthe20 liquidfrothingassembly1’inanoperatingposition.Thissecondembodimentofthe assembly1’onlydiffersfromthefirstembodimentofFigure1inthatthepresent assembly1’comprisesafirstandasecondcontainersupportelementorstructure3a, 3b,whichareeachconfiguredtoreceivearespectivecontainer2a,2bsimultaneously. Thesecondcontainersupport3bcanforexamplebefixedlyorreleasablymountedto25 themainhousing4and / ortothefirstcontainersupportelement3a.Thesecond containersupportelementispreferablymountedtoasideofthefirstcontainersupport element3aatleastpartiallysetbacksuchthatthesecondcontainer2biswithinreach ofthesteamnozzle5througharotationalmovementofthedrivehousing6.Evenifa singlesteamnozzle5cannotsimultaneouslyinjectsteamintoboththefirstandthe30 secondcontainer2a,2b,theusercanprepareasecondcontainer2bduringsteam injectionintothefirstcontainer2a,andtheassemblycanquicklyswitchbetweensteam injectionintoafirstcontainer2aorasecondcontainer2b,oracleaningoperation,thanks totherotatingmovementofthedrivehousing6,whichcanaccelerateoperationsofthe wholepreparationprocessofdrinks.35 2025 / 5698 BE2025 / 5698 10

[0029] Figure4showsaperspectiveviewonathirdembodimentoftheliquid frothingassemblyaccordingtotheinvention.Thethirdembodimentmayoptionally includeasecondcontainersupportelement3b,aspreviouslydescribed,whichmay,but neednot,havethesameshapeand / ordimensionsasthefirstcontainersupportelement 3a.Theassembly1,1’or1”mayincludeauserinterface,whichmayincludeascreen5 30,suchasatouchscreen,oranumberofoperatingbuttons,oracombinationofboth. Alternatively,theuserinterfacemaybeprovidedonaseparatedevice,suchasasmart phone,configuredtocommunicatewithacontrolunitoftheassembly.Thisthird embodimentoftheassembly1”mainlydiffersfromthesecondembodimentofFigure3a and3binthatthepresentassembly1”additionallycomprisesaliquidnozzle1110 configuredtoprovidealiquidtobefrothedtotheatleastonecontainer2.Alternatively, intheotherembodiments,theliquidtobefrothedmaybeprovidedtothecontainer manuallyorbyanyothersuitablemachinebeforeusingthepresentliquidfrothing assembly.Thedrivingsystemispreferablyconfiguredtomovetheliquidnozzle11 substantiallyinparallelwiththesteamnozzle5,morepreferablysimultaneouslywiththe15 steamnozzle5.Theliquidnozzle11ispreferablymountedadjacenttoand / orparallelto thesteamnozzle5.Theliquidnozzle11mayalsobereceivedthroughtheslit7and stickoutfromthedrivehousing6,justlikethesteamnozzle5.Theliquidnozzle11may evenbeattachedtosteamnozzle5.Inthisway,drivingoftheliquidnozzle11andthe steamnozzle5maybesimplifiedwhiletheassembly1”mayremainrelativelycompact.20 Thesteamnozzle5mayincludeanangledtip,whichallowsanimprovedinjection directionofthesteamintotheliquidtobefrothed.Inthisembodimentoftheassembly 1”,thecleaningstation10maybeconfiguredtoreceiveatipofboththeliquidnozzle11 andthesteamnozzle5simultaneouslyforcleaning.Thereto,dimensionsofthecleaning station10maybeslightlylargerthanintheotherembodiments1,1’.25

[0030] Figures5a,5band5cshowasideview,aperspectiveviewandacross- sectionalviewrespectivelyonapreferredembodimentofacleaningstation10ofthe liquidfrothingassembly1,1’,1”ofFigures1,3aor4.Thecleaningstation10can preferablycompriseacleaningunit12andanattachmentelement13.Thecleaningunit30 12canforexampleincludeareceptacle14havinganopentop15configuredtoreceive atleastatipofthesteamnozzle5and / ortheliquidnozzle11.Asidewallofthe receptaclecanincludeaninlet16andanoutlet17co.

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