Multi-Container Beverage Supply Device with Segmented Cooling Circuits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooling units for beverage dispensers, such as fully automatic coffee machines, face challenges in quickly adjusting the temperature of liquid foodstuffs like milk to a target temperature, leading to inefficient cooling and potential spoilage or suboptimal froth quality due to temperature deviations.
Innovation Solution
An auxiliary device with a receiving space for multiple storage containers, utilizing heat conduction through thermally conductive metallic contact surfaces and separately controllable cooling circuits to rapidly adjust the temperature of liquid foodstuffs, along with temperature sensors for precise control and hygiene-friendly design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If conventional convection cooling is used in refrigeration units, then the cooling unit can store multiple food containers, but the temperature adjustment of liquid foodstuffs is slow and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the conventional convection-based cooling system with a heat conduction-based cooling system. Specifically, thermally conductive contact surfaces (metallic plates) are introduced to directly contact the storage containers, enabling rapid heat transfer from the cooling device to the liquid foodstuffs through conduction rather than relying on slow air convection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces thermally conductive contact surfaces as intermediary elements between the cooling device and the storage containers. These metallic contact surfaces act as heat transfer mediators, efficiently conducting cooling from the cooling device to the liquid foodstuffs in the containers, thereby accelerating temperature adjustment while maintaining system simplicity.
2Speed
If the cooling capacity is increased to quickly cool new food containers, then the temperature adjustment speed improves, but the remaining food containers are over-cooled and may freeze
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the cooling system into multiple independent cooling circuits, with each circuit associated with a specific contact surface and storage container. This segmentation allows each container to be cooled independently according to its specific needs, preventing over-cooling of containers that already contain food at the target temperature while enabling rapid cooling of newly filled containers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic control of cooling capacity through separately controllable cooling circuits. The cooling capacity for each contact surface can be adjusted in real-time based on the temperature and state of the corresponding storage container, enabling adaptive temperature management that prevents freezing while maintaining optimal cooling speed.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a common cooling unit is shared by multiple beverage dispensers, then resource utilization improves, but temperature control for each individual container becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the common cooling unit into multiple independent cooling circuits, each corresponding to a specific contact surface and storage container. This segmentation enables individual temperature control for each container while maintaining the benefits of a shared cooling unit, allowing each beverage dispenser to access foodstuffs at the precise temperature required.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the cooling unit with universal applicability to multiple beverage dispensers through standardized interfaces and multiple storage containers. The separately controllable cooling circuits provide multi-functional temperature management, enabling the same cooling unit to serve different dispensers with different temperature requirements simultaneously.
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
This solution enables quick and precise temperature adjustment of liquid foodstuffs, preventing spoilage and ensuring consistent milk froth quality by directly controlling the cooling capacity based on actual temperatures, while maintaining hygiene and ease of cleaning.
Implementation Method 1
the cooling of the liquid food does not take place via convection but via heat conduction (conduction) through direct contact between the heat-conducting outer wall of the storage container and the contact surface cooled by the cooling device
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a supply device for one or more beverage-dispensing machines (1a, 1b), having a holding space for the insertion of at least two storage containers (5a, 5b) for liquid foods, in particular milk, which storage containers can be connected to the one or more beverage-dispensing machines by means of food lines (4a, 4b, 4a', 4b'). The supply device (2) has a cooling device (10) for the temperature control of liquid foods contained in the storage containers to a specifiable target temperature. A thermally conductive, in particular metal contact surface (8a, 8b) is provided for each of the food containers (5a, 5b), which contact surface is in thermally conductive contact with a thermally conductive outer wall (7a, 7b), in particular bottom surface, of the storage container in question when the storage container is installed, in order to cool the contents of the storage container. In addition, the thermally conductive contact surfaces can be cooled by the cooling device (10) by means of separately controllable cooling circuits (9a, 9b).