Dispensing Nozzle Assembly with Diversion Path for Mixing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current beverage dispenser nozzles struggle to accommodate a wide variety of fluids with different viscosities, flow rates, and mixing ratios in a compact design, while ensuring effective mixing and easy cleaning.
Innovation Solution
A dispensing nozzle assembly with a sweetener path, diluent path, and diversion path that allows a partial volume of the diluent stream to mix with the sweetener stream, forming a diluted sweetener stream, along with a flow director featuring apertures and a target for enhanced mixing, and a method for flowing and diverting streams to achieve the desired dilution and mixing ratios.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single nozzle design is used for multiple beverages, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability to different fluid viscosities and flow rates deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle assembly is designed with a universal structure that can handle multiple beverage types through a single design. The diversion path and flow director components allow the same nozzle to accommodate different fluid viscosities and flow rates by dynamically adjusting flow distribution, eliminating the need for multiple specialized nozzle designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The nozzle incorporates dynamic flow control through the diversion path that can adaptively distribute diluent flow based on real-time conditions. The flow director and aperture system enable the nozzle to dynamically adjust mixing ratios and flow patterns to suit different beverage requirements, maintaining versatility without increasing structural complexity.
2Manufacturing precision
If more diluent is diverted to the sweetener stream, then mixing performance is improved, but sweetener concentration deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the diversion volume parameter to optimize mixing while maintaining target concentration. By controlling the partial volume of diluent diverted through the diversion path, the system achieves thorough mixing (5-20% dilution) while preserving the required sweetener concentration in the final beverage product.
3Ease of manufacture
If the nozzle design is simplified, then ease of manufacture is improved, but cleaning accessibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle assembly is segmented into distinct components including the flow director, diversion path, and aperture system. This segmentation allows for simplified manufacturing of individual parts while maintaining cleaning accessibility, as components can be disassembled and cleaned separately without compromising the overall simplified design.
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 nozzle assembly effectively accommodates diverse beverages, providing good mixing performance, easy cleaning, and minimizing carryover, while allowing for the creation of various beverage types in a small footprint.
Implementation Method 1
a diversion path between the sweetener path and the diluent path for a partial volume of the diluent stream to mix with the sweetener stream
Implementation Method 2
The flow director may include a number of diluent stream apertures and a number of diluted sweetener stream apertures such that the diluent stream and the diluted sweetener stream exit the assembly therethrough. The flow director may include a target for mixing.
Data Source
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AI summary
A dispensing nozzle assembly for dispensing a number of micro-ingredients into a fluid stream. The dispensing nozzle assembly may include a micro-ingredient mixing chamber, a number of micro-ingredient lines in communication with the micro-ingredient mixing chamber such that the micro-ingredients mix therein, and a mixed micro-ingredient exit such the mixed micro-ingredients are dispensed into the fluid stream.