Milk foam generator and coffee vending machine

Abstract

The milk froth generator and coffee vending machine of the present invention, wherein the milk froth generator comprises a valve body, a steam nozzle connected and communicated with the valve body, and a milk pipe connected and communicated with the steam nozzle; when the steam nozzle sprays water vapor into the valve body, it can drive the milk in the milk pipe to mix with the water vapor and form milk foam in the valve body; the valve body is provided with a steam through hole, and the water vapor introduced into the valve body can be discharged outward through the steam through hole. The milk froth generator of the present invention has high efficiency in preparing milk foam, and the water vapor can heat the milk to increase the temperature of the milk foam, and the water content in the milk foam is low, which has the effect of increasing the taste of the milk foam; at the same time, the milk froth generator has the effect of reducing the noise generated by the milk froth generator when preparing milk foam by reducing the content of water vapor in the valve body.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field related to milk froth preparation, and in particular relates to a milk froth generator and a coffee vending machine thereof. Background Art

[0002] Milk foam is usually added to coffee to increase the taste of the coffee while improving its appearance.

[0003] At present, the existing milk froth is usually prepared by continuously stirring the milk in the container with a stirring rod, so that air can be mixed into the milk during the stirring process. It can be understood that the milk froth can be prepared by the above scheme, but the efficiency of the above scheme is low, and the prepared milk froth is at room temperature, and the milk froth contains a lot of water, so that the final prepared milk froth has a poor taste and is not suitable for use in coffee vending machines. Summary of the invention

[0004] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a milk froth generator and a coffee vending machine thereof to address the technical problems existing in the prior art.

[0005] Specifically, a milk froth generator comprises a valve body, a steam nozzle connected to and communicated with the valve body, and a milk pipe connected to and communicated with the steam nozzle; when the steam nozzle sprays water vapor into the valve body, it can drive the milk in the milk pipe to mix with the water vapor and form milk foam in the valve body; a steam through hole is opened on the valve body, and the water vapor introduced into the valve body can be discharged outwardly through the steam through hole.

[0006] As a preferred solution of the present invention, the steam through hole is arranged at the valve top position of the valve body.

[0007] As a preferred solution of the present invention, the valve wall of the valve body is provided with an inlet for introducing water vapor and milk, and the steam through hole is arranged on the valve wall of the valve body and is located above the inlet.

[0008] As a preferred solution of the present invention, the steam through hole is arranged at a position obliquely above the inlet.

[0009] As a preferred solution of the present invention, there are multiple steam holes.

[0010] As a preferred solution of the present invention, a connecting pipe is provided on the valve body, the steam nozzle is inserted into the connecting pipe, and the milk pipe is connected and communicated with the connecting pipe.

[0011] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the connecting pipe has a necked portion, the end of the steam nozzle inserted into the connecting pipe is opened toward the necked portion, and the interface connecting the milk connecting pipe and the connecting pipe is arranged at the location of the necked portion.

[0012] As a preferred solution of the present invention, a sealing ring is sleeved on the portion of the steam nozzle inserted into the connecting pipe, and the steam nozzle and the connecting pipe are assembled and sealed by the sealing ring.

[0013] As a preferred solution of the present invention, the center line of the steam nozzle is arranged perpendicular to the center line of the milk connecting pipe.

[0014] The present invention also seeks protection for a coffee vending machine comprising any of the milk froth generators described above.

[0015] Due to the application of the above technical solution, the present invention has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0016] The milk froth generator and the coffee vending machine thereof provided by the present invention utilize the negative pressure generated during the process of spraying water vapor into the valve body by the steam nozzle to automatically suck the milk in the milk pipe, and prepare and form milk foam in the valve body, so that the milk froth generator has high efficiency in preparing the milk foam, and the water vapor can heat the milk, thereby increasing the temperature of the milk foam, which has the effect of increasing the taste of the milk foam; at the same time, the water vapor and the milk foam in the valve body can be discharged through the steam through hole after the valve body is separated, which can reduce the water vapor content in the valve body, and has the effect of reducing the noise generated when the milk froth generator prepares the milk foam, and the reduction of water in the milk foam has the effect of further improving the taste of the milk foam, and is suitable for use in the coffee vending machine. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a milk froth generator provided in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic structural diagram of a milk froth generator from another perspective provided in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of a milk froth generator provided in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Among them, 10, valve body; 11, steam through hole; 12, inlet; 13, connecting pipe; 131, necking part; 20, steam nozzle; 21, sealing ring; 30, milk pipe; 31, interface. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0022] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art of the present invention. The terms used in the specification of the present invention herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0023] See also Figure 1-Figure 3 A milk froth generator provided in one embodiment of the present invention includes a valve body 10 , a steam nozzle 20 connected and communicated with the valve body 10 , and a milk pipe 30 connected and communicated with the steam nozzle 20 .

[0024] The steam nozzle 20 can spray water vapor into the valve body 10, and the milk pipe 30 is connected to milk. In this embodiment, when the steam nozzle 20 sprays water vapor into the valve body 10, the milk in the milk pipe 30 can be driven to mix with the water vapor, and milk foam is formed in the valve body 10. That is, when the milk foam generator of this embodiment is working, when the steam nozzle 20 is used to spray water vapor into the valve body 10, a negative pressure is formed in the channel connected to the milk pipe 30 and the steam nozzle 20, and then the milk in the milk pipe 30 is automatically sucked by the negative pressure, and the milk mixed in the water vapor is prepared into milk foam in the valve body 10.

[0025] In this embodiment, the valve body 10 is provided with a steam through hole 11, and the water vapor introduced into the valve body 10 can be discharged outward through the steam through hole 11, thereby reducing the content of water vapor in the valve body 10. It should be noted that the diameter of the steam through hole 11 on the valve body 10 can be set to be small enough so that water vapor can be discharged outward through the steam through hole 11, while milk foam cannot be discharged outward through the steam through hole 11, or the steam through hole 11 can be set at a position where water vapor accumulates in the valve body 10, so as to facilitate the discharge of water vapor from the valve body 10.

[0026] It can be understood that the water vapor in the valve body 10 is sprayed into the valve body 10 by the steam nozzle 20, and has a large kinetic energy, so that the water vapor will flow everywhere in the valve body 10 and collide with the inner wall of the valve body 10, and the water vapor will generate a lot of noise when it collides with the inner wall of the valve body 10. The valve body 10 of this embodiment is provided with the structure of the steam through hole 11, so that the water vapor in the valve body 10 can be discharged outward through the steam through hole 11, thereby reducing the content of water vapor in the valve body 10, and further having the function of reducing noise; on the other hand, because the milk foam prepared in the valve body 10 and the water vapor can be separated under the action of gravity, and the separated water vapor is discharged outward through the steam through hole 11, it has the effect of reducing the water content in the milk foam, and further having the effect of improving the taste of the milk foam prepared by the milk foam generator.

[0027] Specifically, the steam through hole 11 of this embodiment is disposed at the valve top of the valve body 10 , and the water vapor in the valve body 10 is discharged outward from the valve body 10 as much as possible by utilizing the floating property of water vapor in the valve body 10 .

[0028] Alternatively, the steam through hole 11 is arranged at the valve wall of the valve body 10, wherein the valve wall of the valve body 10 has an inlet 12 for introducing water vapor and milk, and the steam through hole 11 is located above the inlet 12, so as to discharge the water vapor in the valve body 10 to the outside. Preferably, the steam through hole 11 is arranged at a position obliquely above the inlet 12, so that the part of the water vapor sprayed by the steam nozzle 20 to the valve body 10 that does not participate in the preparation of milk foam can be directly discharged to the outside through the steam through hole 11, so as to further improve the efficiency of the water vapor being discharged to the outside from the steam through hole 11.

[0029] It should also be noted that in this embodiment, the number of steam holes 11 on the valve body 10 is multiple, so that the water vapor in the valve body 10 can be discharged outward through the steam holes 11. It should be noted that the arrangement of the steam holes 11 on the valve body 10 can be specifically set according to the needs of use, which will not be elaborated here.

[0030] In this embodiment, the valve body 10 is provided with a connecting pipe 13, and the position where the connecting pipe 13 is connected to the valve wall of the valve body 10 is an inlet 12 for introducing water vapor and milk into the valve body 10. The steam nozzle 20 is inserted into the connecting pipe 13, and the milk pipe 30 is connected and communicated with the connecting pipe 13, so as to facilitate the assembly of the steam nozzle 20 and the milk pipe 30 with the valve body 10. Of course, it should be noted that the connection relationship between the steam nozzle 20, the milk pipe 30 and the valve body 10 is not limited to that shown in the figure, and those skilled in the art can directly fix the steam nozzle 20 to the valve body 10 and the milk pipe 30 to the steam nozzle 20 according to the needs of use.

[0031] Specifically, the connecting pipe 13 has a constricted portion 131, and the end of the steam nozzle 20 inserted into the connecting pipe 13 is opened toward the constricted portion 131, and the interface 31 of the milk pipe 30 connected to the connecting pipe 13 is arranged at the location of the constricted portion 131. When the steam nozzle 20 sprays water vapor into the valve body 10, the water vapor sprayed by the steam nozzle 20 enters the valve body 10 again under the effect of the diameter reduction of the constricted portion 131, so that the interface 31 can generate negative pressure and achieve the suction of milk in the milk pipe 30.

[0032] A sealing ring 21 is sleeved on the portion of the steam nozzle 20 that is inserted into the connecting pipe 13 , and the steam nozzle 20 and the connecting pipe 13 are assembled and sealed by the sealing ring 21 to prevent water vapor from leaking.

[0033] Furthermore, there are two sealing rings 21 to ensure the sealing performance of the assembly between the steam nozzle 20 and the connecting pipe 13 .

[0034] It should also be noted that the center line of the steam nozzle 20 of this embodiment is perpendicular to the center line of the milk pipe 30, so that the steam nozzle 20 and the milk pipe 30 can be connected to external pipelines respectively without affecting each other.

[0035] The present invention also seeks protection for a coffee vending machine, comprising the milk froth generator described above.

[0036] In summary, the milk froth generator provided by the present invention has high efficiency in preparing milk froth, and water vapor can heat milk to increase the temperature of the milk froth, and the milk froth has a low water content, which has the effect of increasing the taste of the milk froth; at the same time, the milk froth generator has the effect of reducing the noise generated by the milk froth generator when preparing milk froth by reducing the content of water vapor in the valve body.

[0037] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0038] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present invention, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that, for ordinary technicians in this field, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present invention shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A milk froth generator, characterized in that: The invention comprises a valve body, a steam nozzle connected to and in communication with the valve body, and a milk pipe connected to and in communication with the steam nozzle; when the steam nozzle sprays water vapor into the valve body, the milk in the milk pipe can be mixed with the water vapor and form milk foam in the valve body; a steam through hole is provided on the valve body, and the water vapor introduced into the valve body can be discharged outwardly through the steam through hole.

2. The milk froth generator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The steam through hole is arranged at the valve top position of the valve body.

3. The milk foam generator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The valve wall of the valve body is provided with an inlet for introducing water vapor and milk, and the steam through hole is arranged on the valve wall of the valve body and is located above the inlet.

4. The milk foam generator according to claim 3, characterized in that: The steam through hole is arranged at a position obliquely above the introduction port.

5. The milk froth generator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of the steam through holes is multiple.

6. The milk froth generator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The valve body is provided with a connecting pipe, the steam nozzle is inserted into the connecting pipe, and the milk pipe is connected and communicated with the connecting pipe.

7. The milk froth generator according to claim 6, characterized in that: The connecting pipe has a necked portion, one end of the steam nozzle inserted into the connecting pipe is opened toward the necked portion, and an interface for connecting the milk connecting pipe to the connecting pipe is arranged at the location of the necked portion.

8. The milk froth generator according to claim 6, characterized in that: A sealing ring is sleeved on the portion of the steam nozzle that is inserted into the connecting pipe, and the steam nozzle and the connecting pipe are assembled and sealed through the sealing ring.

9. The milk froth generator according to claim 6, characterized in that: The center line of the steam nozzle is arranged perpendicularly to the center line of the milk connecting pipe.

10. A coffee vending machine, characterized in that: The invention comprises the milk foam generator described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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