RU2298394C2 - Liquid feeding apparatus for vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: liquid feeding equipment used in vending machines.

SUBSTANCE: apparatus has heating members 3 for heating of liquids and electric drive pump system. Pump system has inlet opening and at least first and second inlet channels 8a-8b, 8c-8d, 8e-8f, and is furnished with impeller 11a,...,11c. First and second inlet channels 8a-8b, 8c-8d, 8e-8f are designed for selective activation in accordance with direction of rotation of impeller 11a,...,11c of pump system 4.

EFFECT: increased efficiency and reduced time for feeding of liquid into larger number of mixing devices.

11 cl, 5 dwg

Description

The present invention relates to a device for supplying and heating liquids, for example, in vending machines, in accordance with the restrictive part of claim 1 of the claims.

It is known that a vending machine that supplies hot chocolate, milk and tea, broth and / or any type of drink that is hot to drink should be equipped with a tank, from which a system consisting of pumps, heating elements, electric valves and mixing devices can pick up , heat, serve and mix the product that serves the consumer.

Vending machine manufacturers have proposed various systems with such design features that can guarantee both a correct and constant flow rate and temperature of the product contained in the tank, and a correct supply of the product to the consumer.

For example, some of the vending machine manufacturers have provided for placing one or more tanks in the upper part of the vending machine containing, or containing, for example, water or another liquid product.

Such tanks are equipped with electric heating elements that can contribute to heating the contents of said tanks to the desired temperature.

In particular, placing the tanks in the upper part of the vending machine allows you to take advantage of the potential energy accumulated by the water and to avoid the use of pumps to draw water from the tank.

The said tanks are located at the starting point of the inlet pipes or channels, downstream of which there is only an electric valve, designed to select a mixing device that must be actuated in accordance with the product selected by the consumer.

That is, mixing devices are provided, on the one hand, with heated contents from the inside of the tank, and on the other hand, with a product (or several products at the same time) with the possibility of mixing and then supplying it to the consumer.

In particular, it is possible to mix water heated by means of a heating element, for example, with chocolate, or milk, or tea through one of the mixing devices that are located behind or near the supply nozzle for the product serving the consumer.

However, this method has drawbacks in that it requires long tubes or channels connecting the tank and mixing devices, which leads to a long waiting time before the product arrives from the feed nozzle, and most importantly, as soon as the feed operation is completed, the connecting pipe remains full of water, which leads to completely obvious consequences.

Other manufacturers of vending machines provide for the placement of one or more tanks, for example, in the lower part of the vending machine, equipped with only one pump with an impeller below the water level contained in the tank, and heating elements that are configured to heat the supplied product.

Water heated and suctioned by means of a pump impeller is supplied to the inlet channel, which is then divided into a set of inlet channels parallel to each other, by means of an electric valve. The said electric valve allows alternately - i.e. selectively - block one or the other of the inlet channels, since the latter lead to mixing devices.

This method has the advantage because the water tank can be placed anywhere inside the vending machine, and in addition, because the tank can be placed next to the mixing devices in order to avoid long connecting channels, as well as the lack of water in the connecting channel after each feed operation.

However, the presence of an electric valve in the supply system leads to serious technical inconveniences and disadvantages.

After repeated use, the electric valve exhibits imperfect overlapping due to accumulation of limescale, high costs, reduced reliability, and the ability to control only a limited number of mixing devices due to the low pressure applied by the said electric valve. This leads to the delivery of a small amount of drinks to the consumer, which therefore has a limited selection of products.

However, if the manufacturer of the vending machine needs to increase the number of mixing devices, it - as mentioned above - will have to face a lack of pressure exerted by the electric valve, and if you just need to increase the number of electric valves, this will lead to an increase in manufacturing costs, which must be at a level that can withstand strong competition from other manufacturers of vending machines.

In addition, the electric valve has rigidly set delivery times arising from the sum of activation, shutdown and protection times, which leads to a large delay between the consumer’s request and the actual delivery of the drink, and this, in turn, causes inconvenience to the consumer.

Given the state of the art described above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for supplying liquids without suffering from problems associated with the prior art.

In accordance with the present invention, the aforementioned goal is achieved by a device for supplying liquids in accordance with claim 1.

Thanks to the present invention, it becomes possible to provide a device for supplying liquids, for example, such as water, which can be supplied to a larger number of mixing devices and in shorter delivery times than in known delivery devices.

In addition, the present invention provides greater reliability of the device for feeding in comparison with known systems.

The characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one of the options for its implementation, illustrated simply as a non-restrictive example in the accompanying drawings, while

figure 1 shows a perspective image of a device for feeding, corresponding to the present invention;

figure 2 shows on an enlarged scale a detail of the device for feeding according to figure 1;

figure 3 shows a perspective image of a second preferred embodiment of a device for feeding, corresponding to the present invention;

4 shows a bottom view of devices according to a second preferred embodiment;

figure 5 shows a top view of the devices according to the second preferred embodiment.

1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a device according to the present invention, equipped with a tank 2 containing a liquid food product, and inside the said tank 2 there are heating elements 3 and a set of pumping groups 4.

Each pump group contains respective pumps 4a, ..., 4c, which, like the heating elements 3, are connected directly to the electronic interface. Such an electronic interface 5 is powered by mains voltage, i.e. voltage of 220-230 V and a frequency of 50 Hz.

To operate the electric pumps 4a, ..., 4c, a control panel 6 is provided, which is connected directly to the electronic interface 5 and is configured to be actuated by the consumer.

Each of the electric pumps 4a, ..., 4c is equipped with a pair of inlet tubes or channels 8a-8b, 8c-8d and 8e-8f, and each of these electric pumps 4a, ..., 4c is also communicated through a fluid with a set of mixing devices 7a, ..., 7f.

In particular, each of said mixing devices 7a, ..., 7f is in fluid communication with at least one respective inlet channel 8a-8b, 8c-8d and 8e-8f.

Each of said electric pumps 4a, ..., 4c consists of an electric motor 9 connected by means of a transmission 10 to an impeller or finned disk 11, said impeller being enclosed in a box casing 12, preferably a cylinder or a stator.

Each casing 12 has a starting point of the inlet tubes or channels 8a-8b, 8c-8d and 8e-8f, designed to direct the liquid food product contained in the tank 2 to the respective mixing devices 7a, ..., 7f.

Said inlet channels 8a-8b, 8c-8d and 8e-8f are advantageously arranged along a vertical tangent.

In particular, the shaft of the electric motor 9 is connected in the direct drive chain to the transmission means 10, which are located in the direct drive chain on the rotor shaft of the motor 9.

In a preferred embodiment, a reduction gear may be made which provides an impeller rotation speed different from that of the engine 9.

The heating elements 3 are located near the bottom of the tank 2 and can heat water or other liquids contained in the said tank 2, in accordance with the supplied beverage.

Each of the mentioned mixing devices 7a, ..., 7f is equipped with an at least one inlet channel 8a-8b, 8c-8d and 8e-8f located outside the inlet, as well as a channel 13a-13b, 13c-13d and 13- 13f feed.

Through the feed channels 13a-13b, 13c-13d and 13e-13f, products, such as chocolate, milk, tea or broth, which are necessary for preparing the beverage, are sent to the respective mixing device 7a, ..., 7f.

Therefore, the mixing of the water contained in the tank 2 and the products sent through the supply channels 13a-13b, 13c-13d and 13e-13f is carried out inside the aforementioned devices 7a, ..., 7f by means of a propeller mixer or fan 14.

In addition, electric energy is supplied directly to the fan 14 from the electronic interface 5.

After the mixing step, each mixing device 7a, ..., 7f delivers through its own inlet channel 16a, ..., 16f the product that serves the consumer.

Tank 2 is also equipped with an inlet channel 15 for supplying said tank 2 with water or any other liquid or fluid to be heated, for subsequent preparation of the beverage.

As already described, the heating elements 3 are located near the bottom of the tank 2 and are made in the form of reinforced heating elements of different capacities, coated with anti-corrosion paints compatible with food products.

The heating element 3 is supplied with electrical energy through an electronic interface 5 and is equipped with power plugs 3a and 3b, which are made with the possibility of disconnecting from the body of the tank 2 for quick maintenance operations.

Such heating elements are made of silumin or other aluminum alloys, of ceramic or stainless nickel-chromium steel or other non-magnetic stainless steels that are capable of converting electrical energy into heat as efficiently as possible.

In particular, the heating element 3 must be made in accordance with specific requirements, for example, such as electrical safety, and most importantly - must have sufficient heat capacity.

With regard to electrical safety, at present, due to the optimal selection of the three main components that make up the heating element (i.e., the sheath material, the wire for the heating elements and the oxide coating, the necessary wire for the heating elements), there are not even any specific problems in the case of a very simple heating element 3, since the failure of the latter is very unlikely, which guarantees a suitable service life of the heating element in the conditions of its operation.

When considering the heat capacity, various aspects should be taken into account, and not only the heat capacity of the tank 2, for example, such as the material of the tank 2, so that the actual power is 1-2 kW.

The heating element 3 can also be connected directly to the device, which can interrupt the flow of current when the contents of the tank 2 reaches a predetermined and desired threshold temperature.

The mentioned device is a thermostatic switch (not shown in the drawings), for example, with a bimetallic element, and it uses the property of expansion or contraction of metals, so that, in accordance with the temperature, it can close or open, thereby determining what temperature of this "elementary" The relay must close or open the electrical circuit.

In order to verify that the circuit is actually closed, the thermostatic switch is connected to a lamp or bulb (not shown in the drawings), which turns on when the switch is turned on and off when it turns off.

The thermostatic switch must be immersed in the water contained in the tank 2, and also connected to the network and to the heating element 3 of the heater.

However, said thermostatic switch with a bimetallic element can also be integrated into the heating element 3, thereby forming a so-called thermal heater or heater with a thermostatic switch.

Another type of thermostatic switch, more reliable than a bimetallic thermostatic switch, is an electronic type thermostatic switch, which uses the temperature sensitivity of several semiconductors immersed in water or superimposed on the outside of the tank and connected to the electronic interface 5 via a small cable.

The temperature is controlled by a potentiometer, the main feature of which is the ability to gradually control the power of the heating element 3.

A thermostatic switch of this type does not completely interrupt the flow of electric current, as occurs in the case of thermostatic switches with bimetallic elements, but reduces the power of the heating element 3 as needed. When the water temperature is only slightly lower than the desired value, said heating element operates at minimum power, and when said difference exceeds, for example, a predetermined temperature of 1 ° C., said heating element 3 operates at full power.

The idea of operating such embodiments is to control by a microcontroller (not shown in the drawings), which is part of the electronic interface 5.

Figure 2 shows that the impeller 11 is of the type that provides for the presence of the blades, but other embodiments are possible, for example, with a propeller, turbine or disk.

From figure 2 it is obvious that the inlet channels 8a and 8b are tangential to the stator of the casing 12, thereby ensuring that the fluid sucked in the direction of rotation of the impeller 11, enters only one inlet channel - 8A or 8b.

Obviously, the angle of incidence of such inlet channels 8a and 8b may also differ from the angle of incidence shown in FIG. 2, but should somehow preserve the feature according to which only one inlet channel can be selected when determining the direction of rotation of the impeller 11 .

It should be noted that the factors determining the effectiveness of the mixing realized by the impeller 11 are the power of the electric motor 9 and the shape of the impeller 11, so that these factors must be selected in accordance with the desired mixing.

Therefore, the impeller 11 and the casing 12 communicate with the fluid with a tangential component oriented in the first and second directions in accordance with the direction of rotation of said impeller. Then the first channel 8a is activated only with one direction of rotation of the impeller 11, for example, clockwise, while the second channel 8b is activated only with the opposite direction of rotation of the impeller 11, for example, counterclockwise.

The first inlet channel 8a is oriented relative to the casing 12 in a non-perpendicular direction allowing intake air to be received when the impeller 11a has a first rotation direction, and said second channel 8b is oriented relative to the casing 12 in a non-perpendicular direction allowing intake air to be received when the impeller 11a has the opposite a direction of rotation with respect to said first direction of rotation.

From figure 2 it is obvious how the contours 16 and 17 of the box-shaped housing 12, for example the electric pump 4a, enable the inlet channel 8a to be activated when said impeller 7 rotates counterclockwise while blocking the inlet channel 8b and vice versa.

The inlet channels 8a-8b, 8c-8d and 8e-8f are made, for example, of a material such as neoprene, have an internal diameter of several tens of millimeters and guarantee the flow of substances contained in the tank 2, without changing their organoleptic properties in the temperature range between zero degrees Celsius and one hundred degrees Celsius.

In this embodiment, centrifugal pumps are used, the impellers 11 of which are provided with simple vanes, i.e. an impeller 11 is provided, equipped with four, or six, or even eight ribs, connected to the transmission means 10 in order to collect the contents from the tank 2.

In this example, the transmission means 10 consists of a simple shaft rotating synchronously with the electric motor 9.

The main feature of centrifugal electric pumps 4 is that they create a low pressure and therefore have a flow rate of several tens of deciliters per minute at discharge heights of fifty or one hundred centimeters, and that they are very efficient and completely silent.

A direct voltage, for example, 24 V, is supplied to the electric motor 9, for which a network voltage of 220-230 V at a frequency of 50 Hz is converted by means of suitable devices (not shown in the drawings) located in the electronic interface 5.

Therefore, the electric motor 9 is an electric direct current motor (DC) equipped with a momentary switch that can change the opposite direction of rotation of the electric motor 9, and said switch is also located in the electronic interface 5.

The electronic interface 5 is configured to control the speed of rotation of the impeller 11 by means of a microprocessor.

The electronic interface 5 is configured to provide feedback circuits (not shown in the drawings) that can maintain the speed of the impeller 7 when the viscosity of the contents of the tank 2 changes, and control circuits (not shown in the drawings) that stabilize the speed in case of current fluctuations in the network.

In particular, the stirring speed should be controlled to avoid splashing, foaming and other disadvantages causing loss of load, and hence a reduced efficiency

Figures 3-4 show a second preferred embodiment of the present invention and the elements described above are denoted by the same numerals and a pump group 101 is shown comprising a plurality of pumps 4a and 4b.

In particular, said pumps 4a and 4b are arranged together as a whole since they are connected to a single electric motor 9, which communicates the movement to the respective impellers 11a and 11b by means of the transmission 10 of the movement.

Each of said impellers 11a and 11b is enclosed in a box casing 103, preferably in the form of a parallelepiped and acting as a stator.

In each casing 103, openings 102 are provided, which allow the intake of liquid contained in the tank 2, immediately after the impellers 11a and 11b are driven.

In addition, each casing 103 is the starting point of the inlet tubes or channels 8a-8b that direct the liquid food contained in the tank 2 to the respective mixing devices 7a, ..., 7f.

Such inlet channels 8a-8b, 8c-8d and 8e-8f are advantageously arranged along vertical tangents.

In particular, the shaft of the electric motor 9 is connected in the chain of direct drive with means 10 for transmitting movement, which are located in the chain of direct drive on the shaft of the rotor of the motor 9.

The operation of the device 1, the main components of which are described above, will be described in relation to aspects of its novelty.

After the consumer acts on the keyboard key 6 to receive any of the drinks served by the vending machine through one of its mixing devices 7a, ..., 7f, the control interface 5 activates the heating element 3 to heat the product contained in the tank 2, and selects which electric pump - 4a, 4b or 4c - will be activated, and first of all - which direction of rotation will have to choose for the selected pump, i.e. clockwise or counterclockwise.

Assume that the impeller 11a of the electric pump 4a is driven in a clockwise direction of rotation, then the inlet channel 8a is activated, which directs the contents of the tank to the mixing device 7a associated with said channel.

The rotational movement of the impeller 11a of the electric pump 4a immersed in the liquid of the tank 2 generates a vortex that entrains portions of the fluid from the center of rotation to the walls of the box body 12, which, due to its shape, directs the portions of fluid to the inlet channel 8a.

As soon as the first selected beverage is served, in the case when the consumer presses a key different from the previous one, the electronic interface 5 - by connecting to the same electric motor 9 - reverses the rotation direction of the impeller 11a of the electric pump 4a, i.e. in this case, counterclockwise, thereby activating the inlet channel 8b, which in the previous case was not activated, together with the mixing device 8b associated with the said channel.

Due to the possibility of reversing the rotation direction of the electric motor 9, only one of the inlet channels 8a-8b, 8c-8d, 8c-8d and 8e-8f of the pumps 4a, ..., 4c is mainly activated, the favorable consequence of which is that there is only one the impeller supplies two mixing devices.

Thus, it is possible to control several mixing devices, and therefore offer a larger assortment of products to the consumer due to the presence of a reversible pump with inlet channels that can be selected selectively.

Figures 3-5 show another preferred embodiment of a fluid supply device in accordance with the present invention, which differs from the previously described embodiment only by the pumping group 101 used.

The pump group 101 comprises an electric motor 9, which, by means of the transmission means 10, drives a plurality of centrifugal pumps, in this example two pumps, indicated by 400a and 400b.

In a preferred embodiment, the aforementioned motion transmitting means comprise a rotating shaft 10 which is connected in a direct motion transmission chain or through a reduction gear to an electric motor 9 and on which the impellers 110a and 110b of the pumps 400a and 400b are mounted, respectively.

Each centrifugal pump 400a and 400b has its own impeller 110a and 110b enclosed in its own box casing 103a and 103b, preferably in the form of a parallelepiped and acting as a stator for the pump.

The centrifugal pumps 400a and 400b are coaxial with respect to each other, so that both of them are driven by the same rotating shaft 10 and both are located one after the other.

Both casings 103a and 103b have an open front end, guaranteeing the introduction of an appropriate impeller. In this regard, it should be emphasized that while the front end of the casing, indicated by 103a, is closed by the lid 105, the other casing, i.e. the one indicated by 103b in the drawing does not need any cover, since its front end is closed due to the body of the other casing on which it rests.

Each casing 103a and 103b has its own inlet 102a and 102b, which allows the fluid inside the tank 2 to enter the pump.

In addition, each casing 103a and 103b has its own inlet channel 800a and 800b, which directs the liquid substances contained within the tank 2, to the respective mixing devices 7a, ..., 7f (not shown in FIGS. 3-5).

The inlet channels 800a and 800b advantageously extend within the pump group in a vertical direction parallel to the rotating shaft 10, and are supplied through the corresponding inlet plugs 104a and 104b in the corresponding casing 103a and 103b.

It is obvious that the mentioned inlet plugs 104a and 104b, as well as the holes 102 and 102b are offset from each other and do not interfere with each other, which can be seen from Figs. 4 and 5.

In particular, referring again to FIGS. 4 and 5, it can be seen how the inlet channel 800b starts from the inlet plug 104b of the casing 103b, while the inlet channel 800a of the casing 103a starts from the casing 103a on the inlet plug 104a. The inlet channel 800a passes through the casing 103a up to the mixing device 7a.

It should be noted that in the present invention, the ribs of the impellers 110a and 110b have a shape that guarantees the formation of a vortex only when said impellers are driven in the same direction of rotation.

The aforementioned impellers are advantageously enclosed in their own casing, so that they are located one on top of the other. As a result, rotation in some direction (for example, clockwise) of the rotary shaft 10 results in rotation of both impellers 110a and 110b, but only one of both impellers (impeller 110a) will form a vortex in its own casing, allowing directing the fluid into the corresponding inlet (inlet 800a). Similarly, when the rotation direction of rotation of the rotating shaft 100 (counterclockwise) is reversed, only the other impeller (impeller 110b) forms a vortex in its own casing, allowing the fluid to be directed into the corresponding inlet channel (inlet channel 800b).

The design of the pump group 101 guarantees the selective direction of the fluid into one inlet channel or into another inlet channel in accordance with the direction of rotation communicated to the drive shaft 10 by the electric motor 9, i.e. with the direction of rotation communicated to both impellers 110a and 110b. In fact, the impellers 110a and 110b are forced to rotate in the same direction, but as mentioned above, only the impeller forming the vortex in its own casing allows the fluid to be directed into the corresponding inlet, then like the other impeller, it does not create in its own casing such a discharge height that allows directing the fluid into the corresponding inlet channel.

Each inlet plug 104a and 104b is predominantly oriented relative to the corresponding casing 103a and 103b in a non-perpendicular direction, preferably tangentially, which contributes to the intake flow resulting from the vortex formed by the corresponding impeller 110a and 110b in the casing.

In addition, this allows us to solve the problem that arises as a result of sediments of calcareous deposits on the seal, since the diameters of the outlet channels are made larger than the corresponding diameters in known systems, thereby preventing deposition, and hence the formation of calcareous deposits.

Ultimately, a device such as the one described above can advantageously be implemented at reduced cost.

Obviously, to meet urgent and specific needs, a person skilled in the art will be able to make several changes to the above device and implement several variants thereof, all of which fall within the scope of protection of the invention limited by the following claims.

Claims (11)

1. A device for supplying liquids in vending machines for drinks, comprising heating elements (3) for heating said liquids, and an electric drive pump group (4; 101), characterized in that the pump group (4; 101) has an inlet (4 '; 102a, 102b), at least one inlet channel (8a-8b, 8c-8d, 8e-8f, 800a, 800b), configured to selectively activate in accordance with the direction of rotation of at least one impellers (11a, ..., 11c) of the pump group (4, 101). 2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the pump group (4) comprises at least one pump (4a, 4b, 4c) equipped with said at least one impeller (11a, 11b, 11c). 3. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that at least one pump (4a, ..., 4c) is made in the form of a centrifugal pump, and at least one impeller (11a, ..., 11c ) is enclosed inside a chamber bounded by a casing (12, 103), while the first inlet channel (8a, 8c, 8e) is oriented relative to the casing (12) in a non-perpendicular direction, providing intake flow, and the impeller (11a, 11b, 11c) has the first direction of rotation, and the second inlet channel (8b, 8d, 8f) is oriented relative to the casing (12) in a non-perpendicular direction, providing we accept the intake flow, and the impeller (11a, 11b, 11c) has a direction of rotation opposite to that of the first direction of rotation. 4. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that the casing (12, 103) is made essentially box-shaped, and the first (8a, 8c, 8e) and the second (8b, 8d, 8f) channels are oriented in the directions tangential to the casing (12). 5. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that at least one pump (4a, ..., 4c) comprises an electric motor (9) connected to said at least one impeller (11a, .. ., 11c) by means of motion transmission (10). 6. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the pump group contains two pumps (400a, 400b), the drive of which is carried out by the same electric motor through means (10) for transmitting movement, each pump containing an impeller (11a, 11b) , an inlet (102a, 102b) and at least one inlet which is only activated for a given direction of rotation of the impeller (110a, 110b), the two pumps (400a, 400b) having opposite directions of rotation to activate the corresponding intake duct. 7. A device according to any one of claims 3 and 6, characterized in that the direction of rotation of the at least one impeller (11a, ..., 11c, 110a, 110b) of the at least one pump (4a,. .., 4c, 400a, 400b) is quickly installed via the electronic interface (5) in accordance with the signals sent by the electronic interface (5) from the selection keyboard (6). 8. The device according to any one of claims 3 and 6, characterized in that each of at least the first and second inlet channels (8a-8b, 8c-8d, 8e-8f) is in fluid communication, at least with one mixing device (7a, ..., 7f). 9. The device according to claim 8, characterized in that at least one mixing device (7a, ..., 7f) is also in fluid communication with the inlet channel (13a, ..., 13f) supplying soluble products in at least one mixing device (7a, ..., 7f). 10. Device according to any one of paragraphs.5 and 6, characterized in that the electric motor (9) is configured to control an electronic interface (5). 11. The device according to any one of paragraphs.5 and 6, characterized in that the means (10) for transmitting movement contain a drive shaft.

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