Door-Mounted Beverage Nozzle for Easier Machine Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing beverage preparation and dispensing machines have a nozzle arrangement that reduces the useful space for apparatus installation, requires a specific door design for nozzle protrusion, and complicates access to machine components during maintenance.
Innovation Solution
The machine design includes a main casing with a housing chamber, a door hinged at a vertical axis, and a nozzle fixed to the door's alcove, allowing easy access to apparatuses when the door is open. The nozzle is connected to water and additive delivery pipes, which are grouped to minimize space occupation and improve accessibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the nozzle is fixed inside the main casing and protrudes through a split in the door, then the nozzle can perform mixing and dispensing functions, but the useful space for installing apparatuses is reduced and the door design becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle is extracted from the main casing and relocated to the door assembly. This allows the nozzle to be accessible when the door is open while eliminating the need for a split in the door and maximizing the useful space inside the main casing for other apparatus installations.
Solution Approach 2:
The door assembly is segmented into functional components including the nozzle, alcove for container placement, and hinging mechanism. This segmentation allows the nozzle to be integrated with the door while maintaining independent access to other machine components.
2Ease of operation
If the nozzle protrudes through a specific split in the door, then the nozzle can access the alcove, but the door design becomes complex and maintenance access is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle is extracted from the main casing structure and integrated into the door assembly. This eliminates the need for a specialized split in the door and simplifies the overall door design while maintaining nozzle functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the nozzle fixed in the main casing and protruding through the door, the design inverts this arrangement by fixing the nozzle to the door assembly itself. This inversion simplifies the door design and improves maintenance accessibility.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the nozzle is fixed inside the main casing, then the structural integrity is maintained, but access to machine components during maintenance is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle is extracted from the main casing and relocated to the door assembly. This allows maintenance personnel to easily access the nozzle and other components by simply opening the door, while the main casing remains structurally intact.
Solution Approach 2:
The machine is segmented into the main casing and the door assembly with the nozzle integrated into the door. This segmentation allows the door to be opened for maintenance access without compromising the structural integrity of the main casing.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention concerns a machine (10) for preparing and dispensing beverages comprising a water supply apparatus (20) and an additive substances feeding apparatus (24) arranged within an housing chamber defined in the main casing (12) of the machine (10), and a beverage preparation apparatus (18) comprising a nozzle (28) and an alcove (64), wherein a door (16) is hinged to the main casing (12) and is configured to close the housing chamber in the machine (10) operating configuration, and wherein all the water delivery pipes (22) of the water supply apparatus (20) and all the additive substances delivering pipes (26) of the additive substances feeding apparatus (24) are hydraulically connected to the nozzle (28), which is designed for mixing water with said additive substances, so as to obtain the beverage, and for delivering the beverage, wherein the nozzle (28) is fixed to the alcove (64) to ensure easy access to the apparatuses of the machine (10) arranged within the housing chamber when the door (16) is open.