Beverage dispenser with powder container
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage dispensers face issues with fine powder particles contaminating the internal housing, humidity leading to non-hygienic deposits and clogging at the powder container outlet, and inconsistent dosing, which affects beverage consistency and increases cleaning time.
Innovation Solution
A beverage dispenser with a discharge port mechanism featuring an internal delivery tube and an external movable cover that can be translated between dosing and rest positions, actuated by rods connected to a motor, to prevent humidity and powder fines from entering the container outlet, ensuring consistent dosing and easy cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the discharge port remains open during beverage preparation, then powder can be delivered continuously, but humidity and vapour rise to the outlet causing clogging and contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The discharge port cover is made movable between open and closed positions, allowing the system to dynamically adapt to different operational states. During dosing, the cover opens to allow powder delivery; during beverage preparation, it closes to prevent humidity ingress, thus resolving the contradiction between continuous delivery and contamination prevention
Solution Approach 2:
The discharge port operates periodically - opening only during the brief dosing moment and remaining closed during the longer beverage preparation phase. This periodic opening/closing cycle allows continuous operational capability while preventing contamination during the majority of the time when the port would otherwise be exposed to humidity
2Reliability
If a closing valve is activated by a driving pin through the longitudinal axis of the metering screw, then the discharge port can be closed when not dosing, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The closure mechanism is segmented into separate components: the discharge port cover is detached from the metering screw and acts as an independent element. This eliminates the need for a complex metering screw with central void, as the closure function is handled by a separate movable cover that can be manufactured independently
Solution Approach 2:
The closure function is extracted from the metering screw structure itself and implemented as a separate discharge port cover. This removes the requirement for a specialized metering screw design with central void, simplifying the manufacturing of the metering screw while maintaining the closure capability through the separate cover component
3Reliability
If the discharge port is closed during beverage preparation, then humidity contamination is prevented, but cleaning accessibility may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The discharge port cover is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing it to be opened during cleaning operations for full accessibility, and closed during normal operation for humidity prevention. This dynamic design resolves the contradiction by providing both protection during operation and accessibility during maintenance
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
The invention concerns a beverage dispenser comprising : at least one refillable container (2) for storing soluble beverage powder, said container comprising : a tank (21 ), a dosing device (23), a discharge port (22) at the outlet of the tank, at least one beverage preparation unit (3) operatively linked to the container for preparing a beverage from the stored soluble beverage powder, wherein the discharge port (22) of the container comprises : an internal delivery tube (221) comprising a hollowing-out (222) in its bottom part, an external movable cover (223) comprising a hollowing-out (224) in its bottom part, said external movable cover covering at least a part of the internal delivery tube (221) and being movable between : a dosing position in which the both hollowing-outs (222, 224) of the internal delivery tube and of the external movable cover overlap each other, and a rest position in which the surface of the external movable cover (223) overlaps and closes the hollowing-out (222) of the delivery tube.