Foods and beverages: apparatus – Beverage – Infusors
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-27
2001-02-27
Alexander, Reginald L. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Beverage
Infusors
C099S286000, C099S288000, C099S290000, C099S293000, C099S323100, C099S275000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06192785
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic dispenser of frothed milk and pre-made liquid coffee that delivers cold and/or hot Italian-style coffees, such as, cappuccino, latte, espresso, and others. And, more particularly to the type that includes refrigerated milk and pre-made liquid coffee supplies from which milk and liquid coffee are drawn, frothed and dispensed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many coffee machines exist nowadays that brew coffee beverage with an incorporated system to froth milk and deliver the mix of frothed milk and brewed coffee in a final beverage called cappuccino, latte, etc. However, none of them discloses the features of the present invention.
The present invention discloses an automatic machine that operates with a pre-made liquid coffee alone or in combination with milk. As it occurs in a conventional commercial coffee/cappuccino maker, it is required a trained personnel to operate the machine and thus the quality of the brewed coffee beverage depends on the experience of the operator. The present invention overcomes this shortcoming as this machine does not use ground coffee beans neither pressurized hot water, but pre-made espresso coffee ready to be consumed.
Another advantage of this invention is that is portable. The disclosed machine herein does not need to be connected to a tap water supply as other commercial machines do when pre-heated water passes through coffee grounds to produce the desired coffee beverage.
Another advantage of this invention is that the machine includes a simple refrigeration mechanism to refrigerate liquid coffee and milk containers that operates at 12 Volts based in the well known Peltier effect. This is a simple mechanism that does not require, as in the conventional refrigeration mechanism, a compressor neither gas, thereby making the manufacturing production of the machine less costly.
Another novelty of this invention is the cone-shaped heat exchanger assembly that is automatically emptied by gravity for each service and includes a removable member that can be easily opened for cleaning and sanitation. This technical solution has been studied and developed to overcome any problem of milk deposits that are always difficult to clean when they are inside a conventional coil exchanger.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one of the main objects of the present invention to provide an automatic dispenser that delivers cold or heated frothed milk and liquid pre-made coffee.
It is another object of this invention to provide a dispenser that is easy to operate thereby being accessible to any user.
It is another object of this invention to provide a dispenser that is practical and versatile permitting the selection of hot or cold milk and hot or cold coffee.
It is another object of this invention to provide a machine that includes air inlet valves to selectively and independently froth the milk and coffee through their respective conduits.
It is another object of this invention to provide a dispenser that includes such a pump permitting the drawing of the liquids and emulsification of air and the milk, and in the same manner, air and the liquid coffee.
It is another object of this invention to provide a dispenser that does not need water supply except the water contained in the heating mechanism.
It is another object of this invention to provide a dispenser that includes a heating mechanism to heat the frothed milk and liquid coffee, respectively.
It is another object of this invention to provide a dispenser that has a compact structure and is volumetrically efficient to transport and store.
It is another object of this invention to provide a dispenser that has such a heating mechanism permitting a user to easily and effectively clean the internal surfaces of the heating exchanger assemblies.
It is still an object of this invention to provide a dispenser that provides a simple refrigeration mechanism that operates at 12 volts to refrigerate coffee and milk containers.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide such a machine that is less costly to manufacture and maintain while retaining its effectiveness.
Further objects of this invention will be brought out in the following part of the specifications, wherein detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4470999 (1984-09-01), Carpiac
patent: 4649809 (1987-03-01), Kanezashi
patent: 5265520 (1993-11-01), Giuliano
DeBattisti GianCarlo
Trida Roberto
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