Foaming equipment for milk

Abstract

The utility model discloses foaming equipment for milk, which comprises a milk source supply end, an air source supply end and a finished product receiving end, and further comprises a confluence joint, and the confluence joint is connected with the milk source supply end through a direct flow pipeline, connected with the milk source supply end and the air source supply end through a foaming pipeline, and connected with the finished product receiving end through a finished product pipeline. A pumping device is arranged on the finished product pipeline and is used for pumping milk at the milk source supply end to the finished product pipeline from the direct flow pipeline or the foaming pipeline. The pumping device adopts a terminal pumping mode, so that the use amount of the pump can be effectively reduced, and when different milk sources are replaced, the pumping device can be a peristaltic pump in order to avoid mutual pollution of milk with different qualities, so that the pumping device does not need to be cleaned when the milk sources are replaced. The foaming equipment can have three modes of raw milk conveying, cold foam conveying and hot foam conveying by arranging the confluence joint, and different conveying equipment does not need to be additionally configured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the technical field of dairy processing equipment, and more specifically, to a milk foaming device. Background Technology

[0002] There are various methods for producing milk foam in existing technologies. For example, air, gas, or hot steam can be mixed with milk in a foaming unit, and the turbulence will cause the milk to foam, thus forming more or less stable foam; milk foam can also be produced by mechanical stirring. Different dairy products require different finished milk temperatures, and the foaming equipment is also different. Because of this, the foaming equipment currently on the market is relatively simple in its mode. For example, coffee machines can only produce hot milk foam; cold foam machines can only produce cold milk foam; and raw milk filling lines do not have foaming equipment and can only transport raw milk, which cannot meet the diverse needs of different scenarios. Therefore, how to enable a single foaming device to combine three different processing modes of raw milk, cold foam, and hot foam is the technical problem that this utility model aims to solve. Utility Model Content

[0003] The utility model description section introduces a series of simplified concepts, which will be further explained in detail in the detailed description section. This utility model description section is not intended to limit the key features and essential technical features of the claimed technical solution, nor is it intended to determine the scope of protection of the claimed technical solution.

[0004] To at least partially solve the above problems, this utility model provides a milk foaming device, including: a milk source supply end, an air source supply end, and a finished product receiving end, and also includes a manifold connector. The manifold connector is connected to the milk source supply end through a DC pipeline, connected to the milk source supply end and the air source supply end through a foaming pipeline, and connected to the finished product receiving end through a finished product pipeline. A pumping device is provided on the finished product pipeline, and the pumping device is used to pump milk from the milk source supply end to the finished product pipeline through the DC pipeline or the foaming pipeline.

[0005] Preferably, the DC pipeline is provided with a first one-way valve and a first solenoid valve. One end of the DC pipeline is connected to the milk supply end, and the other end is connected to the manifold. The first one-way valve is used to prevent milk from flowing back from the manifold to the milk supply end.

[0006] Preferably, one end of the foaming pipeline is connected to the manifold via a second one-way valve and a second solenoid valve, and the other end is connected to the gas supply end and the milk supply end respectively.

[0007] Preferably, the foaming pipe consists of a milk source pipe, an airflow pipe, and a mixing pipe. One end of the milk source pipe is connected to the milk source supply end, and the other end is connected to one end of the airflow pipe. The other end of the airflow pipe is connected to the air source supply end. One end of the mixing pipe is connected to the manifold through a second one-way valve and a second solenoid valve, and the other end is connected to the connection between the milk source pipe and the airflow pipe.

[0008] Preferably, a third solenoid valve is installed on the milk source pipeline.

[0009] Preferably, a flow regulator is provided on the airflow pipeline.

[0010] Preferably, a heating device is provided on the foaming pipeline, one end of the milk source pipeline is connected to the milk source supply end and the other end is connected to the heating device, one end of the airflow pipeline is connected to the air source supply end and the other end is connected to the heating device, and one end of the mixing pipeline is connected to the manifold through the second one-way valve and the second solenoid valve, and the other end is connected to the heating device.

[0011] Preferably, the manifold is provided with a DC channel that runs through the manifold. The manifold is provided with four interfaces: a DC inlet, a cold-brew inlet, a hot-brew inlet, and a milk outlet. The DC inlet and the milk outlet are located at opposite ends of the DC channel. The cold-brew inlet and the hot-brew inlet are located on the same side of the manifold and are both connected to the DC channel. The DC inlet is connected to the milk source supply end through a DC pipeline. The milk outlet is connected to the finished product receiving end through a finished product pipeline. The cold-brew inlet and the hot-brew inlet are connected to the mixing pipeline through a tee.

[0012] Preferably, a third one-way valve is provided on both the cold bubble inlet and the hot bubble inlet.

[0013] Preferably, a throttling ring is provided in the DC channel, the outer wall of the throttling ring is connected to the inner wall of the DC channel, the inner diameter r of the throttling ring is smaller than the inner diameter R of the DC channel, the throttling ring divides the DC channel into a cold zone and a hot zone, the side near the milk outlet is the cold zone, the side near the DC inlet is the hot zone, the cold bubble inlet is connected to the cold zone, and the hot bubble inlet is connected to the hot zone.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0015] The pumping device uses a terminal pumping method, which can effectively reduce the amount of pump used. When changing to different milk sources, to avoid cross-contamination between milks of different qualities, the pumping device can be a peristaltic pump, thus eliminating the need to clean the pumping device when changing milk sources. By setting a manifold connector, the foaming equipment can perform three modes: raw milk conveying, cold foam conveying, and hot foam conveying, without the need for additional conveying equipment.

[0016] The milk foaming device described in this utility model, other advantages, objectives and features of this utility model will be partly apparent from the following description, and partly understood by those skilled in the art through study and practice of this utility model. Attached Figure Description

[0017] The accompanying drawings are provided to further illustrate the present invention and form part of the specification. They are used together with the embodiments of the present invention to explain the present invention, but do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the drawings:

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the milk foaming equipment described in this utility model.

[0019] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of the manifold in the milk foaming device of this utility model.

[0020] Figure 3 A cross-sectional view showing the connection between the manifold and the third check valve and the DC line.

[0021] In the diagram: 1 Milk source supply end, 2 Gas source supply end, 3 Finished product receiving end, 4 Manifold connector, 41 DC channel, 42 DC inlet, 43 Cold foam inlet, 44 Hot foam inlet, 45 Milk outlet, 5 DC pipeline, 51 First check valve, 52 First solenoid valve, 6 Finished product pipeline, 7 Pumping equipment, 8 Milk source pipeline, 81 Third solenoid valve, 9 Airflow pipeline, 91 Flow regulator, 10 Mixing pipeline, 101 Second check valve, 102 Second solenoid valve, 11 Heating equipment, 12 Third check valve, 13 Throttling ring. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments, so that those skilled in the art can implement it based on the description.

[0023] It should be understood that terms such as “having,” “comprising,” and “including” as used herein do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other elements or combinations thereof.

[0024] like Figures 1-3As shown, this utility model provides a milk foaming device, including: a milk source supply end 1, an air source supply end 2, and a finished product receiving end 3. All three are commercially available products or existing technologies. The difference from existing technologies lies in the inclusion of a manifold connector 4. The manifold connector 4 is connected to the milk source supply end 1 via a DC pipeline 5, connected to both the milk source supply end 1 and the air source supply end 2 via a foaming pipeline, and connected to the finished product receiving end 3 via a finished product pipeline 6. A pumping device 7 is installed on the finished product pipeline 6. The pumping device 7 is a commercially available product or existing technology. The pumping device 7 is used to pump milk from the milk source supply end 1 to the finished product pipeline 6 via the DC pipeline 5 or the foaming pipeline. The terminal pumping method of the pumping device 7 can effectively reduce the amount of pump used. When changing to different milk sources, to avoid cross-contamination between milks of different qualities, the pumping device 7 can be a peristaltic pump. Therefore, when changing milk sources, there is no need to clean the pumping device 7. By setting up the manifold 4, the foaming equipment can perform three modes: raw milk conveying, cold foam conveying, and hot foam conveying, without the need for additional different conveying equipment.

[0025] The DC pipeline 5 is equipped with a first one-way valve 51 and a first solenoid valve 52. One end of the DC pipeline 5 is connected to the milk supply end 1, and the other end is connected to the manifold 4. The first one-way valve 51 is used to prevent milk from flowing back from the manifold 4 to the milk supply end 1. The first solenoid valve 52 is used to control the opening and closing of the DC pipeline 5.

[0026] The foaming pipeline consists of a milk source pipeline 8, an airflow pipeline 9, and a mixing pipeline 10. One end of the milk source pipeline 8 is connected to the milk source supply end 1, and the other end is connected to one end of the airflow pipeline 9. The other end of the airflow pipeline 9 is connected to the air source supply end 2. One end of the mixing pipeline 10 is connected to the manifold 4 via a second one-way valve 101 and a second solenoid valve 102, and the other end is connected to the connection between the milk source pipeline 8 and the airflow pipeline 9. A third solenoid valve 81 is installed on the milk source pipeline 8 to control the opening and closing of the milk source pipeline 8. A flow regulator 91 is installed on the airflow pipeline 9 to control the air intake.

[0027] Furthermore, a heating device 11 is installed on the foaming pipeline. One end of the milk source pipeline 8 is connected to the milk source supply end 1, and the other end is connected to the heating device 11. One end of the airflow pipeline 9 is connected to the air source supply end 2, and the other end is connected to the heating device 11. One end of the mixing pipeline 10 is connected to the manifold 4 through a second one-way valve 101 and a second solenoid valve 102, and the other end is connected to the heating device 11. The second one-way valve 101 is used to prevent milk from flowing back to the heating device 11 from the manifold 4.

[0028] In one embodiment, the manifold 4 is provided with a DC channel 41, which extends through the manifold 4. The manifold 4 has four interfaces: a DC inlet 42, a cold-foam inlet 43, a hot-foam inlet 44, and a milk outlet 45. The DC inlet 42 and the milk outlet 45 are located at opposite ends of the DC channel 41. The cold-foam inlet 43 and the hot-foam inlet 44 are located on the same side of the manifold 4, and both the cold-foam inlet 43 and the hot-foam inlet 44 are connected to the DC channel 41. The DC inlet 42 is connected to the DC channel 41 via a direct current... The flow pipeline 5 is connected to the milk supply end 1. The milk outlet 45 is connected to the finished product receiving end 3 via the finished product pipeline 6. The cold brew inlet 43 and the hot brew inlet 44 are connected to the mixing pipeline 10 via a tee. The second solenoid valve 102 can be installed inside the tee. The three ports of the tee can be divided into a milk inlet connected to the mixing pipeline 10, a cold brew port connected to the cold brew inlet 43, and a hot brew port connected to the hot brew inlet 14. The second solenoid valve 102 can control the opening and closing of the three ports respectively, thereby controlling the milk transportation route. A third one-way valve 12 is provided on both the cold brew inlet 43 and the hot brew inlet 44.

[0029] When this equipment is used for raw milk transportation, the first solenoid valve 52 is open, while the second solenoid valve 102 (milk inlet, cold brew inlet, and hot brew inlet) and the third solenoid valve 81 are both closed. The air supply end 2 and the heating equipment 11 are not turned on. The pumping equipment 7 is started, and the raw milk is drawn from the milk supply end 1, flows through the DC pipeline 5 to the DC inlet 42, through the DC channel 41 to the milk outlet 45, and finally enters the finished product receiving end through the finished product pipeline 6.

[0030] When this equipment is used for cold-foaming and transportation, the first solenoid valve 52 and the second solenoid valve 102 (hot-foaming port) are closed, while the second solenoid valve 102 (milk inlet, cold-foaming port) and the third solenoid valve 81 are open. The gas supply end 2 is open, and the heating equipment is not turned on. The pumping equipment 7 is started, and raw milk is drawn from the milk supply end 1 and reaches the heating equipment 11 through the milk supply pipeline. Gas (air or inert gas that does not react with dairy products) reaches the heating equipment 11 from the gas supply end 2 through the airflow pipeline. The gas and raw milk mix at the heating equipment 11 (or at the connection between the airflow pipeline 9 and the milk supply pipeline 8 if the heating equipment 11 is not installed) to form cold-foamed milk. The cold-foamed milk enters the direct flow channel 41 through the cold-foaming inlet 43, then reaches the milk outlet 45 through the direct flow channel 41, and finally enters the finished product receiving end through the finished product pipeline 6.

[0031] When this equipment is used for hot foaming and transportation, the first solenoid valve 52 and the second solenoid valve 102 (cold foaming port) are closed, while the second solenoid valve 102 (milk inlet, hot foaming port) and the third solenoid valve 81 are open. The gas supply end 2 is open, and the heating device 11 is turned on (the heating device 11 can be a commercially available product or existing technology; it should be noted that commercially available equipment can also be a steam generator. If a steam generator is selected as the heating device 11, the gas supply end 2 can be closed and not started, relying solely on steam for foaming). The pumping device 7 is started, and raw milk is drawn from the milk supply end 1 and reaches the heating device 11 through the milk supply pipeline. Gas (air or inert gas that does not react with dairy products) reaches the heating device 11 from the gas supply end 2 through the gas flow pipeline. The gas and raw milk are heated and mixed at the heating device 11 to form hot foamed milk. The hot foamed milk enters the direct current channel 41 through the hot foaming inlet 44, then reaches the milk outlet 45 through the direct current channel 41, and finally enters the finished product receiving end through the finished product pipeline 6.

[0032] It should be noted that while hot foaming alters the texture of milk, it produces finer and more stable foam compared to cold foaming. Therefore, a throttling ring 13 is installed within the direct current channel 41. The outer wall of the throttling ring 13 is connected to the inner wall of the direct current channel 41, and the inner diameter r of the throttling ring 13 is smaller than the inner diameter R of the direct current channel 41. The throttling ring 13 divides the direct current channel 41 into a cold zone and a hot zone. The side closer to the milk outlet 45 is the cold zone, and the side closer to the direct current inlet 42 is the hot zone. Because cold foaming produces larger bubbles with lower foam stability, it needs to be quickly transported to the finished product receiving end 3 for further processing after foaming. Therefore, the cold foam inlet 43 needs to be connected to the cold zone, and the hot foam inlet 44 needs to be connected to the hot zone. Since the texture has already changed and the foam stability is higher, when the hot-foamed milk enters the hot zone, the throttling ring 13 can further refine and stabilize the foam.

[0033] In the description of this utility model, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this utility model.

[0034] In this utility model, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "joining," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a connection that allows communication between them; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components, unless otherwise explicitly limited. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model according to the specific circumstances.

[0035] Although the embodiments of this utility model have been disclosed above, they are not limited to the applications listed in the specification and embodiments. They can be applied to various fields suitable for this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other modifications can be easily made. Therefore, without departing from the general concept defined by the claims and their equivalents, this utility model is not limited to the specific details and the illustrations shown and described herein.

Claims

1. A milk frothing apparatus comprising: The milk source supply end (1), the gas source supply end (2) and the finished product receiving end (3) are characterized by further comprising a junction (4), the junction (4) is connected with the milk source supply end (1) through a straight pipe (5), connected with the milk source supply end (1) and the gas source supply end (2) through a foaming pipe, and connected with the finished product receiving end (3) through a finished product pipe (6), the finished product pipe (6) is provided with a pumping device (7), the pumping device (7) is used for pumping the milk from the milk source supply end (1) to the finished product pipe (6) through the straight pipe (5) or the foaming pipe.

2. The milk frothing device according to claim 1, characterized in that The straight pipe (5) is provided with a first one-way valve (51) and a first electromagnetic valve (52), one end of the straight pipe (5) is communicated with the milk source supply end (1), the other end is communicated with the junction (4), and the first one-way valve (51) is used for preventing the milk from flowing back to the milk source supply end (1) from the junction (4).

3. The milk frothing device according to claim 1, characterized in that One end of the foaming pipe is communicated with the junction (4) through a second one-way valve (101) and a second electromagnetic valve (102), and the other end is communicated with the gas source supply end (2) and the milk source supply end (1) respectively.

4. The milk frothing device according to claim 3, characterized in that The foaming pipe is composed of a milk source pipe (8), a gas flow pipe (9) and a mixing pipe (10), one end of the milk source pipe (8) is communicated with the milk source supply end (1), the other end is communicated with one end of the gas flow pipe (9), the other end of the gas flow pipe (9) is communicated with the gas source supply end (2), one end of the mixing pipe (10) is communicated with the junction (4) through the second one-way valve (101) and the second electromagnetic valve (102), and the other end is communicated with the connection of the milk source pipe (8) and the gas flow pipe (9).

5. The milk frothing device according to claim 4, characterized in that The milk source pipe (8) is provided with a third electromagnetic valve (81).

6. The milk frothing device according to claim 4, characterized in that The gas flow pipe (9) is provided with a flow regulator (91).

7. The milk frothing device according to claim 4, characterized in that The foaming pipe is provided with a heating device (11), one end of the milk source pipe (8) is communicated with the milk source supply end (1), the other end is communicated with the heating device (11), one end of the gas flow pipe (9) is communicated with the gas source supply end (2), the other end is communicated with the heating device (11), one end of the mixing pipe (10) is communicated with the junction (4) through the second one-way valve (101) and the second electromagnetic valve (102), and the other end is communicated with the heating device (11).

8. The milk frothing device according to claim 4, characterized in that The direct current passage (41) is arranged in the junction (4), the junction (4) is provided with four interfaces, which are direct current inlet (42), cold bubble inlet (43), hot bubble inlet (44) and milk outlet (45), the direct current inlet (42) and the milk outlet (45) are located at both ends of the direct current passage (41), the cold bubble inlet (43) and the hot bubble inlet (44) are located on the same side of the junction (4), and the cold bubble inlet (43) and the hot bubble inlet (44) are communicated with the direct current passage (41), the direct current inlet (42) is communicated with the milk source supply end (1) through the direct current pipeline (5), the milk outlet (45) is communicated with the finished product receiving end (3) through the finished product pipeline (6), the cold bubble inlet (43) and the hot bubble inlet (44) are communicated with the mixing pipeline (10) through the three-way pipe.

9. The milk frothing device according to claim 8, characterized in that The third one-way valve (12) is arranged on the cold bubble inlet (43) and the hot bubble inlet (44).

10. The milk frothing device according to claim 8, characterized in that The throttling ring (13) is arranged in the direct current passage (41), the outer wall of the throttling ring (13) is connected with the inner wall of the direct current passage (41), the inner diameter r of the throttling ring (13) is smaller than the inner diameter R of the direct current passage (41), the throttling ring (13) divides the direct current passage (41) into cold zone and hot zone, the side close to the milk outlet (45) is the cold zone, and the side close to the direct current inlet (42) is the hot zone, the cold bubble inlet (43) is communicated with the cold zone, and the hot bubble inlet (44) is communicated with the hot zone.

Images