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RU-2861444-C1 - UNIVERSAL PLATFORM FOR PREPARING READY-TO-DRINK BEVERAGES

RU2861444C1RU 2861444 C1RU2861444 C1RU 2861444C1RU-2861444-C1

Abstract

FIELD: service sector. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the field of public catering, restaurant and hotel business (HoReCa) and more specifically to a universal platform for preparing ready-to-drink beverages. The universal platform for preparing ready-to-drink beverages comprises: a water preparation, heating/cooling and portion dispensing system, a built-in unit for processing and/or portion dispensing of ready-to-drink products and one or more additional packages of concentrated products connected to said built-in unit, wherein the built-in unit is integrated into the structure of the water preparation, heating/cooling and portion dispensing system by connection to the control board of the water preparation, heating/cooling and portion dispensing system via a software data access interface and the built-in unit's built-in software, as well as by connection to one or more heated water supply channels provided in the water preparation, heating/cooling and portion dispensing system; the built-in unit is connected to one or more replaceable packages of concentrated products via at least one connector containing a rotary valve, wherein at least one additional channel is provided for dispensing the finished beverage or its component from the universal platform through said built-in unit using said one or more replaceable packages of concentrated products, wherein said built-in unit comprises a geared motor configured to actuate at least one connector containing a rotary valve for connection to said one or more replaceable packages of concentrated products. Also proposed is a built-in unit for use in said universal platform for preparing ready-to-drink beverages. EFFECT: expanding the functionality of existing devices for preparing and dispensing ready-to-drink beverages, such as, for example, coffee machines, with minimal changes in the design and control algorithms of said devices. 17 cl, 3 dwg

Inventors

  • Rozhentsov Vadim Vyacheslavovich
  • Volontsevich Vasilij Alekseevich

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20250808

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A universal platform for preparing ready-to-drink beverages, comprising: a system for preparing, heating/cooling and portioning water, a built-in unit for processing and/or portioning ready-to-drink products and one or more packages of concentrated products connected to said built-in unit, wherein the built-in unit is integrated into the design of the system for preparing, heating/cooling and portioning water by connecting to the control board of the system for preparing, heating/cooling and portioning water via a software interface for accessing data and the built-in software of the built-in unit, as well as by connecting to one or more channels for supplying heated water provided in the system for preparing, heating/cooling and portioning water; The built-in unit is connected to one or more replaceable packages of concentrated products by means of at least one nozzle containing a rotary valve, wherein at least one additional channel is provided for dispensing the finished beverage or its component from the universal platform through the said built-in unit using the said one or more replaceable packages of concentrated products, wherein the said built-in unit contains a gear motor configured to actuate at least one nozzle containing a rotary valve for connection with the said one or more replaceable packages of concentrated products.
  2. 2. A universal platform according to paragraph 1, in which the said built-in unit is a milk system designed with the ability to provide additional modes for preparing beverages compared to the modes provided in the system for preparing, heating/cooling and portioning water dispensing.
  3. 3. The universal platform according to claim 1, wherein said built-in unit comprises a channel for supplying heated water, connected to one or more replaceable packages of concentrated products.
  4. 4. The universal platform according to claim 1, wherein one or more replaceable packages of concentrated products contain one or more readable marks, and said built-in unit contains a reading means configured to read said one or more readable marks.
  5. 5. The universal platform according to claim 4, wherein said readable tags are radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and the reading means is an RFID reader.
  6. 6. The universal platform according to claim 1, wherein said one or more replaceable packages of concentrated products are one or more bag-in-box (BiB) type containers designed to dispense the concentrated product in portions without air getting into the packaging.
  7. 7. The universal platform according to claim 1, in which the said built-in unit is designed with the possibility of implementing at least one of the following: portioned dispensing of the concentrated product without air getting into the packaging, technological washing of the BiB valve and the channel for dispensing the prepared milk foam, mixing or foaming the concentrated product.
  8. 8. The universal platform according to paragraph 1, in which interaction with the control board of the system for preparing, heating/cooling and portioning water dispensing is implemented by means of a data transfer protocol and the built-in software of the embedded unit without interfering with the operation of the software used in the system for preparing, heating/cooling and portioning water dispensing itself.
  9. 9. A universal platform according to claim 1, in which one or more replaceable packages of concentrated products contain a release valve designed to dispense the concentrated product in portions without air entering the package, implemented in the form of a rotary valve and equipped with a filter for forming microbubbles.
  10. 10. The universal platform according to paragraph 1, additionally containing a telemetry module of the monitoring and control system (MCS), integrated with the software of the system for preparing, heating/cooling and portioning water supply and, through one or more communication channels, with external systems.
  11. 11. The universal platform according to claim 1, further comprising a cooling unit connected to said built-in unit and/or one or more replaceable packages of concentrated products and configured to cool the concentrated product and dispense it in a metered manner from the universal platform.
  12. 12. A built-in unit for processing and/or portioning ready-to-drink products, designed to be used in a universal platform for preparing ready-to-drink beverages, wherein the built-in unit comprises:
  13. a nozzle configured to be connected to a heated water supply channel provided in the design of a system for preparing, heating/cooling and dispensing portions of water, and containing a rotary valve configured to be connected to the outlet valve of one or more replaceable packages of concentrated products;
  14. a geared motor configured to operate a nozzle for rotating said rotary valve between an open and a closed position; and
  15. a control board for the built-in unit, configured to be connected to the control board of the system for preparing, heating/cooling and portioning water supply via a software interface and the built-in software of the built-in unit.
  16. 13. The built-in unit according to claim 12, further comprising a pump configured to supply air under pressure through an air supply channel to a rotary valve for portioned dispensing of a concentrated product from one or more replaceable packages of concentrated products.
  17. 14. The built-in unit according to claim 12, further comprising a reading means configured to read one or more readable marks on one or more replaceable packages of concentrated products.
  18. 15. The embedded unit according to claim 14, wherein said readable tags are radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and the reading means is an RFID reader.
  19. 16. The built-in unit according to claim 12, wherein said one or more replaceable packages of concentrated products are one or more bag-in-box (BiB) type containers designed to allow portioned dispensing of the concentrated product without air getting into the packaging.
  20. 17. The built-in unit according to claim 12, further comprising a saturator configured to supply gas under pressure through a gas supply channel into one or more replaceable packages of concentrated products.

Description

Field of technology to which the invention relates The invention relates generally to the field of public catering, restaurant and hotel business (HoReCa), and more specifically to a universal platform for the preparation of ready-to-drink (cold and hot) beverages, as well as to a built-in (attachable) external unit for expanding the functionality of devices for the preparation and dosed dispensing of ready-to-drink (cold and hot) beverages. State of the art Currently, devices for preparing and/or dispensing various ready-to-drink hot and cold beverages are widely used both in everyday life and in the catering, restaurant, and hotel industries (HoReCa). A wide range of devices for preparing and dispensing various hot and cold beverages is known, which includes, by way of non-limiting example, coffee machines for home use or for catering establishments, offices, hotels, etc., as well as large vending machines for preparing and/or dispensing various hot (coffee, latte, cappuccino, tea, etc.) and cold (carbonated soft drinks, mineral water, juices, milkshakes or oxygen cocktails) beverages and even some liquid food products (soups, etc.), as well as products such as soft ice cream. The disadvantage of most known devices of the above type is their lack of versatility due to the difficulty or impossibility of combining within a single device the functionality of preparing both hot drinks (for example, coffee) and cold carbonated or non-carbonated drinks, cocktails, etc. This problem is related, in particular, to the fact that the preparation of different types of drinks requires different temperature conditions and different types of processing. MODIFIED PAGE (Heating/cooling, carbonation, foaming, etc.) of the liquids circulating within the device. Even within a single coffee machine, when preparing cappuccino or latte, the water temperature used for brewing coffee is not suitable for producing milk foam (frothed milk). Therefore, milk foaming is often performed in a separate unit, if necessary, with a separate water supply, a separate heating circuit, etc. Therefore, there is a need to create a universal platform for preparing various types of ready-to-drink beverages (particularly cold and hot beverages) that would integrate the functionality of various existing devices for preparing and dispensing beverages and other ready-to-drink products, and that would be capable of working with product packaging (containers), such as bag-in-box (BiB) containers. Specifically, there is a need to create a universal platform containing an integrated coffee machine, milk system, and/or BiB-type packaging. US 2024156298 A1 (FRIESLANDCAMPINA NEDERLAND BV, published May 16, 2024) discloses a system and method for dispensing a portion of a hot beverage containing milk or a component thereof, wherein the system comprises a milk unit that can be integrated into the overall system, in particular, together with a brewing unit for brewing coffee. The milk unit is configured to dispense hot milk. The known system comprises a thick-film A heating element for heating water, a water temperature sensor, and a controller that controls the thick-film heating element based on the temperature measured by the water temperature sensor. The coffee brewing unit may be an external unit to the existing system. This well-known solution has a number of shortcomings, among which the following can be highlighted: 1. The need for a separate installation site and separate means of connection to water and electricity, which is a labor-intensive task under operating conditions. 2. The need for separate device maintenance. This well-known solution requires separate controls (for example, setting up recipes separately from the coffee machine), separate operational and service maintenance, which complicates its operation. 3. The cost of this well-known solution is quite high due to the need to duplicate the functional units present in the coffee machine, such as the touch screen control interface, the water purification and heating system, etc. 4. Limited range of types of drinks prepared, which limits the possibilities of using this well-known solution. CN 222510342 U (HANGZHOU ROBAM APPLIANCES CO LTD, published February 21, 2025) discloses a universal cooking and dispensing system for ready-to-eat foods, comprising a water purification system and an electric cooking unit. The water purification system comprises a filter unit and a heating unit. The heating unit directly supplies steam or hot water to the housing of the electric cooking unit. Steam is automatically generated from purified water prepared in the system and supplied to the housing of the cooking unit. The heated water can also be dispensed as drinking water. The water purification system for generating steam is integrated into the universal cooking and dispensing system for ready-to-eat foods. This well-known solution has a number of disadvantages, among which the following can be highlighted: