Milk emulsifying container for a coffee machine and machine comprising said container

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9326637-B2
Application number	US-201013508764-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 10, 2010
Priority date	Nov 25, 2009
Publication date	May 3, 2016
Grant date	May 3, 2016

Abstract

A container includes an emulsifying device having a milk suction pipe, a nozzle for supplying hot or emulsified milk with a discharge end outside the container, a steam inlet and an air inlet. The container is thermally insulated so as to better preserve the milk.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A container comprising:
an emulsifying device having a milk suction pipe;
a nozzle configured to supply at least one of hot and emulsified milk with a discharge end outside the container;
a steam inlet;
an air inlet; and
a handle,
wherein the container is thermally insulated and configured to minimize a thermal exchange by conduction,
wherein the nozzle is rotatable via a rotation between at least two positions including a milk supply position and a washing position,
wherein the handle includes a discharge pipe formed in the handle, the discharge pipe having a bottom and being open at the bottom, and
wherein in the washing position, the nozzle is aligned with an upper inlet end of the discharge pipe opposite the bottom.

2. The container of claim 1 , further comprising a thermometer configured to measure a temperature of milk contained in said container.

3. The container of claim 2 , further comprising a closure cover, wherein said emulsifying device is carried by the closure cover of the container.

4. The container of claim 3 , wherein said thermometer is carried by said closure cover.

5. The container of claim 3 , wherein the nozzle is rotatable around a pivot axis parallel to a longitudinal axis of the container between the at least two positions, the nozzle being rotatable about a pivot point located on the closure cover.

6. The container of claim 5 , wherein the nozzle is rotatable 90° around the pivot axis between the at least two positions.

7. The container of claim 1 , wherein in said milk supply position the nozzle is unaligned with the upper inlet end of said discharge pipe opposite the bottom.

8. The container of claim 1 , further comprising an outer housing, a bowl defining an inner surface of the container, and a thermally insulating member arranged inside the outer housing, wherein the thermally insulating member forms a cavity, and wherein the bowl is insertable in the cavity, said bowl being removable.

9. The container of claim 8 , wherein the thermally insulating member is formed by two walls separated by a chamber under vacuum for minimizing the thermal exchange between the outer housing and the thermally insulating member.

10. The container of claim 1 , wherein the nozzle and the discharge pipe are configured to be removably associated at the upper inlet end of the discharge pipe formed in the handle via the rotation between the at least two positions.

11. A coffee machine comprising:
a coffee supply unit;
a steam supply nozzle; and a
container connectable to said steam supply nozzle,
wherein the container comprises:
an emulsifying device having a milk suction pipe;
a nozzle configured to supply at least one of hot and emulsified milk with a discharge end outside the container;
a steam inlet configured to receive steam from the steam supply nozzle; and
an air inlet,
wherein the container is thermally insulated and configured to minimize a thermal exchange by conduction,
wherein the nozzle is rotatable via a rotation between at least two positions including a milk supply position and a washing position,
wherein the container further comprises a handle and a discharge pipe formed in said handle, the discharge pipe having a bottom and being open at the bottom, and
wherein in the washing position, the nozzle is aligned with an upper inlet end of the discharge pipe opposite the bottom.

12. The coffee machine of claim 11 , wherein the nozzle is rotatable around an axis parallel to a longitudinal axis of the container between the at least two positions, nozzle being rotatable about a pivot point located external to the coffee machine and the coffee supply unit.

13. The coffee machine of claim 12 , wherein the nozzle is rotatable 90° around the pivot point between the at least two positions.

14. The coffee machine of claim 12 , wherein the pivot point is located on a cover of the container.

15. A container comprising:
an emulsifying device having a milk suction pipe;
a nozzle configured to supply at least one of hot and emulsified milk with a discharge end outside the container;
a steam inlet;
an air inlet;
a handle; and
a discharge pipe that is open at a bottom end of the discharge pipe forming a discharge opening near a base of the container for a discharge near the base of the container,
wherein the container is thermally insulated,
wherein the nozzle is moveable between at least two positions, including a milk supply position and a washing position,
wherein the discharge pipe is formed in the handle,
wherein in the washing position the nozzle is aligned with an upper inlet end of the discharge pipe formed in the handle, the upper inlet being opposite the bottom end, and
wherein in the milk supply position the nozzle is unaligned with the upper inlet end of the discharge pipe formed in the handle, the upper inlet being opposite the bottom end.

16. The container of claim 15 , wherein the nozzle is moveable around an axis parallel to a longitudinal axis of the container between the at least two positions.

17. The container of claim 15 , further comprising a cover configured to cover an open end of the container and to carry the emulsifying device and the nozzle.

18. The container of claim 17 , wherein the cover is located in a cover plane when covering the container, wherein the nozzle is moveable between the at least two positions in a plane parallel to the cover plane, and wherein the nozzle is moveable about a pivot point located on the cover.

Assignees

• Tonelli Stefano
• Castelli Cristiano
• Koninkl Philips Nv

Inventors

• Tonelli Stefano
• Castelli Cristiano

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