WO2002079073A1

WO2002079073A1 - Apparatus and method for the treatment and the distribution of beverages

Info

Publication number: WO2002079073A1
Application number: PCT/IT2001/000646
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paolo Tesi
Original assignee: Kosmologik Industries S.R.L.
Priority date: 2001-03-30
Filing date: 2001-12-19
Publication date: 2002-10-10
Also published as: ITMI20010688A1; ITMI20010688A0

Abstract

An apparatus (1) for treatment and distribution of beverages comprises a dispenser (4) hydraulically connected by a feeding circuit (3) to a beverage supply source (7). Operatively associated with the feeding circuit (3) is saturation means (5) through which the beverage being fed is gassed. The saturation means (5) consists of a reciprocating positive-displacement pump (14) which is fed with carbon dioxide, by appropriate supply means (17). The apparatus further involves an enriching unit (21) to give the beverage the desired organoleptic properties.

Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR THE TREATMENT AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF BEVERAGES

D e s c r i p t i o n

The present invention relates to an apparatus for treatment and distribution of beverages comprising the features recited in the preamble of claim 1.

The invention also relates to a method of treating and distributing beverages comprising the features recited in the preamble of claim 12.

The subject matter of the present invention addresses to apparatus for treatment and distribution of beverages, in particular water, adapted for installation in public and/or private facilities. Generally, such apparatus, connected to a common drinking-water distribution system or other supply means are arranged to dispense water and gassed water at room temperature and/or cooled, so that they are provided with a system for water gassing and a system for water cooling.

The gassing system generally involves the presence of a saturator having a collecting container arranged to partly hold gassed water and partly carbon dioxide under pressure. Water gassing takes place within the collecting container and is carried out by admission of a vertical water jet at high pressure. The admitted water jet penetrates into the water mass present within the collecting container carrying along the overlying carbon dioxide. This operation generates many turbulences in the water that will promote carbon dioxide dissolution.

The cooling system generally consists of a refrigerator of the coil type operatively associated with a water- storage tank hydraulically connected to the water distribution system and the dispenser. The collecting container of the saturator is immersed in the water held in the storage tank, so that the cooling action of the coil refrigerator is also transmitted to the gassed water contained in the saturator.

US Patent 4764315 discloses an apparatus for treatment and distribution of beverages rather similar to the one mentioned above, in which provision is made for a storage tank cooled by a coil refrigerator and a saturator for water gassing integrated into the storage tank.

The Applicant has found that known apparatus for treatment and distribution of beverages, while ensuring a supply of ungassed and gassed water which has been cooled and/or is at room temperature, are not however free from some drawbacks and can be further improved under different points of view, mainly in connection with the quality of the obtained gassing operation as well as in terms of structural simplicity, compactness and manufacturing and marketing costs of the apparatus itself.

More particularly, it has been noticed that the components commonly forming the equipment of known apparatus such as the saturator or the hydraulic pumps themselves for admitting water thereto to a high pressure, greatly affect the apparatus sizes and costs.

In addition, apparatus provided with hydraulic pumps of the reciprocating type emit undesirable vibrations and noise during the pump operation. Vibrations are partly caused by possible impacts of the pump plunger against the cylinder inside which the plunger reciprocates and by water hammers imparted to the water mass during delivery of same .

In some apparatus, in order to reduce vibrations and consequently noise emitted during the pump operation, complicated mechanical damping systems associated with the pumps themselves are provided. However, these damping systems do not enable the noise emitted by the apparatus to be eliminated and in addition they greatly affect the overall costs of said apparatus. It should be also pointed out that known apparatus do not enable a gassed beverage to be dispensed in a continuous manner. In fact, the amount of gassed beverage to be dispensed at each drawing off by the user cannot exceed a predetermined value, necessarily lower than the amount of the beverage contained in the saturator. Each time an amount of beverage close to said maximum value is dispensed in a single quantity, it is necessary to wait for a certain period of time to enable a new amount of gassed water to be produced in the saturator.

It is an aim of the present invention to solve the problems found in the known art by proposing an apparatus for treatment and distribution of beverages, in particular water, ensuring an excellent quality of the gassed water being dispensed, having a simple and compact structure and offering reduced manufacturing and marketing costs.

It is another aim of the invention to devise a method and an apparatus also enabling gassed beverages to be dispensed continuously, in any desired amount.

A further aim of the invention is to devise a noiseless apparatus, i.e. that does not emit vibrations and annoying sounds during operation of its hydraulic pumps. The foregoing and still further aims that will become more apparent during the following description, are substantially achieved by an apparatus for treatment and distribution of beverages comprising the features set out in the characterizing portion of claim 1.

The above aims are also achieved by a method of treating and distributing beverages comprising the features set out in the characterizing portion of claim 12.

Further features and advantages will be best understood from the detailed description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of an apparatus and a method for treatment and distribution of beverages, in accordance with the present invention. This description will be set out hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing given by way of non-limiting example, in which the only figure diagrammatically represents an apparatus for treatment and distribution of beverages, in accordance with the present invention.

Apparatus 1 comprises means 2 for feeding at least one beverage which is connected to a dispenser 4, through a feeding circuit 3. Apparatus 1 is further provided with saturation means 5 operatively associated with the feeding circuit 3 to submit the beverage from the feeding means 2 to a gassing process.

In more detail, the feeding means 2 comprises one or more fitting devices 6 for hydraulically connecting apparatus 1 to a beverage supply source 7. In the embodiment shown, the supply source 7 preferably consists of a drinking- water distribution system so that the beverage being fed to apparatus 1 is represented by the water present in said water distribution system. In the absence of a supply source 7 capable of continuously feeding the beverage or in the presence of unfavourable conditions for hydraulic connection, it is also possible that apparatus 1 should be provided with interchangeable supply containers (not shown) holding the water or other beverage to be fed.

The feeding means 2 further contemplates the presence of a collecting container 8 hydraulically associated with the feeding circuit 3 immediately downstream of the fitting devices 6 so that the beverage from said fitting devices flows into the collecting container 8 through a first duct 9 of the feeding circuit 3.

Advantageously, a cooling device (not shown, as known by itself) may be further associated with the collecting container 8; the function of said cooling device is to cool the collecting container and consequently the water contained therein by means of one or more coil ducts for example, through which a cooling fluid runs and that circumscribe the structure of the collecting container itself.

In addition, the feeding means 2 can be provided with at least one auxiliary pump 10 hydraulically connected to the feeding circuit 3 upstream of the saturation means 5 to send the beverage from the supply source 7 to the latter, at a predetermined pressure value. More particularly, the auxiliary pump 10 has a suction opening 10a hydraulically connected, by a second duct 11 of the feeding circuit 3, to the collecting container 8 and a delivery opening 10b hydraulically connected to the saturation means 5, through a third duct 12 of the feeding circuit 3.

Preferably, the auxiliary pump 10 is set to suck the beverage present in the collecting container 8 and send it to the saturation means 5 thereby increasing pressure therein at least until a value included between 1.5 and 3 bars. The auxiliary pump 10 can be omitted if apparatus 1 is connected to a water distribution system or other supply source 7 capable of ensuring a sufficient feeding pressure, included just as an indication between 1.5 and 3 bars .

Immediately downstream of the auxiliary pump 10, a first one-way valve 13 is operatively in engagement with the third duct 12 so that the beverage circulating within said duct can only flow towards the saturation means 5.

As viewed from the accompanying figure, the saturation means 5 comprises at least one pump 14 operatively associated with the feeding circuit 3 to gas the water or other beverage from the feeding means 2, and a pre-mixing device 15 operatively connected to pump 14 to mix the beverage with a gas, preferably carbon dioxide. In detail, the pre-mixing device 15 is operatively interposed between the auxiliary pump 10 and pump 14 and is hydraulically connected, by a fourth duct 16 of the feeding circuit 3, to means 17 for supply of the above mentioned gas.

The supply means 17 may consist for example of a bottle or other similar hermetically sealed container provided with an appropriate pressure reducer 18 to adjust pressure of the gas being supplied, sent to the pre- mixing device 15. Furthermore, operatively in engagement with the fourth duct 16 is a second one-way valve 19 enabling gas passage exclusively from the supply means 17 to the pre-mixing device 15. The pre-mixing device 15 has a preferably Y-shaped hollow body having a first inlet opening 15a connected to the third duct 12 and a second inlet opening 15b connected to the fourth duct 16 so that through the first and second inlet openings 15a, 15b, the beverage from the auxiliary pump 10 and the gas from the supply means 17 are introduced into the pre-mixing device 15. Inside said pre-mixing device the two incoming fluids meet, thereby giving rise to a series of turbulences causing a rough dispersion of the gas in the beverage being fed. The pre-mixing device 15 further has at least one outlet opening 15c directly connected to the pump 14 of the saturation means 15.

In detail, pump 14 is directly connected to the pre- mixing device 15 by a suction opening 14a and has at least one delivery opening 14b hydraulically connected to dispenser 4 , by a fifth duct 20 which is preferably made of a metal or other rigid material.

Pump 14, as well as the possible auxiliary pump 10, can be positive-displacement pumps, preferably of the reciprocating type. Preferably at least pump 14 is a pump of the reciprocating plunger type, i.e. comprising a cylinder within which a plunger with a reciprocating motion runs. The reciprocating plunger pump 14 used may, in known manner, comprise a coil fed with alternating current and disposed around the cylinder-plunger assembly, and the plunger may be movable within said coil. Under this situation, the plunger is movable with a reciprocating motion along the cylinder by effect of the magnetic field induced by the coil. The plunger within the cylinder of pump 10 defines a suction environment and a delivery environment that, in operation, are suitably brought into communication with each other by one-way valves integrated into appropriate passage ports.

It should be noted that, to the aims of the invention, said pump 14 can be replaced by any hydraulic pump adapted to cyclically generate pressure waves capable of breaking the fluid vein of the beverage. Within the beverage being fed, this involves formation of cavitations of such a nature that suction of the gas being supplied and consequent dispersion of said gas in the beverage is ensured.

The last-mentioned feature is particularly advantageous because, in the absence of said pressure waves, a regular entrance of the two fluids would tend to be hindered by the different physico-chemical features of the fluids themselves and by pressure differences between said fluids. In particular, it would be sufficient that the feeding pressure of one or both fluids were slightly different from an optimal value that a single fluid would enter the pump, thereby jeopardizing operation of apparatus 1.

On the contrary, it has been found that use of a reciprocating pump 14 enables generation, both in suction and in delivery, of sudden changes of pressure high enough to ensure simultaneous suction of the beverage and the gas at a first time and determine dissolution of the gas at a second time, even if the pressure difference between one fluid and the other is in the order of + 1 bar.

In this circumstance it is also possible to adjust gassing of the beverage by acting on the pressure reducer 18 or the auxiliary pump 10, in order to adjust the pressure difference between the beverage being fed and the gas being supplied. For instance, it has been found that a marked gassing of the beverage, just as an indication in the order of about 14 g/1, can be obtained by acting on apparatus 1 in such a manner that the gas should have a pressure 0.5 bar higher than the beverage pressure. Vice versa, a soft gassing, in the order of about 5 g/1, can be obtained by acting on apparatus 1 in such a manner that the beverage pressure be about 0.5 bar higher than the gas pressure.

As shown in the accompanying figure, apparatus 1 may further comprise at least one enriching unit 21 operatively associated with the feeding circuit 3 to introduce thereinto at least one flavouring substance 22 or an additive of other type. The enriching unit 21 is hydraulically connected to the feeding circuit 3 upstream of the dispenser 4 and, preferably, upstream of the saturation means 5.

In more detail, the enriching unit 21 comprises a holding vessel 23 inside which the additive substance 22 is stored. The holding vessel 23 is hydraulically connected to the third duct 12 between the mixing device 15 and the first one-way valve 13 by a sixth duct 24 of the feeding circuit 3. Also operatively in engagement with the sixth duct 24 is a third one-way valve 25 enabling passage of the additive substance 22 exclusively from the holding vessel 23 of the enriching unit 21 to the third duct 12. The strong pulses generated by pump 14 enable suction of the additive substance 22 through the fifth one-way valve 25 even if this passage tends to be counteracted by the pressure of the beverage being fed. In fact, the pump action causes cyclical negative pressures in the presence of which passage of the additive substance 22 in small amounts through the one-way valve 25 takes place.

The third one-way valve 25 can advantageously be of the adjustable type, to enable correct measurement of the additive substances 22 depending on requirements. In particular, adjustment of the third one-way valve 25 can be carried out depending on the viscosity or the physico- chemical features of the substance 22 therein employed.

In order to further increase gassing of the beverage to be carried out through pump 14, apparatus 1 may be also provided with a saturator (not shown, as known) operatively associated with the feeding circuit 4. In this case, since the saturator is provided with a collecting container arranged to partly house gassed water and partly carbon dioxide under pressure, said saturator can be provided in place of the collecting container 8 so that the beverage from the supply source 7 would be first submitted to gassing in the saturator to be then submitted to the gassing operation carried out by the saturation means 5. It should be noted, at all events, that the apparatus itself has been conceived for beverage gassing in the absence of saturators of the type mentioned above.

Operation of the apparatus for treatment and distribution of beverages, described above mainly as regards structure, is as follows.

The beverage from the supply source 7 passes through the fitting devices 6 and the first duct 9 of the feeding circuit 4, to fill the collecting container 8. Since the latter is submitted to the action of the cooling means, also the beverage contained therein is cooled. The beverage from the collecting container 8 runs into the second duct 11 of the feeding circuit 4 until the possible auxiliary pump 10.

When the dispenser is operated by a user for drawing the beverage off, apparatus 1 is automatically started. Starting of apparatus 1 involves operation of the auxiliary pump 10 and pump 14. The auxiliary pump 10 takes in, through its suction opening 10a, the beverage from the second duct 11 sending it, at a higher pressure than the entering pressure, to the first inlet opening 15a of the pre-mixing device 15 through the delivery opening 10b, the third duct 12 and the first one-way valve 13. Simultaneously, pump 14 during the sucking step creates a negative pressure within the hollow body of the pre-mixing device 15 and consequently within the third, fourth and sixth ducts 12, 16, 24 of the feeding circuit 3.

Thus the additive substance 22 runs through the third one-way valve 25 and reaches the pre-mixing device 15 together with the beverage fed to the third duct 12. Simultaneously, also the gas under pressure from the supply means 17 flows through the fourth duct 16, towards the pre-mixing device 5.

The optionally-flavoured beverage and the gas enter the hollow body of the pre-mixing device 15 through the first inlet opening 15a and the second inlet opening 15b respectively of the device itself. Due to the particular shape of the hollow body, the flows of the two fluids introduced into the pre-mixing device 15 are directed in converging trajectories, so that these fluids strike against each other giving origin to turbulences that will cause a preliminary dissolution of the gas in the optionally-flavoured beverage.

At this point the beverage and the gas not yet completely dissolved pass through the suction opening 14a of pump 14 and enter said pump.

Within pump 14, the suction and compression actions carried out by the plunger cause a further mixing of the beverage and gas, thereby greatly increasing the gassing degree of the beverage itself. In more detail, mixing and therefore gassing of the beverage is promoted to a high degree by effect of an instantaneous raising of pressure taking place, during each delivery stroke of the plunger, on the small amount of beverage previously sucked into pump 14, that just as an indication does not exceed 10 cc, concurrently with ejection of the beverage itself through the delivery opening 14b. In this connection it is to be noted that with the use of pumps of the above specified type pressure peak values in the order of 20 bars or even higher can be easily reached within the pump itself. To the aims of the present invention, it is at all events possible to obtain a sufficient gassing effect by use of pumps ensuring pressure increases in the order of at least 10 bars.

The high pressure reached within the pump, concurrently with the strong pulses and turbulences generated in the beverage due to its forced passage through the valves usually associated with the suction and delivery environments, ensure a fine dispersion of the gas in the liquid phase and, therefore, an efficient and lasting gassing of the beverage.

It should be also pointed out that the gas dispersed in the beverage in the form of small bubbles advantageously gives the gassed beverage a certain degree of compressibility. Under this situation, the beverage behaves like an elastic mass mitigating possible impacts generated by the reciprocating movement of the plunger, damping the water hammers due to the strong pulses of the delivery pressure. The energy transmitted by these pulses promotes gas dissolution and consequently gassing preservation in the beverage.

The gassed beverage coming out of pump 14 runs through the fifth duct 20 and is distributed through dispenser 4 in a continuous manner. For gassing preservation in the beverage being delivered, the rigid structure of the fifth duct is particularly advantageous because it does not at all mitigate the water hammers generated by pump 14 which therefore ensure the beverage gassing.

The present invention solves the problems found in the known art and achieves the intended purposes.

In fact, the apparatus of the present invention enables achievement of an excellent gassing of the beverage being dispensed because the beverage gassing is carried out instantaneously by means of pump 14 during ejection of the beverage itself through dispenser 4.

In this connection it should be recognized that, unlike known apparatus in which gassing of a great water mass is executed, the water amount being necessarily at least as large as the maximum dispensable amount at each drawing off, the invention carries out gassing on small water amounts, definitely smaller than the beverage volume required at each drawing off, according to a repeated high-frequency operating cycle for an undetermined period of time, thus making it possible to continuously dispense the gassed beverage in any amount.

It should be also appreciated that elimination of bulky and expensive components such as the saturator and the pumps associated therewith causes a great reduction in the overall sizes of the apparatus and also a reduction in the manufacturing and marketing costs of same. In fact, the above described apparatus enables a high degree of gassing to be obtained by the only use of a reciprocating positive-displacement pump 14 which has costs and sizes much lower than the sizes and costs of a saturator. It is to be added that by a single pump as the one mentioned above several enriching units can be managed, each of which has a different additive substance.

In addition, the low cost of said pumps enables the manufacturer to double the pump number equipping the apparatus without affecting the overall costs of the apparatus itself too much.

Finally, the presence of a gas within pump 14 makes the latter greatly noiseless thereby eliminating vibrations and annoying sounds .

Claims

C L A I M S

1. An apparatus for treatment and distribution of beverages comprising: - a dispenser (4);

- means (2) for feeding at least one beverage; saturation means (5) for gassing said beverage, hydraulically connected between said feeding means (2) and dispenser (4); - means (17) for supplying at least one gas, hydraulically connected to said saturation means (5),

- a feeding circuit (3) for said beverage, hydraulically connected to said feeding means (2), saturation means (5), supply means (17) and dispenser (4), characterized in that said saturation means (5) comprises at least one pump (14) operatively associated with said feeding circuit (3) to gas said beverage, said pump (14) having at least one suction opening (14a) hydraulically connected to said feeding means (2) and said supply means (17) for entrance of said beverage and gas respectively, and at least one delivery opening (14b) hydraulically connected to the dispenser (4) for exit of a gassed beverage .

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pump (14) is a positive-displacement pump.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pump (14) is a reciprocating positive-displacement pump.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said reciprocating positive-displacement pump (14) is a plunger pump.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said plunger pump (14) has a coil supplied with alternating current and a plunger movable with a reciprocating motion within said coil by effect of the magnetic field induced by the coil itself.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pump (14) is hydraulically connected to said dispenser (5) by at least one duct (12) of said feeding circuit (3), said duct (12) being made of a rigid material.

7. An apparatus as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said saturation means (5) further comprises a pre-mixing device (15) operatively connected to the suction opening (14a) of said pump (14) to mix the beverage from said feeding means (2) with the gas from said supply means (17) .

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein said pre- mixing device (15) has a hollow body having:

- a first inlet opening (15a) hydraulically connected to said feeding means (2);

- a second inlet opening (15b) hydraulically connected to said supply means (17); and at least one outlet opening (15c) hydraulically connected to said suction opening (14a) of said pump (14).

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said feeding means (2) comprises at least one auxiliary pump (10) hydraulically connected to said feeding circuit (3) upstream of said saturation means (5) .

10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an enriching unit (21) operatively arranged upstream of said dispenser (4) to introduce at least one additive substance (22) into said beverage.

11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said enriching unit (21) is hydraulically connected to said feeding circuit (3) upstream of said saturation means (5) .

12. A method of treating and distributing beverages comprising the following steps:

- admitting at least one beverage and at least one gas to a chamber; - mixing said beverage and gas;

- dispensing the mixed beverage, characterized in that mixing comprises a step of raising the pressure of the beverage present in the chamber until a preestablished maximum value concurrently with one ejection of the beverage from the chamber itself.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the mixing step is cyclically repeated during the beverage- dispensing step carried out in a continuous manner.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the mixing step is cyclically repeated on beverage amounts not exceeding 10 cc.

15. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein said pressure-raising step involves a pressure increase of a value of at least 10 bars.

16. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein before the mixing step, a pre-mixing step between said beverage and said gas is carried out.

17. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein before dispensing of the beverage an enriching step is carried out in which at least one flavouring substance (22) is added to said beverage.