Beverage vending machine

#This application is a national stage application, filed under 35 U.S.C. § 371, of International Patent Application No. PCT/IB2018058159, filed on Oct. 19, 2018, which claims priority to European patent application No. 17197408.2 filed on 19 Oct. 2017 and Italian patent application No. 102018000001118 filed on 16 Jan. 2018, the entire content of each is incorporated herein by reference.

#The present invention relates to beverage vending machines, in particular to machines for preparing hot beverages from brewable substances brewed with pressurised hot water, such as coffee-based beverages, e.g., espresso coffee, instant coffee, long or fresh-brew coffee, etc., or tea-based beverages, and containing milk, and in particular to milk frothing aimed at producing beverages that are of high quality from both an organoleptic and aesthetic standpoint, namely that contain a right amount of milk and in which the top milk foam laver has an appropriate height and consistency.

#As is known, beverage vending machines comprise an upper brewable substance storage area where a brewable substance storage unit is arranged, that comprises one or more containers that may be all filled with one and the same brewable substance or with different brewing substances, and that may be defined either by distinct containers or by separate compartments of a single container; an intermediate brewing area, where a brewing unit is arranged, that comprises one or more brewing groups configured to carry out either one and the same brewing process or different brewing processes, to produce either one and the same type of beverage or different types of beverage from the brewable substances contained in the containers and that may assume different forms, in particular powder, as in the case of coffee or milk, or powder and granules, as in the case of coffee, or leaves, as in the case of tea; and a lower beverage dispensing area, where a beverage dispensing unit is arranged to dispense beverages produced by the brewing unit, and comprising one or more beverage dispensing nozzles arranged so as to dispense one or different beverages into one or more distinct receptacles (glasses, cups, etc.).

#FIG. 1 shows a hydraulic diagram of a milk supply circuit in a beverage vending machine;

#FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a milk frother/heater forming part of the milk supply circuit of FIG. 1; and

#FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal section of the milk frother/heater of FIG. 2.

#The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the attached figures in order to allow a skilled person to produce it and use it. Various modifications to the described embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the general principles described may be applied to other embodiments and applications without however departing from the protective scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. Accordingly, the present invention is not to be limited in scope to the embodiments described and illustrated herein, but is to be accorded with the widest scope consistent with the principles and characteristics disclosed and claimed herein.

#FIG. 1 schematically shows a milk supply circuit, referenced as a whole with reference numeral 1, in a beverage vending machine 1.

#As shown in FIG. 1, the milk supply circuit 2 comprises: a cold milk tank 3, a variable speed milk pump 4 having a suction side fluidically connected to the cold milk tank 3 through a milk suction duct 5 to draw the milk contained therein, and to an air source (not shown) through an air supply duct 6 along which an air solenoid valve 7 is arranged, which is selectively operable, depending on the selected beverage, to supply the milk pump 4 with the amount of air required to froth the milk drawn out of the milk tank 3, and a delivery side through which smooth or frothed milk is delivered, depending on whether the milk pump 4 has been supplied with air, a steam generator 8 having an inlet fluidically connected to a cold water source (not shown), which may be either a water container or mains water, through a water suction duct (not shown), and an outlet through which pressurized steam is delivered, a milk frother/heater 9 having a milk inlet fluidically connected to the delivery side of the milk pump 4 through a milk supply duct 10 to receive cold milk, enriched with air or not, from the milk pump 4, a steam inlet fluidically connected to the outlet of the steam generator 8 through a steam supply duct 11, along which a steam solenoid valve 12 is arranged, which is selectively operable, depending the selected beverage, to supply the milk frother/heater 9 with an amount of steam required to heat the cold milk, enriched with air or not, from the milk pump 4, and an milk delivery outlet connected to a milk delivery duct 13, through which hot or cold, smooth or frothed milk is dispensed into a receptacle 14 (cup, glass, etc.) containing a beverage brewed by a brewing assembly of the beverage vending machine 1, and an electronic milk control unit 15 electrically connected to the milk pump 4, the air solenoid valve 7, and the steam solenoid valve 12 to control operation of the milk pump 4, the air solenoid valve 7, and the steam solenoid valve 12 to cause the beverage vending machine 1 to produce beverages containing milk that are of high quality from both an organoleptic and an aesthetic standpoint, i.e., which contain the right amount of milk and in which the top milk foam layer has an appropriate height and consistency, regardless of the experience or the skill of the personnel responsible for calibrating the beverage vending machine 1.