WO2007144735A2

WO2007144735A2 - Device for making hot foamy beverages, particularly cappucino and the like

Info

Publication number: WO2007144735A2
Application number: PCT/IB2007/001553
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bruno Buzzi
Original assignee: Buzzi S.R.L.
Priority date: 2006-06-12
Filing date: 2007-06-11
Publication date: 2007-12-21
Also published as: WO2007144735A3; ITTO20060089U1

Abstract

Device for making hot and foamy beverages through the introduction of steam within a vessel containing the beverage through a supplying and emulsify ing head (9) carried by a graspable handpiece (10) connected with a steam generator (6). The supplying and emulsifying head (9), made of plastic and having a peculiar suction and mixing system of atmospheric air, is formed by a steam supply tube (12) tight-connected with the handpiece (10) in a quickly dismountable way and by a tubular body (13) inserted on the steam supply tube (12) in a quickly dismountable way.

Description

"DEVICE FOR MAKING HOT FOAMY BEVERAGES, PARTICULARLY

CAPPUCCINO AND THE LIKE"

* * *

Field of the invention . The subject of the present invention is a device for making hot foamy beverages such as milk, freeze-dried coffee, barley coffee and the like, creams and more particularly cappuccino. State of the prior art

Traditionally, for the obtainment of such foamy beverages in the ambit of commercial shops steam is used, which is introduced within a vessel containing the beverage through a steam supply tube. Typically, for the preparation of cappuccino and similar foamy beverages, the steam supply tube is directly carried by a machine for making espresso coffee, in a stiff way or at most swinging with certain limits, and is fed by the relative boiler. In the use, the milk contained in the relative container is positioned so as to dip the steam supply tube therein, and therefore the steam supply is turned on. For the obtainment of the foam, the milk warmed by the steam must be emulsified with atmospheric air, which requires the steam to come very close to the free surface of the milk. This requires a good level of manual skill from the professional operators. For the obtainment of hot foamy beverages in a domestic ambit, systems such as manually operated piston devices, or power-driven devices with a rotary helix for the emulsification of the previously warmed beverage, are traditionally used. Both systems are poorly practical and functional.

Espresso coffee-machines for a domestic use, equipped with a supply tube for the steam generated by the relative boiler, analogously with professional coffee-makers above mentioned, have also been proposed, hi this case, trying to obtain quite satisfactory results without requiring the abilities of a professional operator in terms of manual skill, the steam supply tube is equipped with an emulsifying head having a suction system of atmospheric air from the steam flow for its emulsification with the beverage.

Also in this case, the supply tube with the emulsifying head is usually directly carried by the machine for the preparation of the coffee infusion. In the use, the milk contained in the relative container is positioned so as to dip the emulsifying head therein, and therefore the steam supply, which warms the beverage by emulsifying therein the suctioned air, is turned on. Both in professional machines and those for a domestic use, the steam supply tube is metallic, typically made of chromium plated brass. It usually has the possibility of being oriented, but in no' case it can be disassembled for allowing an effective cleaning thereof. This embodiments, an example of which is represented by the United

States patent US-4852474, present some drawbacks. Firstly, their use from domestic and therefore non professional users is however normally uncomfortable and not very practical. Secondly, emulsifying heads normally used together with coffee-makers for domestic use show a poor functional effectiveness for the obtain- ment of a satisfactory foam. Furthermore, the known emulsifying heads have a relatively complex construction execution, involving the use of a certain number of components. Finally, the periodical cleaning of these emulsifying heads, required both for hygienic reasons and for restoring the functionality, is generally uncomfortable and difficult and most of the times is not very effective. Summary of the invention

The object of this invention is to obviate the aforesaid drawbacks, and this aim is attained through a device for preparing hot and foamy beverages of the type defined in the preamble of claim 1, whose essential feature resides in that the steam supply tube with the supplying and emulsifying head is carried by a grasp- able handpiece connected with the steam generator through a flexible pipe.

The steam generator can be incorporated in an apparatus for making espresso coffee for a domestic use or, more suitably, in a peculiar self-contained apparatus having a water tank and a water feed pump from the tank to the steam generator, which in this case will be of a type with instantaneous steam genera- tion.

Thanks to this solution idea, the device according to the invention ensures a high practicality and use convenience, in particular thanks to the easiness of use from the user which, by grasping the handpiece, can easily introduce and place the supplying and emulsifying head within the beverage contained in any container (cup, glass, pot or other things), without this requiring a particular skill or ability.

The instantaneous steam generator, which is not only easier and more economical but also safer than an instantaneous boiler, can be fed by the water tank through a manual-type or electrically actuated pump.

Furthermore, the supplying and emulsifying head of the device according to the invention can be suitably connected in a dismountable manner to the hand- piece, such that to allow a more comfortable and an easier periodical cleaning. It has, as it will be seen, a peculiar, simple and economical and at the same time extremely efficient and functional configuration. Brief description of the drawings The invention will be now disclosed in detail, with reference to the enclosed drawings, given by mere way of non limiting example, in which:

- figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a device for making hot foamy beverages according to the invention,

- figure 2 is a diagrammatic view, drawn in a greater scale and partly sec- tioned, of the supplying and emulsifying head of the device represented in figure

1,

- figure 3 is view similar to figure 2, which shows a preferred, dismount- able solution of the supplying and emulsifying head of the device,

- figure 4 shows the mounting of the steam supply tube on the supplying and emulsifying head,

- figure 5 shows the mounting of the emulsifying rube on the supplying and emulsifying head, and

- figure 6 exemplifies the use of the supplying and emulsifying head mounted on the handpiece. Detailed description of the invention

Referring to the drawings, an apparatus having a device according to the invention for making hot foamy beverages, such as for example milk (particularly intended for being added to a coffee infusion for forming cappuccino), barley coffee, freeze-dried coffee, etc., is generally shown by 1. In the case of the example shown, the apparatus 1 consists of a self- contained household appliance; however, it has to be noted that, according to a variant not shown in the drawings, the device according to the invention could be applied to an apparatus for making espresso coffee for a domestic use of a conventional type, incorporating a steam generator per se known. Turning back to the execution example shown in the drawings, the apparatus 1 essentially includes a base 2 having on the upper part a casing 3 whose top is closed by a cover 4 for the access to a water tank diagrammatically shown by 5.

Below the tank 5 there is an instantaneous steam generator 6 of a known type, to which the water contained in the tank 5 is fed through a manually driven pump or an electropump, diagrammatically shown by 7. The outlet of the pump 7 can be suitably equipped with a by-pass valve device, not shown, in order to limit the flow-rate of the pump by carrying out the circulating of the water sent, if any, in excess from the tank 5 to the instantaneous steam generator 6.

The instantaneous steam generator 6 and the electropump 7, if any, can be connected to an electrical network through a line cord 8.

For supplying the steam produced by the instantaneous generator 6, the apparatus 1 has a device according to the invention including a supplying and emulsifying head, genetically shown by 9, carried by a graspable handpiece 10 in turn connected with the exit of the instantaneous steam generator 6 through a flexible pipe 11.

The supplying and emulsifying head 9 consists of a tubular body or an emulsifying body 13 coaxially tight-inserted in a dismountable way, in correspondence with an end 13a thereof, on a steam supply tube 12 having a tapered free end 12a. The tubular body 13 is axially extended beyond such tapered end 12a and its free end 13b is open.

The tubular body 13 defines, with the steam supply tube 12, an annular mixing chamber 14 communicating with the exterior through at least a first side hole 15, more precisely a calibrated micro-hole placed adjacent to the end 13a, and with at least a second side hole 16 with larger dimensions, positioned not far from the free end 13b. The tapered end 12a of the steam supply tube 12 is placed in correspondence or immediately adjacent to the side hole 16.

By way of example, the steam supply tube 12 can present a length of the order of 8-10 cm and a diameter between 0.6 and 0.8 cm, and the tubular body 13 a length of the order of 11-13 cm and a diameter between 0.9 and 1.1 cm. The mi- cro-hole could show a diameter of the order of 0.5-1 mm, while the radius of the annular chamber 14 could be of the order of 1-3 mm. The axial distance between the ends 12a and 13b could be of about 1-3 cm, and the final diameter of the tapered end 12a could be of the order of 1-1.5 mm.

The supplying and emulsifying head 9 thus described can be manufactured in an extremely easy and economical way, being constituted of an essential number of components, and it presents a valuable effectiveness and convenience of use. As stated, the tubular body 13 is applied on the steam supply tube 12 in a dismountable way.

In the preferred solution shown in figures 3, 4 and 5, the steam supply tube 12 is made of food use plastic and is connected with the handpiece 10 in a dis- mountable way, so as to allow a comfortable and practical periodical cleaning of the whole supplying and emulsifying head 9. As it is shown in such figures, the handpiece 10 shows, in addition to a protection for the user's hand, a hollow projection 18 radially protruding from a tubular coupling shank 19 equipped with a sealing outer gasket 20. The steam supply tube 12 is formed, from the opposite side of its tapered end 12a, with an increased end 21 which is seal-engaged on the tubular coupling shank 19 and presents in turn a radial projection 22 co-operating, through a coupling of a bayonet-type coupling, with the hollow projection 18 of the handpiece 10. In this way, the steam supply tube 12 can be easily and quickly disassembled after the use of the emulsifying head 9, as shown in figure 5, therefore washed and likewise easily reassembled.

Also the tubular body 13 is properly made of food use plastic and its end 13a is pressure- or snap-applied on a lowered portion 23 of the increased end 21, for being easily axially extracted from the steam supply tube 12, as shown in fig- ure 4, for its washing after the use of the emulsifying head 9 and therefore reassembled.

Besides ensuring a comfortable and practical cleaning, the conformation of the emulsifying head 9 allows, in addition to the possibility of being carried out in a simple and economical way also in a disposable configuration (for example for hot beverage automatic distributors), a simple interchangeability with emulsifying heads with different specific characteristics.

According to the preferred embodiment of figures 3-5, the free end 13b of the tubular body 13 shows at least a side groove, and preferably two opposite side grooves 24, whose function will be explained below. As it is shown in figure 1, the supplying and emulsifying head 9 can be placed in an extractable way within a side receptacle 18 of the casing 3.

In the use, the supplying and emulsifying head 9 is extracted from the receptacle 18 and introduced within any container containing the milk or other beverage which one desires to warm and make foamy. Thanks to the presence of the handpiece 10 and the flexible pipe 11, the emulsifying head 9 can be easily positioned in the beverage container without any practical difficulty for the user, so as to dip the free end 13b and the side hole 16 within the beverage.

More particularly, the presence of side cavities 24 allows to abut the free end 13b of the tubular body 13 against the bottom of the vessel, as shown in figure 6, by placing the emulsifying head 9 substantially vertically. Therefore, by turning on the actuation of the instantaneous steam generator 6, the water fed thereto from the tank 5 trough the manual pump or the electro- pump 7 is atomized and supplied to the tapered end 12a of the tube 12, through the flexible pipe 11. The flow of steam within the mixing chamber 14 causes the suction and the introduction therein, through the side hole 15, of atmospheric air which is mixed with the beverage, together with the steam, through the side hole 16. In this way, the flow of steam and air produced through the free end 13b of the tubular body 13 (and the relative cavities 24) causes on the beverage surface, in extremely short times, a thick layer of foam which, in case of milk, will also show a creamy consistency.

The same effect is obtainable in case of coffee-based beverages and the like, as well as based on freeze-dried substances (coffee, barley, etc.).

Such effect does not require any specific ability from the user, since, as it has been experimentally ascertained by the Applicant, the possibility of abutting the emulsifying head 9 against the bottom of the vessel containing the beverage through the end 13b of the tubular body 13, allows to obtain optimal results with constant performances.

In summary, the peculiar characteristics of the device according to the invention are that the supplying and emulsifying head is carried by a graspable handpiece, the steam supply tube is dismountable and made of plastic, and the emulsifying tube is dismountable and made of plastic as well.

Obviously, construction details and embodiments could widely vary with respect to what has been described and shown, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, as already previously explained, the device according to the invention can also be applied to an apparatus for making espresso coffee for domestic use, incorporating a steam generator in a known way.

In this case, the supplying and emulsifying head 9 could be connected with the body of the apparatus in a fixed but detachable way, for example through an elastic retaining system which can be disassembled.

Claims

1. Device for making hot and foamy beverages, particularly cappuccino and the like, through the introduction of steam produced by a steam generator (6) within a vessel containing the beverage, through a supplying and emulsifying head (9) for the suction and the mixing of atmospheric air with the beverage, characterized in that said supplying and emulsifying head (9) is carried by a graspable handpiece (10) connected with said steam generator (6) through a flexible pipe (11).

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said steam generator (6) is incorporated in an apparatus for making espresso coffee for a domestic use.

3. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said steam generator (6) is incorporated in a self-contained apparatus (1) having a water tank (5) and a water feed pump (7) from the tank (5) to the steam generator (6).

4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that said steam generator is an instantaneous generator (6).

5. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that said pump (7) is manual.

6. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that said pump (7) is power-driven.

7. Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said supplying and emulsifying head (9) is connected in a dismountable way with the handpiece (10).

8. Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said supplying and emulsifying head (9) includes a steam supply tube (12) and a tubular body (13) axially tight-inserted on said steam supply tube (12), said tubular body (13) having an open free end (13b) axially advanced with respect to the free end (12a) of said steam supply tube (12); said tubular body (13) defining with said steam supply tube (12) a mixing chamber (14) communicating, in proximity with said free end (13b) of the tubular body (13), with at least one mixing side hole (16) and, in proximity of its opposite end (13a), with at least one side hole (15) for the air suction.

9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that said free end (12a) of said steam supply tube (12) is tapered.

10. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that said steam supply tube (12) is connected with said handpiece (10) in a quickly dismountable way, and said tubular body (13) is inserted on said steam supply tube (12) in a quickly dismountable way.

11. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that said open free end (13b) of said tubular body (13) is formed with at least one side cavity (24).

12. Device according to any one of claims 8 to 11,' characterized in that said steam supply tube (12) and said tubular body (13) are made of plastic material.