Disposable foaming device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11510521-B2
Application number	US-201515320077-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 22, 2015
Priority date	Jun 25, 2014
Publication date	Nov 29, 2022
Grant date	Nov 29, 2022

Abstract

Disposable foaming device (100) for foaming a fluid (1) comprising a container compartment (20) and a foaming compartment (10), the container compartment (20) being pressurized by primary incoming air (14′) so that the fluid (1) is driven into the foaming compartment (20), wherein the foaming compartment (20) is provided with secondary incoming air (15′) to be mixed with the fluid (1) coming from the container compartment (20), the foaming compartment (10) being designed in such a way that the mixture of air and fluid (1) is moved under certain level of shear stress calculated so that it allows the mixture of air and fluid (1) to be emulsified in the foaming compartment (10). Typically, the foaming compartment (20) comprises an inner cylinder (11) and an outer cylinder (12), the inner cylinder (11) and the outer cylinder (12) being arranged concentrically so that a gap (13) is formed between them, the inner cylinder (11) being rotatable with respect to the outer cylinder (12), such that the mixture of fluid (1) and air is emulsified when driven through the gap (13).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A disposable foaming device for foaming a fluid, the disposable foaming device comprising a container compartment and a foaming compartment,
the container compartment being pressurized by primary incoming air so that the fluid is driven into the foaming compartment,
wherein the foaming compartment is provided with secondary incoming air to be mixed with the fluid coming from the container compartment,
the foaming compartment comprising an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder arranged concentrically to form a gap extending from the inner cylinder to the outer cylinder,
the inner cylinder being rotatable with respect to the outer cylinder that creates shear stress to emulsify a mixture of the air and the fluid in the gap of the foaming compartment when the mixture of the air and the fluid is driven into the gap, the outer cylinder is stationary, and the inner cylinder rotates at a speed of between 4000 to 8000 rpm with respect to the outer cylinder,
the foaming compartment comprises (i) a primary air inlet linked to a primary channel and (ii) a secondary air inlet linked to a secondary channel, the primary air inlet configured to convey the primary incoming air through the primary channel towards the container compartment, such that the container compartment is pressurized;
wherein the secondary air inlet is configured to convey the secondary incoming air through the secondary channel to a position upstream of the foaming compartment such that the secondary incoming air is mixed with the fluid coming from the container compartment at the position upstream of the foaming compartment, the mixture provided to the foaming compartment.

2. The disposable foaming device according to claim 1 , wherein a width of the gap is a function of the fluid to be foamed, such that the shear stress in the gap emulsifies the mixture of the air and the fluid.

3. The disposable foaming device according to claim 1 , wherein the foaming compartment is a lid, and the container compartment is a structure selected from the group consisting of a bottle, a capsule and a pouch.

4. The disposable foaming device according to claim 1 , wherein the container compartment comprises an internal flexible part comprising the fluid to be foamed, the container compartment further comprising an external surrounding rigid part, the container compartment configured to form a secondary gap between the internal flexible part and the external surrounding rigid part so that the primary incoming air is driven into the secondary gap, pressing the internal flexible part to drive the fluid into the foaming compartment.

5. The disposable foaming device according to claim 1 , wherein the foaming device is arranged perpendicularly with respect to the container compartment, the foaming compartment being further provided with a vertical path to where the mixture of the air and the fluid is conveyed for being expanded and therefore foamed.

6. The disposable foaming device according to claim 1 , wherein the foaming device is arranged parallel with respect to the container compartment, the foaming compartment being further provided with a secondary vertical path to where the emulsified mixture of air and the fluid is conveyed for being expanded and therefore foamed.

7. The disposable foaming device according to claim 1 , comprising a disposable additive compartment releasably attached to the foaming compartment, the disposable additive compartment configured to deliver an additive flow from pressure exerted by additive air coming from the foaming compartment.

8. The disposable foaming device according to claim 1 , wherein the foaming compartment comprises a heater configured for heating the mixture of the fluid and the air to enhance the emulsifying process in the foaming compartment through adding energy provided from the heater.

9. The disposable foaming device according to claim 1 , wherein the fluid is a foamable fluid.

10. The disposable foaming device according to claim 1 , wherein the inner cylinder is a rotor, and the outer cylinder is a stator.

11. The disposable foaming device according to claim 1 , wherein the inner cylinder is made of a heat conducting material.

12. A foaming system comprising a foaming device for foaming a fluid,
the foaming device comprising a container compartment and a foaming compartment,
the container compartment being pressurized by primary incoming air so that the fluid is driven into the foaming compartment,
wherein the foaming compartment is provided with secondary incoming air to be mixed with the fluid coming from the container compartment,
the foaming compartment comprising an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder arranged concentrically, to form a gap extending from the inner cylinder to the outer cylinder,
the inner cylinder being rotatable with respect to the outer cylinder that creates shear stress to emulsify a mixture of the air and the fluid in the gap of the foaming compartment when the mixture of the air and the fluid is driven into the gap, the outer cylinder is stationary, and the inner cylinder rotates at a speed of between 4000 to 8000 rpm with respect to the outer cylinder,
the system further comprising a machine, the foaming device being connectable to the machine, and the machine comprising a drive member configured to rotate the inner cylinder, the machine further comprising a primary air pump providing the primary incoming air and a secondary air pump providing the secondary incoming air, the foaming compartment comprises (i) a primary air inlet linked to a primary channel and (ii) a secondary air inlet linked to a secondary channel, the primary air inlet configured to convey the primary incoming air through the primary channel towards the container compartment, such that the container compartment is pressurized;
wherein the secondary air inlet is configured to convey the secondary incoming air from the secondary air pump through the secondary channel to a position upstream of the foaming compartment such that the secondary incoming air is mixed with the fluid coming from the container compartment at the position upstream of the foaming compartment.

13. The foaming system according to claim 12 comprising a third air pump providing additive air into an additive compartment through the foaming device.

14. The foaming system according to claim 12 , wherein the foaming compartment comprises a heater configured for heating the mixture of the fluid and the air, wherein the machine comprises a controller configured to monitor at least one foaming process parameter selected from the group consisting of: a fluid flow rate flowing from the container compartment into the foaming compartment, a rotating speed of the inner cylinder, a flow rate of the secondary incoming air provided into the foaming compartment, a temperature of the mixture of the air and the fluid in the foaming compartment, and a ratio of additive quantity provided from an additive compartment.

15. The foaming system according to claim 14 , the foaming device comprises a code with information on the at least one foaming process parameter.

16. The foaming system according to claim 12 , wherein the machine comprises a heater configured for heating a foam exiting a fluid outlet of the foaming device.

17. The foaming system according to claim 12 , wherein the foaming compartment comprises a heater configured for heating the mixture of the fluid and the air, wherein the machine comprises a controller configured to monitor two or more foaming process parameters selected from the group consisting of: a f

Assignees

• Nestec Sa
• Nestle Sa

Inventors

• Ait Bouziad Youcef
• Agon Fabien Ludovic
• Noth Andre
• Savioz Gregory

Classifications

• A47J31/4485 Primary

  Nozzles dispensing heated and foamed milk, i.e. milk is sucked from a milk container, heated and foamed inside the device, and subsequently dispensed from the nozzle · CPC title

• A47J31/4489 Primary

  Steam nozzles, e.g. for introducing into a milk container to heat and foam milk · CPC title

• A47J31/4496 Primary

  Means to produce beverage with a layer on top, e.g. of cream, foam or froth · CPC title

• B67D1/10

  Pump mechanism (in general F04) · CPC title

• A47J31/56

  having water-level controls; having temperature controls · CPC title