WO2010001146A1

WO2010001146A1 - Hot beverage making apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2010001146A1
Application number: PCT/GB2009/050711
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paul Gaetano Gabriele
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-06-30
Filing date: 2009-06-22
Publication date: 2010-01-07
Anticipated expiration: 2010-12-30
Also published as: GB0811931D0; GB2474181A; GB0821480D0; GB0821138D0; GB2474181B; GB2461584A; GB201101340D0

Abstract

A hot beverage making apparatus (2) comprises a base unit (4) and main housing (6). Main housing (6) has a beverage outlet (8) for delivering a hot beverage, such as tea or coffee, to a receptacle such as a cup or mug (10). Main housing (6) also comprises a tap assembly (12), such as a mixer tap, for providing a water supply of variable temperature that is intended to be received and disposed of in sink unit (14).

Description

Hot Beverage Making Apparatus

The present invention relates to a hot beverage making apparatus and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to a coffee machine.

Operators of hot beverage making units that are located remote from mains electricity and water supplies face several problems . Firstly, remote water and electricity supplies are required. Secondly, sink units having hot water for cleaning may be required for health and safety reasons.

All of this equipment requires a large amount of space which can be difficult to provide, if for example the remote beverage making unit is mounted to a motor vehicle. Furthermore, the need for a separate sink and hot water unit increases cost and power consumption.

An apparatus which is able to supply hot beverages and hot and cold water on an aircraft is described in WO00/45685. This apparatus uses what is known as a thermal block system to heat water. A thermal block uses one or more electrical resistors to flash heat cold water passed over the hot resistors. This enables the apparatus to avoid having a pressurised boiler in the fuselage of an aircraft which is undesirable for safety reasons. However, use of a resistive thermal block heating element suffers from the drawback that the quantity of heated water than can be supplied is relatively small. WO00/45685 states that the flow of hot water is limited to 1.5 litres of water in a minimum time of 2 minutes and 30 seconds. This quantity of water would generally be unsuitable for the cleaning of crockery and showering. An espresso type coffee machine generally comprises a boiler which heats water in a boiler vessel. A tap is generally provided on the front of the machine to enable hot water to be taken from the boiler vessel. However, the amount of hot water available is small and unsuitable for cleaning dishes or showering. Also, draining hot water from the boiler via the tap introduces cold water into the boiler which reduces the temperature and pressure in the system, and can prevent coffee from being brewed.

The present invention seeks to overcome the above disadvantages of the prior art.

According to the present invention, there is provided a hot beverage making apparatus comprising:

an inlet for receiving a supply of unheated water; and

pumping means arranged to pump water supplied to the apparatus and increase the pressure of the water;

characterised by:

boiler means;

a thermosiphon circuit arranged to increase the temperature of some of the water supplied to the apparatus, the thermosiphon circuit comprising at least one heat exchanger pipe passing through said boiler means to enable water flowing through at least one said heat exchanger pipe to be heated to provide a supply of heated water that is able to circulate in the thermosiphon circuit to be reheated by passing through at least one said heat exchanger pipe if required;

hot beverage brewing means arranged in the thermosiphon circuit to enable some of the heated water to be used to brew hot beverages;

first connector means arranged to supply some of the unheated water to a cold water feed for a tap assembly; and

second connector means arranged in the thermosiphon circuit to enable supply of some of the heated water to a hot water feed for a tap assembly.

By providing a thermosiphon circuit that comprises a heat exchanger pipe running through boiler means and using the thermosiphon circuit to supply a hot water feed, it has been found that the quantity of hot water produced can be greatly increased. This apparatus has been found to be able to supply a quantity of 1.5 litres of hot water at the hot water feed in 35 seconds, compared with 1.5 litres of hot water in a minimum time of 2 minutes and 30 seconds by the apparatus of WO00/45685. This means that the hot beverage making apparatus is suitable to supply a separate tap/faucet assembly to enable the washing of dishes and cleaning of hands. This quantity of hot water is also suitable for supplying a shower unit.

Thisalso provides the advantage of a reduction of the number of components required, a reduction in space required and reduction in cost associated with operating a remote hot beverage making apparatus because a separate water supply and heater for cleaning is not required. An operator of a remote hot beverage making unit is therefore not required to install an extra hot water unit, which may be required for health and safety reasons. Separate power for a separate hot water unit is therefore not required which results in significant cost savings and environmental benefits.

The number of components required to operate a remote hot beverage making apparatus is also reduced. A reduction in the amount of components required results in a cost saving and also decreases the likelihood of malfunction.

Furthermore, the amount of space required by a remote hot beverage making apparatus is reduced which enables more cold water to be stored, for example if the hot beverage making apparatus is used in a motor vehicle.

This also provides the advantage of a more versatile hot beverage making apparatus which can be used to provide a hot water supply to vehicles such as caravans, recreational vehicles and water craft. Finally, the apparatus can be used to supply hot and cold water to a sink in a bar or cafe in the event of a water mains failure, which can result in closure of such premises.

The apparatus may further comprise a tap assembly.

The apparatus may further comprise a sink unit to which the tap assembly is arranged to supply water.

In a preferred embodiment, said pumping means comprises at least one first outlet and said first connector means is connected to at least one said first outlet of the pumping means to provide said cold water feed. In a preferred embodiment, said first connector means is a T- connector .

This provides the advantage that a hot beverage making apparatus, such as a coffee machine, can be retrofitted to provide a cold water feed to a tap assembly.

A non-return valve may be disposed in said hot water feed and/or said cold water feed.

This provides the advantage of preventing cavitation in the piping of the hot beverage making apparatus.

Said hot water feed and/or cold water feed may comprise a flow switch adapted to control operation of said pumping means when water is drawn from said hot and/or cold water feeds .

This provides the advantage that if the apparatus is supplied by a water tank, and not the water mains, water supplied to the tap assembly will be under pressure at all times.

The apparatus may further comprise flow switch isolation means arranged to enable deactivation of at least one said flow switch.

This provides the advantage that if the apparatus is connected to a pressured mains water supply, the pumping means can be deactivated because it is not required to pressure the hot and cold feeds. The apparatus may further comprise at least one pressure reducing valve disposed in said hot and/or cold water feeds.

This provides the advantage that if the beverage being produced requires water of a particularly high pressure, the water pressure can be reduced such that it is suitable for use at the tap assembly. This also provides the advantage of reducing the likelihood of a leaking tap assembly.

In a preferred embodiment, the hot beverage brewing means is a delivery group head through which said thermosiphon circuit passes, and wherein said second connector means comprises an elbow connector connected to said thermosiphon circuit to supply said hot water feed.

This provides the advantage that an espresso type coffee machine can be retrofitted to supply the hot water feed.

The tap assembly may comprise a mixer tap.

In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus further comprises shut off valve means arranged to prevent water flowing in said hot and cold water feeds when the hot beverage brewing means is being used to brew a beverage.

This provides the advantage that if a hot beverage is being brewed, water is prevented from being drawn from the hot and cold feeds which could reduce pressure in the brewing means and reduce beverage quality.

The shut off valve means may comprise a first electronic shut off valve disposed in said cold water feed and a second electronic shut off valve disposed in said hot water feed, wherein said first and second electronic shut off valves may be arranged to close when said hot beverage brewing means is activated.

The boiler means may comprise a boiler vessel in which water is stored and heated to a predetermined temperature, and wherein said heat exchanger pipe passes through said boiler vessel .

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a partially cut away front view of an exemplary hot beverage making apparatus;

Figure 2 is a schematic drawing of an apparatus demonstrating the principle of producing both hot and cold water and hot beverages; and

Figure 3 is a schematic showing a pipe layout of an apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, a hot beverage making apparatus 2 comprises a base unit 4 and main housing 6. Main housing 6 has a beverage outlet 8 for delivering a hot beverage, such as tea or coffee, to a receptacle such as a cup or mug 10. Main housing 6 also comprises a tap assembly 12, such as a mixer tap, for providing a water supply of variable temperature that is intended to be received and disposed of in sink unit 14. Sink unit 14 comprises a drain 16 which can supply storage means (not shown) for waste water or alternatively be connected to a sewage system. Cold water may be supplied to the apparatus 2 either by a mains supply or by an onboard storage tank (not shown) .

Alternatively, the apparatus may have a hot water feed and a cold water feed supplying two corresponding outlets for connection to a tap assembly. Such an apparatus would not have an integral tap and sink unit and could be used to supply hot and cold water to a tap and sink assembly.

Referring to Figure 2, a mechanism for brewing hot beverages and supplying hot water to mixer tap 12 will now be described. The apparatus 2 comprises pumping means 20 comprising an inlet 22 which is fed by cold water supply 24. The pumping means 20 may be for example a rotary pump or solenoid pump depending on the size of the apparatus 2. In the case of a coffee machine, pumping means 20 is adapted to increase the pressure of cold water supply 24 to 9bar which is the optimum pressure for brewing coffee.

Pumping means 20 comprises an outlet 26 which supplies pressured cold water to first connector means 28. First connector means 28 partially redirects water to a cold water feed 30 and also redirects water to an inlet 32 of a heating means 34, such as a boiler. Boiler 34 is arranged to heat water for example to 92 'C in the case of a coffee machine because 92^° C is the optimum brewing temperature for coffee. Heating means 34 comprises outlet 36 which feeds water to second connector means 38.

Second connector means 38 partially redirects heated water to hot water feed 40 and also supplies inlet 42 of brewing means 44. Brewing means 44, in the case of a coffee machine, is arranged to pass pressured and heated water through ground coffee in order to supply brewed coffee to beverage outlet 8. Hot and cold water feeds 40 and 30 are fed to mixer tap 12 in order to provide an independent water supply to sink 14. Alternatively, separate hot and cold water taps can be attached to the respective hot and cold water feeds 40 and 30.

A hot beverage making apparatus according to the present invention is shown in Figure 3, with parts common to the apparatus of Figure 2 denoted by like reference numerals but increased by 100.

Referring to Figure 3, a hot beverage brewing machine 102, which may be for example an espresso type coffee machine comprises a cold water supply 124 that feeds an inlet 122 of rotary pump 120. Rotary pump 120 increases the pressure of the cold water supply to 9bar which is the optimum pressure for brewing coffee. First connector means 129 enables two feeds to be taken from pump outlet 126. This may be accomplished by means of a T-connector 129. First cold water feed 130 is fed through an optional pressure reducing valve 131 to mixer tap assembly 112. A first flow switch 121 is provided in first cold water feed 130 to regulate operation of the motor (not shown) of pump 120. A pressure reducing valve 131 and non-return valve 123 may also be provided on cold water feed 130.

A second cold water feed 127 is fed into boiler means, which for example could be a boiler 134. Boiler 134 comprises a heat exchanger pipe 135 into which heat is transferred from hot water 133 which is held in the boiler vessel and heated to a predetermined temperature (such as 100°c) . Alternatively, the boiler means may comprise any method of heating heat exchanger pipe 135, such as resistive heating etc.

The boiler 134 is arranged to heat water in heat exchanger pipe 135 to approximately 92° C which is the optimum temperature for brewing coffee. Heated water from the pipe 135 is fed into coffee brewing means comprising a delivery- group head 144 which will be familiar to persons skilled in the art.

Delivery group head 144 is arranged to pass hot water through ground coffee and release brewed coffee C. A thermosiphon circuit is formed by boiler outlet pipe 136 passing through group head 144, return pipe 150 and T-connector 152. A thermosiphon circuit is a method of passive heat exchange that enables water in a temporarily closed circuit of pipes to circulate under convection through a heat source (such as a heat exchanger pipe running through a boiler vessel) to provide a constant circulating supply of hot water. If the group head 144 is not being used to brew coffee, hot water circulates in the thermosiphon circuit to be re-circulated through heat exchanger pipe 135 passing through hot water 133 in boiler vessel 134 to provide a constantly available supply of hot water to brew coffee.

A second connector means 138 is connected to group head 144 to supply hot water feed 140 to tap assembly 112. Alternatively, second connector means may be connected to boiler outlet pipe 136. Second connector means 138 may comprise an elbow connector 147 attached to group head 144. A non-return valve 143 is arranged in the hot water feed 140 to prevent air entering the group head 144 and causing cavitation, which could prevent coffee brewing correctly and also cause damage to the apparatus. A pressure reducing valve 141 is optionally provided in the hot water feed 140.

Shut off valve means may be provided to prevent water flowing in the cold and hot water feeds 130 and 140 when the group head 144 is being used to brew coffee. This prevents unwanted pressure drop in group head 144. For example, the shut off valve means may comprise a first electronic shut off valve 162 disposed in the cold water feed 130 and a second electronic shut off valve 160 disposed in the hot water feed 140. Shut off valves 160 and 162 can be connected to the brewing activation circuit (not shown) such that when the group head 144 is activated, valves 160 and 162 close. Also, shut off valves 160 and 162 can be connected to a boiler auto fill circuit and/or boiler hot water delivery circuit (not shown) such that when water is being pumped in to boiler vessel 133 or being removed from boiler vessel 133 the valves 160 and 162 close.

A flow switch 145 is provided in hot water feed and is used to operate the motor (not shown) of pump 120 when tap assembly 112 is opened. This is useful when the apparatus is used with an unpressured water supply such as a mobile water tank. The thermosiphon system is the only way of creating an unpowered flow of water over the flow switches which is required to start the pumping means when water is required at the hot water feed. This is needed when mains water pressure is not available to the machine.

A flow switch isolation means may also be provided to deactivate flow switches 121 and 145. For example, a two way switch (not shown) may be provided to isolate flow switches 121 and 145. When the apparatus is being supplied by pressured water mains, the pump 120 is not required to pressure water for the hot and cold water feeds. Consequently, although pump 120 is still used to pressurise group head 144 for brewing coffee, it is not required for a mains supplied apparatus to pressurise hot and cold feeds 130 and 140 and flow switches 121 and 145 can therefore be deactivated.

It can therefore be seen that even when coffee is not being brewed by group head 144, a hot water supply is provided for mixer tap assembly 112. Cold water is also constantly supplied at pressure to mixer tap 112. Furthermore, an existing espresso coffee machine 102 can be retro-fitted to provide a water supply to mixer tap assembly 112 and an integral sink unit (not shown) .

Although the above embodiment has been described as a coffee machine, it should be understood that the invention can be used with any apparatus that brews hot beverages and has a pumping and heating means. Also, the pumping 20, heating 34 and brewing means 44 do not need to be arranged in the specific order of Figure 2, and their positions in the chain, as well as those of the connectors 28 and 38, are interchangeable .

It should also be understood that the apparatus 2 does not have to have integral tap and sink assemblies and may only be provided with hot and cold water feeds supplying corresponding outlets. The outlets can then be connected using standard plumbing fittings to a tap assembly.

The apparatus 2 can therefore be used on remote sites where there is no water mains to provide hot water to a sink unit or shower unit. This means that a separate hot water unit does not need to be installed. It should be noted that a tap, or tap assembly, is also known as a faucet, or faucet assembly.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiment has been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A hot beverage making apparatus comprising:

an inlet for receiving a supply of unheated water; and

characterised by:

boiler means;

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a tap assembly.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a sink unit to which the tap assembly is arranged to supply water.

4. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said pumping means comprises at least one first outlet and said first connector means is connected to at least one said first outlet of the pumping means to provide said cold water feed.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said first connector means is a T-connector.

6. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a non-return valve disposed in said hot water feed and/or said cold water feed.

7. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said hot water feed and/or cold water feed comprises a flow switch adapted to control operation of said pumping means when water is drawn from said hot and/or cold water feeds.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising flow switch isolation means arranged to enable deactivation of at least one said flow switch.

9. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising at least one pressure reducing valve disposed in said hot and/or cold water feeds.

10. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the hot beverage brewing means is a delivery group head through which said thermosiphon circuit passes, and wherein said second connector means comprises an elbow connector connected to said thermosiphon circuit to supply said hot water feed.

11. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the tap assembly comprises a mixer tap.

12. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising shut off valve means arranged to prevent water flowing in said hot and cold water feeds when the hot beverage brewing means is being used to brew a beverage .

13. An apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the shut off valve means comprises a first electronic shut off valve disposed in said cold water feed and a second electronic shut off valve disposed in said hot water feed, wherein said first and second electronic shut off valves are arranged to close when said hot beverage brewing means is activated.14. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the boiler means comprises a boiler vessel in which water is stored and heated to a predetermined temperature, and wherein said heat exchanger pipe passes through said boiler vessel.