Dispensing – Automatic control – Motor control
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-07
2001-05-01
Kaufman, Joseph A. (Department: 3754)
Dispensing
Automatic control
Motor control
C222S641000, C222S642000, C222S146500, C222S157000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06223938
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to coffee machines. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with an industrial coffee machine for dispensing a predetermined quantity of coffee upon request.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Coffee dispensing machines are well known in the art. They usually include a manually operable valve provided with a handle actuated by a user to fill a cup to an appropriate level. This level is mainly determined by the hand-eye coordination of the user.
While the operation of this type of coffee dispensing machine is satisfactory when relatively low volumes of coffee has to be transferred from a main reservoir to cups, it is not so when the number of cups to be filled in a small period of time is high, for example, in hospital kitchens where hundreds of meals are prepared three times a day.
Indeed, for the workers of these volume feeding kitchen systems, it is generally difficult to manually transfer a predetermined quantity of coffee cup after cup when the number of cups to be filled is great and the time allotted to the cup filling operation is short. Furthermore, the risk of injury to the workers is increased since the worker's hands are necessarily in the vicinity of the manual valve during the transfer operation and may thus be scalded.
Three solutions have been proposed to overcome this drawback of conventional coffee dispensing machines.
The first solution involves the use of a timer-operated valve that, when an actuator is depressed, is opened for a predetermined duration. The drawback with this solution is that the quantity of coffee transferred by the valve from a main reservoir to a cup is a function of the quantity of coffee remaining in the main reservoir since the flow rate of the coffee through the valve is a affected by gravity.
The second solution also involves a timer-operated valve. However, instead of transferring a quantity of already prepared coffee from a main reservoir to a cup, a coffee-making syrup is mixed with hot water upon demand and transferred to the cup. This eliminates the above-mentioned drawback of the first solution since the hot water is contained under pressure, thus allowing the quantity of water transferred to be predetermined. It is however to be noted that the mix of coffee-making syrup and hot water produces a liquid that does not taste exactly like coffee that may cause gastric problems.
The third solution involves the use of a type of coffee machine making the coffee on a cup-by-cup basis upon activation of an actuator. A major drawback of this solution is the relatively long time required to brew a cup of coffee each time the machine is activated, making this type of machines inadequate for volume feeding kitchen system uses. Furthermore, the quantity of coffee beans required to make one cup of coffee with this type of machine is greater than with coffee machines making a reservoir of coffee at a time.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide an improved machine for dispensing a predetermined quantity of coffee free of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
More specifically, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a machine for dispensing a predetermined quantity of liquid comprising:
a spout;
a reservoir provided with a fluid outlet;
at least one peristaltic pump having a fluid inlet connected to the fluid outlet of the reservoir; the at least one peristaltic pump having a fluid outlet connected to the spout;
a timer connected to the at least one pump; and
a start switch connected to the timer;
wherein, upon activation of the start switch, the timer energizes the at least one peristaltic pump for a predetermined period of time, thereby dispensing a predetermined quantity of liquid from the reservoir.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a module for dispensing a predetermined quantity of liquid from the reservoir of a conventional hot liquid machine provided with a fluid outlet; the module comprising:
a spout
at least one peristaltic pump having a fluid inlet connected to the fluid outlet of the conventional hot liquid machine; the at least one peristaltic pump having a fluid outlet connected to the spout;
a timer connected to the at least one pump; and
a start switch connected to the timer;
wherein, upon activation of the start switch, the timer energizes the at least one peristaltic pump for a predetermined period of time, thereby dispensing a predetermined quantity of hot liquid from the reservoir of the conventional hot liquid machine.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3170598 (1965-02-01), McPherson
patent: 3467279 (1969-09-01), Upton et al.
patent: 4432707 (1984-02-01), Anderson et al.
patent: 4736875 (1988-04-01), King
patent: 4927060 (1990-05-01), Snowball et al.
patent: 5392827 (1995-02-01), Yasso et al.
patent: 5865097 (1999-02-01), Smit
patent: 6003733 (1999-12-01), Wheeler
patent: 6070771 (2000-06-01), Hart et al.
Paré Sylvain
Paré Yvon
Goudreau Gage Dubuc
Kaufman Joseph A.
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