Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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MACHINE ~OR DISPENSI~G A SOFT-SERVE PRODUCT
This invention relate~ to a m~rh~ n~ for
dispensing a soft-fierve product.
In the present specification, where the
expression so~t-se~ve product i8 used, this shall be
understood to include both so~t-serve ice-cream and
so~t-serve ~rozen yoghurt. So-called ~oft-ser~e
product is dispen6ed from a machine which comprises a
mix hopper ~or receiving the soft-serve mix in a liquid
form and a draw 8pOUt from which so~t-ser~re emerges.
The machine further includes a freezer ~arrel with
refrigeration means surrounding it. The mix hopper is
connected to the freezer barrel via an air tube
assembly. A beater assembly in the barrel displaces
the soft-serve mix along the barrel, into a vertical
passage and out through the draw spout which is at the
lower end of the pa~6age. The beater assembly and
re~rigeration means run until a sensor in the circuit
of the motor which drives the beater asse~bly senses a
predetermined resistance. This indicates that the
soft-serve is solidifying. The beater motor and
re~rigeration ~eans then switch of~. A timer switche6
the motor and refrigeration means on again after a
predetermined delay and the cycle rec ~enc~s.
A plunger which constitute~ a valve slides up
and down in the vertical passage down which so~t-serve
~lows ~rom the ~reezer barrel to the draw spout. When
the plunger is in the position in which it closes of~
the exit ~rom the freezer barrel, the beater assembly
simply recycles the so~t-serve in the barrel.
The opening in the air tube assembly which
places the mix hopper in commllnlcation with the barrel
is small and easily ~locked by solid particles in the
so~t-serve mix. Thus, additives such as chocolate
chips or nut6 which it is desirable to incorporate into
the so~t-serve cannot be added to the mix hopper. They
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are thus added, after the 90i~t- serve has 3:een
dispensed, as a topping.
Accordi~g to one a~pect of the present
invention there i~ provided a m~h; ~e for dispensing a
so~t-serve product, the machine comprising a freezer
barrel, a mix hopper ~or cont~;n;~ soft-ser~e mix and
being in flow c~ nlcation with the freezer barrel so
that soft-serve mlx can flow ~rom the mix hopper into
the free~er barrel, a flow passage l~ n~ ~rom the
~reezer barrel to a draw spou~, means ~or expelling
~rozen product from the freezer barrel via the flow
passage to the draw spout, a solids hopper for
cont~in;ng a ~lowable solid food product, and feed
means for ~eeding said solid food product ~rom the
solid~ hopper into the flow stream of so~t-serve
product as it passe~ through said flow passage.
According to one aspect of the invention
there is pro~ided a machine for dispensing a so~t-serve
product, the machine comprising a freezer barrel, a mix
hopper ~or containing soft-serve mix and being in flow
cs~-n;cation with the freezer ~arrel so that soft-
serve mix can ~low from the mix hopper into the freezer
barrel, a flow passage 1~ n~ ~rom the ~reezer barrel
to a draw spout, means for expelling ~rozen product
~rom the freezer barrel via the flow passage to the
draw spout, and flow metering means for metering the
flow of so~t-serve product through the ~low passage.
For a better underst~n~;ng of the invention,
and t O show how the same may ~e carried into e~ect,
re~erence will now ~e made, by way of example, to the
accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a side view of a freezer door assembly
o~ a so~t-serve dispensing mach;ne in accordance with
the invention;
Figure 2 is a view in the direction o~ arrow II in
Figure 1, with the topping unit ~orming part of the
assembly having been removed;
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Figure 3 is a ~ection on III-III in Figure 2, of a
door plate ~orming part of the as~embly;
Figure 4 is a section on IV-Iv in Figure 2, of a
carrier f orming part of the afisembly, with the topping
S unit in placei
Figure 5 i~ a front view of the door plate, in the
direction of arrow V in Figure 3;
Figure 6 is a rear view of the assembly, in the
direction of arrow VI in Figure 2;
Figure 7 is schematic drawing illustrating the
various controls of the machine; and
Figure ~ is a block diagram illustrating the
operation of the machine.
Re~erring now to the drawings in more detail,
reference numeral 10 (Figure 7) generally indicates a
soft-serve dispensing mA~hine which comprises a ~reezer
cylinder or barrel 12, a mix hopper 14 for so~t-fferve
mix 16, and an air tube a6~emb1y 18 through which mix
and air can flow into the freezer barrel. The machine
further comprises a beater assembly 20 which is
rotatable in the freezer barrel 12, the beater as~embly
having helical elements which carry scraper blades.
The beater assembly serve~ to blend air and mlx, to
scrape ~rozen mix from the inside of the freezer
2~ barrel, and to eject frozen mix through an outlet port
22 at the front of the freezer barrel, ~rom where the
product eventually reaches a draw spout. A beater
motor 24 i6 provided to rotate the beater as~embly 20
in the freezer barrel 12. The parts described thus far
in this paragraph are o~ conventional construction.
In the conventional soft-serve di6pensing
machine the outlet port 22 is formed in a L~ vable
~reezer door as~embly which closes the front end of the
freezer barrel 12 and i~ held in position by means of
nuts which are ~ightened onto threaded studs of the
barrel. The ~reezer door as~embly conventionally has a
rearwardly protruding bearing hub for rotata~ly
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supporting the ~ront end of the beater assembly, and
alfio a pair o~ baf~le rods which pa~s ~rom ~ront to
rear of the freezer barrel, through the interior o~ the
beater assembly. The rear ends o~ the ba~fle rods are
joined to form an elongated U.
In the so~t-serve m~c~hinp of the present
invention the conventional ~reezer door assembly is
replaced by a ~reezer door assembly 30 whose
construction will now be de~cribed.
The freezer door as6embly 30 comprises a door
plate 32, a carrier 34 mounted on the door plate so as
to be slida~le with respect to the door plate in the
direction o~ arrows A in Figure 2, and a topping unit
36 mounted on the carrier 34. Although only one
topping unit 36 is shown in the drawings, provision is
made ~or three topping units, each o~ which may contain
a di~ferent topping.
The door plate 32 is designed for a so~t-
serve dispensing machine having two mix hoppers. It
there~ore has two bearing hubs 38 and two pairs of
baf~le rods 40, these ~eing of conventional
construction. It al80 has two outlet ports 22.
Each outlet port 22 leads via a passage 42
~rom the rear to the front face o~ the door pla~e. In
the passage 42 there is a turbine wheel 44 having vanes
46. The turbine wheel 44 is journalled in a pair of
cross bars 48 extending across the passage 42.
Passages 50 lead transversely ~rom each o~
the passages 42, upstream o~ the respecti~e turbine
wheel 44, to a third passage 42.1 between the passages
42. The passage 42.1 is blanked of~ at the rear. Like
the passages 42, the pas6age 42.1 opens to the ~ront o~
the door plate 32 and has a turbine wheel 44 mounted
therein.
The topping unit 36 comprise~ a topping
hopper 52 and a hollow cylindrical plunger 54 which
extends down ~rom the lower end o~ the topping hopper.
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Inside the plunger 54 there is an archi~edes screw 56
which ha6 a shaft 58. The sha~t 58 is connected to the
low speed output of a topping motor 60 for metering a
solid topping such as chocolate chips, nut~, or the
like, into a ser~ing of ~rozen mix.
The plunger 54 can move up and down in a
vertical bore 62 in the carrier 34, the plunger making
sealing contact with the walls o~ the bore. At the
lower end of the bore 62 there is a ~itting 64 which
~orms a draw spout. The top face o~ the ~itting 64 has
an annular groove therein in which an 0-ring 66 is
accommodated. When the topping unit 36 is in its
lowermost or closed po8ition, the lower end face of the
plunger 54 seats in a ~luid tight m~nnpr on the 0-ring
66.
The plunger 54 is pro~ided with a rack 68,
and on the carrier 34 there is a sector gear 70 which
~eshes with the rack. The sector gear 70 has a draw
handle 72 fixed thereto, the as~embly of sector gear
and draw handle being pivotally displaceable with
respect to the carrier on a pin 74. Thu~, by operating
the draw handle 72, the entire topping unit 36,
including the piunger 54, can be moved up or down with
respect to the oarrier 34. There is a vertical groove
76 in the bore 62 to accommodate the rack 68. A port
78 leads ~ideways into the bore 62. By shifting the
carrier transversely with refipect to the door plate 32,
the port 78 can be brought into alignment with any one
of the passages 42 and 42.l. This enables a serving o~
either one o~ two mixes, or of a combination of the two
~ixes to be dispensed. 0-rings 79 are provided on the
front ~ace of the door plate 32, to ~orm a seal at the
inter~ace ~etween the door plate and the carrier 34.
When the plunger 54 is in its closed position
product cannot ~low into the bore 62. When the plunger
is lifted off the 0-ring 66 and beyond the lower
reaches of the port 78, product is able to flow into
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the bore 62 and from there out through the draw spout
64.
The door plate ~2 is provided with a first,
rotation sensor 80 which is located in close proximity
to the turbine wheel 44, the rotation sensor being
capable o~ sensing rotation of the turbine wheel. For
example, the rotation sensor 80 may be such as to
provide one pulse for each passage o~ a vane 46 a~ the
tur~ine wheel rotates.
The door plate 32 i~ further provided with a
second sensor or temperature probe 82 which is able to
sense the temperature of the product as it leaves the
~reezer barrel 12 via the outlet port 22. ~inally,
there is provided an operating switch 84 which changes
state when the draw handle 72 is operated to dispense a
ser~ing of product.
The rotation sensor 80, the temperature probe
82, and operating switch 84 are connected to a control
unit 86, the operation o~ which will now be described
with reference to the block diagram of Figure 8. The
function of the control unit 86 is largely software
implemented. Pulses arriving from the rotation sensor
80 are integrated at 88 to pro~ide an indication of
accumulated volume o~ ~low. The pulses are further
di~ferentiated at 90, to provide an indication of the
flow rate.
When the plunger 54 is lifted, the
conventional beater motor control of the soft-serve
machine is set into operation as indicated at 92.
Furthermore, the following steps executed. First,
there is an (optional) waiting period ~or allowing a
clearance ~olume to be dispensed, as indicated at 94.
Therea~ter, the topping motor 60 is set into operation
via a topping motor control as indicated at 96, the
topping motor being controlled to rotate at a speed
which is proportional to the rate at which product
~lows through the relevant turbine wheel 44, as sensed
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by the rotation ~ensor 80. The process is terminated
then the operating switch 84 detects that the plunger
54 has been returned to its closed position, as
indicated at 98.
The output o~ the temperature probe 82 is
monitored and compared wit~ various adjustable set
points as indicated at 100. In the example illustrated
there are three set points, namely -4~C, -6~C, and
-8~C.
The control unit 86 further provide~ for a
register to keep a cleaning volume log a~ indicated at
102, a register for keeping a serving volume log as
indicated at 104, and a beater motor disable ~unction
as indicated at 108. Numerical displays (not shown~
may be provided for displaying the volumes, quantities
such as price corresponding to these values, rate6 of
flow, and so on.
When the temperature is -4~C or higher and
the turbine wheel 44 running, this is an indication
that the so~t-serve machine is performing a cleaning
cycle, in which event the flow volume is recorded in
the cleaning ~olume log 102. When the temperature is
between -4~C and -6~C, this is an indication that the
product is too soft and the beater motor 24 is
disabled. I~ the temperature is between -6~C and -8~C,
this is an indication that the product i8 at the right
temperature, in which event flow volume is recorded in
the serving volume log 104. If the temperature is
lower than -8~C this is an indication that the product
is at too low a temperature, which may lead to damage
of the beater as6embly. As a resul~, the beater motor
is di~abled.
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