Beverage Injector Draining Valve for Safe Residual Liquid Emptying
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage preparation devices in vehicles face safety and hygiene issues due to the risk of hot residual beverages being ejected during emptying and the complexity of the emptying mechanism, which can lead to spills and potential burns.
Innovation Solution
A beverage preparation device with a residual beverage draining valve that automatically switches positions based on the receptacle's engagement and disengagement, using magnetic activation for safe and efficient drainage of residual beverages without the need for electrical connections or additional mechanical parts, ensuring safety and hygiene.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If emptying means are activated to evacuate residual liquid from the beverage delivery means, then complete drainage of residual beverages is achieved, but there is a safety risk of hot beverage jets causing burns and the system becomes more complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by opening the draining valve before activating the emptying means. The control unit opens the draining valve in advance (step 222) before triggering the emptying means (step 223), allowing residual beverage to drain safely through the draining line before pressure buildup occurs that could cause hazardous jets. This preliminary opening of the valve prevents the safety risk while ensuring complete drainage.
2Loss of substance
If emptying means with drive mechanisms are used to evacuate residual liquid, then residual beverage can be drained, but the system complexity increases and reliability decreases due to additional moving parts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the draining function from the complex emptying means by providing a separate draining valve (9) and draining line (16) that bypass the emptying mechanism. The draining valve is controlled independently by the control unit and drains residual beverage directly from the beverage injector through the draining line to the waste container, eliminating the need for additional mechanical emptying components while ensuring complete drainage.
Solution Approach 2:
The draining line (16) acts as an intermediary pathway that allows residual beverage to be evacuated directly from the beverage injector to the waste container without passing through the complex emptying means. This intermediary draining system simplifies the overall mechanism by providing a direct drainage route that operates independently of the pump-driven emptying mechanism.
3Productivity
If the beverage injector is positioned close to the brewing unit, then beverage delivery is efficient, but residual beverage remains trapped causing hygiene issues
Solution Approach 1:
The draining line (16) serves as an intermediary drainage pathway that connects the beverage injector to the waste container, allowing residual beverage to be evacuated from the injector even when positioned close to the brewing unit for efficient delivery. The draining valve (9) controls this intermediary drainage route, ensuring complete evacuation of residual beverage that would otherwise be trapped due to the close positioning.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively prevents hot beverage splashing and ensures complete drainage of residual beverages, enhancing user safety and device hygiene by automatically draining residual liquids when the receptacle is removed, even when the device is not powered, and simplifies the mechanism to reduce the risk of spills.
Implementation Method 1
the valve activation means comprises magnetic activation members complementarily arranged on the valve and receptacle respectively for moving by magnetic effect the draining valve from the beverage residual draining position to the beverage dispensing position
Data Source
AI summary
Beverage preparation device (1) for preparing a beverage from a beverage dose (2) comprising: —a brewing unit (3) for receiving the dose (2) and preparing a beverage from the ingredients contained within the dose and pressurized liquid injected in the dose, —a pressure pump (4) for supplying pressurized liquid to the brewing unit (3), —beverage dispensing means (5) connected to the brewing unit and comprising a beverage injector (6) arranged for dispensing the beverage through a bottom (8) of a beverage receptacle (7); wherein the beverage dispensing means (5) comprises a residual beverage draining valve (9), between the beverage injector (6) and the brewing unit (3), which is arranged to be moved between a beverage dispensing position and a residual beverage draining position, wherein the residual beverage draining valve (9) and/or the beverage receptacle (7) comprise valve activation means (10) arranged to move the draining valve between a beverage dispensing position in response to the engagement of the bottom of the receptacle with the beverage injector and a residual beverage draining position in response to the removal of receptacle from the beverage injector (6).