Single-serving beverage machine with high-capacity and compact cooling-carbonation system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing single-serve beverage systems face issues with unsanitary puncturing mechanisms, poor mixing control, and incomplete distribution of concentrates, leading to suboptimal taste and texture in both hot and cold beverages.
Innovation Solution
A self-piercing single-serve capsule system that uses pressure to create inlet and outlet points, combined with a beverage machine featuring an insulated liquid storage tank, liquid carbonator, high-pressure pump, and cooling subsystem to produce hot or cold carbonated beverages, ensuring uniform mixing and sanitation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a mechanical puncturing mechanism is used to create inlet and outlet points in the capsule, then the beverage production process can be initiated, but the puncturing mechanism becomes unsanitary and requires cleaning or replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The capsule performs the puncturing function itself through pressure-activated breakable seals at its inlet and outlet points, eliminating the need for external mechanical puncturing devices that become unsanitary. The capsule's own structure enables the opening action without contact from machine components.
Solution Approach 2:
The puncturing function is extracted from the machine and transferred to the capsule itself. The machine no longer contains mechanical puncturing components; instead, the capsule incorporates breakable seals that open under pressure, removing the sanitation problem from the machine side.
2Ease of operation
If manual mixing of concentrate with water is used, then the beverage preparation is simple, but the concentrate is incompletely or non-uniformly distributed affecting taste and texture
Solution Approach 1:
Manual mixing action is replaced by pressure-driven flow dynamics. The high-pressure water stream automatically mixes with the concentrate as it flows through the capsule, ensuring uniform distribution without requiring manual stirring or complex mixing mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Hydraulic pressure is used to force water through the capsule at high velocity, creating turbulent flow that automatically and uniformly mixes the concentrate with the water. The pressure-driven flow system eliminates the need for manual mixing while ensuring complete and even distribution.
3Volume of moving object
If a compact cooling system is used in the beverage machine, then the machine size is reduced, but the cooling capacity and carbonation effectiveness are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling coil is nested within the water storage tank, with the coil positioned inside the tank volume. This nested arrangement allows the cooling system to occupy space that would otherwise be unused, achieving compact integration without compromising cooling capacity or carbonation effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling function and water storage function are merged into a single integrated structure. The cooling coil is placed inside the water tank, combining the coolant circulation pathway with the water reservoir, thereby reducing overall machine size while maintaining full cooling and carbonation functionality.
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 provides a sanitary, efficient, and high-quality beverage production process with precise control over mixing and carbonation, enhancing the taste and texture of beverages.
Implementation Method 1
the high pressure potable liquid pump delivers the potable liquid from the interior of the insulated potable liquid storage tank at a variable, but increasing pressure via the spray nozzle at a pressure greater than the carbon dioxide pressure throughout the process of carbonating the water
Implementation Method 2
a cooling coil positioned in a spaced apart relationship but wound around the carbonator such that the cooling coil does not physically touch an exterior surface of the carbonator submersed within the chilled potable liquid
Implementation Method 3
an insulated potable liquid storage tank having an interior volume defined by one or more potable liquid retaining surfaces and retaining a chilled potable liquid within the interior volume at about ice bath temperature
Implementation Method 4
carbonation occurs as potable water is delivered to the interior of the liquid carbonator by utilizing the high pressure potable liquid pump and wherein the high pressure potable liquid pump delivers the potable liquid from the interior of the insulated potable liquid storage tank at a variable, but increasing pressure via the spray nozzle at a pressure greater than the carbon dioxide pressure throughout the process of carbonating the water in the liquid carbonator
Data Source
AI summary
A beverage machine system that includes: an insulated potable liquid storage tank having an interior volume; a liquid carbonator spaced within the interior volume of the insulated potable liquid storage tank and submerged therein; a high pressure potable liquid pump configured to pump potable liquid from the interior volume of the insulated potable liquid storage tank through a potable liquid conduit to a spray nozzle within an interior volume of the liquid carbonator; and a cooling coil positioned in a spaced apart relationship but wound around the carbonator such that the cooling coil does not physically touch an exterior surface of the carbonator submersed within the chilled potable liquid and the space between the cooling coil and the carbonator is at least substantially free of any other structure other than periodic frozen potable liquid adjacent the cooling coil.