Modular foaming unit
AssigneeCup&Cino Kaffeesystem-Vertrieb GmbH & Co. KG
InventorFrank Josef Paul Epping
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A device for foaming liquid includes a line system and a pump, via which at least one first line of the line system is connectible to at least one storage container in which the liquid to be foamed is stored, and via a second line of the line system is connectible to at least one outlet nozzle, an air-enrichment element by means of which air can pass through the liquid, and a heating element designed as a continuous flow heater. Furthermore, the heating element is arranged in the second line of the line system of the device and is designed as a thick-film heater in which an electric heating resistor is attached to a carrier using thick-film technology, on which carrier a flow path is provided for the liquid.
Claims19
A device for foaming liquid, comprising
- at least one storage container in which liquid to be foamed is stored,
- a pump,
- a line system comprising at least one first line via which the at least one storage container is connectable to the pump, the line system comprising a single second line via which the pump is connectible to at least one outlet nozzle,
- an air-enrichment element by means of which air can pass through the liquid to produce a foam, wherein the air-enrichment element comprises a proportional valve with a nozzle,
- a heating element designed as a continuous flow heater,
- an air line connected to the at least one first line, wherein air is not pressurized in the air line,
- a controllable valve in the air line, and
- a control unit configured to control, during a milk foaming process, the controllable valve so that the pump suctions air into the at least one first line intermittently via pulses,
- wherein the heating element is a thick-film heater in which an electric heating resistor is attached to a carrier on which carrier a flow path is provided for the liquid,
- wherein the air-enrichment element and the heater are disposed on a pressure side of the pump, and
- wherein the air-enrichment element is disposed in the second line, upstream of the heating element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.