Tea canister for bubble tea machine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bubble tea machines require manual operation and frequent station changes for multi-ingredient recipes, leading to inefficiency and waste, and integrated machines suffer from temperature loss affecting taste and increased costs due to wire penetration and ingredient leakage risks.
Innovation Solution
A tea canister for bubble tea machines featuring a three-way valve, quick connector, and manual drain valve, allowing for automatic and manual dispensing of ingredients, ensuring quick assembly and disassembly, and reducing waste by enabling precise ingredient control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a temperature sensor and display are added to the tea canister, then the temperature can be monitored for reference, but wires must penetrate the canister causing heat insulation decline, ingredient leakage risk, and higher costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the temperature monitoring function from the canister body by placing the temperature sensor in the liquid container separate from the canister. The canister simply stores and heats ingredients, while temperature measurement is performed externally on the dispensed liquid, eliminating wire penetration through the canister and preserving its heat insulation and sealing properties
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary liquid container as a mediator between the heating system and the dispensing system. This container receives heated ingredients from the canister, allows temperature measurement without penetrating the canister, and then dispenses the liquid, thus enabling temperature monitoring while maintaining canister integrity
2Extent of automation
If the integrated automatic bubble tea machine dispenses quantitative ingredients, then automation is improved, but manual temperature testing requires dispensing quantitative ingredients causing large amount of waste
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the ingredient dispensing function into two separate pathways: a quantitative dispensing path for automated recipe preparation and a manual sampling path through the drain valve for temperature testing. This allows temperature testing to be performed by opening the drain valve without activating the quantitative dispensing mechanism, eliminating ingredient waste during testing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the ingredient flow path dynamic by providing multiple controllable outlets: the quantitative dispensing port that can be activated only when needed for recipe preparation, and the manual drain valve that can be opened independently for temperature testing. This dynamic control allows the system to switch between different operational modes, preventing waste during temperature monitoring
3Ease of operation
If decentralized machine with separate stations is used, then each ingredient has dedicated dispensing port, but operator needs to change station many times for multi-ingredient recipes leading to lower efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple ingredient storage canisters into a single integrated dispensing system. Multiple canisters are positioned around a central dispensing mechanism, allowing all ingredients to be delivered to one dispensing port. This eliminates the need for operators to physically move between separate stations while maintaining dedicated storage for each ingredient type
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal dispensing port that can receive and dispense multiple different ingredients through a single mechanism. The dispensing system is designed to accommodate various canister types and ingredient viscosities, making it multi-functional while maintaining ease of operation similar to dedicated stations
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure discloses a tea canister for a bubble tea machine, mounted on the bubble tea machine, comprises a tea canister body, a three-way valve, a quick connector and a manual drain valve. The three-way valve is mounted on the lower side of the tea canister body; the manual drain valve and the quick connector are mounted in the three-way valve, respectively; and the three-way valve is communicated with the tea canister body, the quick connector and the manual drain valve, respectively. The above tea canister for bubble tea machine is communicated with the tea canister body, the quick connector and the manual drain valve through the three-way valve respectively. Such configuration can be used to automatically dispense a quantitative ingredient from the tea canister body through the bubble tea machine, so as to automatically dispense the ingredients for making the bubble tea, while the ingredient can be dispensed through operation of the manual drain valve as needed to satisfy different demands for dispensing of ingredients.