Appliance and method for heating and/or frothing milk
AssigneeEversys Holding SA
InventorGrégoire Locher
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An appliance for heating and/or frothing milk, in which steam or a mixture of steam and air acting as a heat carrier is injected into the milk, with the heating unit including an inner steam channel and an outer annular channel for the milk. The outer annular channel coaxially surrounds the inner steam channel, with hot steam or a mixture of steam and air being supplied at an upstream end of the steam channel and with milk being supplied at an upstream end of the annular channel. To improve the heat output and the energy efficiency of the heating unit and to reduce the maintenance requirement, the steam channel and the annular channel are separated from one another, with their downstream ends opening out into an outlet channel for discharging the heated and/or frothed milk.
Claims16
An appliance for heating and/or frothing milk, the appliance comprising:
- a heating unit;
- a steam generator for feeding steam into the heating unit;
- and
- a milk pump for feeding milk into the heating unit,
- wherein the steam or a mixture of steam and air acting as a heat carrier is injected into the milk, the heating unit comprising a reactor block that includes a steam channel extending in an axial direction in the reactor block, an annular channel for the milk, and an outlet channel for discharging the heated and/or frothed milk,
- wherein the steam channel has an upstream end and a downstream end, the annular channel has an upstream end and a downstream end, and the annular channel coaxially surrounds the steam channel,
- wherein the downstream ends of both the steam channel and the annular channel open out into the outlet channel,
- wherein hot steam or a mixture of steam and air is introduced by the steam generator at the upstream end of the steam channel, and milk is introduced by the milk pump at the upstream end of the annular channel,
- wherein the upstream end of the steam channel is connected to a steam inlet line, the steam or the mixture of steam and air being introduced into the steam channel by the steam generator via the steam inlet line and flowing in the steam channel vertically against gravity from the upstream end towards the downstream end of the steam channel,
- wherein the upstream end of the annular channel is connected to a milk line, the milk being introduced into the annular channel by the milk pump via the milk line and flowing in the annular channel vertically against gravity from the upstream end towards the downstream end of the annular channel, and
- wherein the milk and the steam or the mixture of steam and air mix in the outlet channel so as to cause the milk to be heated and/or frothed, the heated and/or frothed milk flowing in the outlet channel vertically against gravity.
A method of heating and/or frothing milk, the method comprising:
- providing a heating unit comprising a reactor block that includes a steam channel extending in an axial direction in the reactor block, an annular channel for the milk, and an outlet channel for discharging the heated and/or frothed milk, the steam channel having an upstream end and a downstream end, the annular channel having an upstream end and a downstream end, the annular channel coaxially surrounding the steam channel, the downstream ends of both the steam channel and the annular channel opening out into the outlet channel, the upstream end of the steam channel being connected to a steam inlet line, and the upstream end of the annular channel being connected to a milk line;
- supplying, by a steam generator via the steam inlet line, hot steam or a mixture of steam and air to the upstream end of the steam channel;
- supplying, by a milk pump via the milk line, the milk to the upstream end of the annular channel;
- flowing the steam or the mixture of steam and air through the steam channel against gravity from the upstream end to the downstream end of the steam channel and from there into the outlet channel;
- flowing the milk through the annular channel against gravity from the upstream end to the downstream end of the annular channel and from there into the outlet channel;
- and
- mixing the steam or the mixture of steam and air with the milk in the outlet channel so as to cause heating and/or frothing of the milk, and flowing the heated and/or frothed milk in the outlet channel vertically against gravity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.