Machine, system and method for preparing fluid food products
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic preparation machines for fluid food products, such as cappuccinos, often fail to match the quality achieved by manual preparation, and pose hygiene challenges due to the handling of perishable ingredients like milk, which can lead to incorrect heating or frothing and microbial growth.
Innovation Solution
A machine and disposable container system that integrates a brewing chamber and a disposable tubular injector element, allowing for the preparation and retention of food products within a sealed container, using pressurized steam to froth milk and combine ingredients like espresso coffee and milk directly in the container, ensuring hygiene and quality independence from user skill.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If ingredients are pre-packaged in a capsule and processed in a brewing chamber, then preparation is automated and hygienic, but beverage quality is compromised compared to manual preparation
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the preparation process into separate functional modules: a brewing chamber for coffee preparation and a separate container for milk frothing and mixing. This segmentation allows each module to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall automation, resolving the contradiction between automation and quality by enabling specialized processing in each segment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary container that receives processed ingredients from the brewing chamber and performs additional processing (frothing, mixing) before final dispensing. This intermediary step allows automated processing while maintaining quality by providing a dedicated space for precise control of ingredient combination and frothing, bridging the gap between automated brewing and quality output.
2Temperature
If steam is used to heat and froth milk in a wand or frother, then milk can be properly prepared, but hygiene issues arise due to handling of perishable ingredients
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs a disposable container that is sealed until use and then discarded after a single preparation cycle. This eliminates hygiene concerns associated with reusable wands and frothers by providing a fresh, sterile container for each use, preventing microbial contamination while still enabling proper milk heating and frothing through the integrated steam delivery system.
Solution Approach 2:
The container is sealed to create a protected environment that prevents contamination from the external atmosphere before use. This sealed inert environment maintains ingredient freshness and prevents microbial contamination until the moment of preparation, when the seal is broken and steam is introduced for heating and frothing.
3Ease of operation
If a capsule contains both coffee and milk precursors, then preparation is simplified, but the quality of cappuccino cannot match separate preparation of espresso and frothed milk
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates coffee and milk ingredients into different containers: a capsule for coffee and a separate disposable container for milk. This segmentation allows each ingredient to be processed optimally (coffee brewed, milk frothed) and then combined in precise proportions, maintaining preparation simplicity while achieving high-quality results through specialized processing of each component.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the outputs of separate processing streams (brewed coffee from the brewing chamber and frothed milk from the container) into a single final beverage. This combining step maintains ease of operation by automating the mixing process while achieving cappuccino quality through the integration of separately optimized coffee and milk preparations.
4Temperature
If external frothing tools like wands or milk frothers are used, then milk can be frothed, but additional tools and cleaning requirements increase device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the frothing function into the main brewing unit by integrating a steam delivery system that directly introduces steam into the disposable container. This eliminates the need for separate external frothing tools like wands or milk frothers, reducing device complexity and cleaning requirements while maintaining effective milk frothing capability through the integrated steam injection.
Solution Approach 2:
The disposable container is designed to be self-contained and disposable, eliminating the need for cleaning and maintenance of frothing components. The container receives steam through an integrated inlet and performs frothing automatically, then is discarded after use, making the system self-service in terms of hygiene maintenance while providing effective milk frothing.
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 system ensures consistent quality of prepared beverages by controlling the frothing and heating processes within the container, reducing the risk of microbial contamination and eliminating the need for external frothing tools, thus enhancing hygiene and user independence.
Implementation Method 1
a steam-heating unit, configured for introducing a flow of pressurized steam into the container (11) so as to heat and froth the liquid milk (17) contained in the container (11)
Implementation Method 2
introducing a flow of pressurized steam into the container (11)
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A machine for preparing a food product comprises at least a stationary structure, a hydraulic circuit and a control system. The hydraulic circuit comprises at least one water-supply source, means for heating water and pumping means, as well as a first dispensing element (51), which can be supplied with pressurized hot water and/or steam. The first dispensing element (51) is configured for coupling, in particular sealed coupling, with an inlet (18, 26) of a disposable container (11) for preparing and retaining the food product, and the hydraulic circuit (40) is controllable, in particular via the control system, for conveying pressurized hot water and/or steam to the first dispensing element (51).