Technical Field

The invention relates to a liquid food vending system for food products, retail and OOHC (Out-of-Home Consumption) sales channels, public institutions and organizations, dormitories, universities, hospitals, cafeterias, public spaces and similar areas, aiming to offer all kinds of soups and similar products to consumers in a hygienic, controlled and efficient way.

Present State of The Art

In current applications, semi-finished products are formed by mixing powder and water as the liquid at certain ratios and temperatures. Depending on the ambient temperature of the powder product in these applications, there is structural deterioration (often agglomeration) due to moisture and proper dosing is not realized in these applications.

In the patent application document numbered TR2018/02493, which is in the known state of the art, a liquid food vending system (soup vending system) is described, which provides hygienic, efficient and waste-preventing service of products such as yoghurt soup, lentil soup, ezogelin soup, tomato soup and similar products that are served to customers and consumed as soup in hotels, restaurants, open buffet breakfast places, public institutions and factories, student dormitories, mass catering organizations, municipalities and similar areas. In the relevant application document, there is no mention of a structure in which the viscosity of the products is kept constant by heating and mixing mechanisms and transferred to the product filling mechanism and sent to the service line without any structural deterioration.

As a result, due to the inadequacy of the solutions to meet the needs described above, a development in the relevant technical field has become necessary.

Brief Description of the Invention

The present invention relates to a liquid food vending system for food products, retail and OOHC (Out-of-Home Consumption) sales channels, public institutions and organizations, dormitories, universities, hospitals, cafeterias, public spaces, etc. The aim of the present invention is to provide a liquid food vending system that aims to provide all kinds of soups and similar products to the consumer in a hygienic, controlled and efficient manner.

The products used in the invention are finished products in order to fulfill all the above- mentioned purposes that may arise from the detailed description, the viscosities of the products are kept constant with the heating and mixing processes carried out in the system, and the products are transferred to the product filling mechanism and sent to the service line without any structural deterioration.

The system includes spices, bakery products, artificial or natural sweeteners according to customer demand.

The structural and characteristic features and all the advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood with the following figure and the detailed description written with references to this figure, and therefore the evaluation should be made by considering this figure and detailed description.

Figures of the Invention

Figure 1 is a perspective representation of the inventive system.

Description of Part References

1 . Liquid food vending system

2. Body

3. Product container

4. Heating chamber

5. Serving container mechanism

6. Lid locking mechanism

7. Payment mechanism

8. Heating mechanism

9. Water level indicator

10. Water pump

11. PLC control unit

12. Automation cabinet

13. Support mechanism

14. Cable channel 15. Service lid

16. Leveling feet

17. Slide mechanism

18. Lifting mechanism

19. Fan mechanism

20. Weighing sensor

21. Presence sensor

22. Mixing engine

23. Mixing device

24. Feeding mechanism

25. Temperature control mechanism

26. Clean water tank

27. On-off mechanism

28. Reserve water tank

29. Multiport valve mechanism

30. Valve activation engine

31. Washing mechanism

32. Primary activation engine

33. Secondary activation engine

Detailed Description of Invention

In this detailed description, the preferred embodiments of the inventive system (1 ) are described only for a better understanding of the subject matter.

The present invention relates to a liquid food vending system (1 ) which is used in food products, retail and OOHC (Out-of-Home Consumption) sales channels, public institutions and organizations, dormitories, universities, hospitals, cafeterias, public spaces and similar areas, aiming to offer all kinds of soups and similar products to consumers in a hygienic, controlled and efficient way.

System (1 ) includes spices, bakery products, artificial or natural sweeteners according to customer demand.

With the heating and mixing processes carried out in the system (1 ), the viscosities of the products are kept constant and the products are transferred to the product filling mechanism and sent to the service line without any structural deterioration. The inventive system (1 ), a perspective representation of which is presented in Figure 1 includes;

❖ the body (2), which ensures that the machine elements and components are positioned together and in an orderly manner and that these elements are protected against external factors,

❖ product container used as a container for the finished product (3),

❖ heating chamber for heating the finished product (4),

❖ the serving container mechanism (5), which provides the serving containers in which the product will be served before serving,

❖ lid lock mechanism (6) that protects the elements by locking the lid that provides access to the machine elements from the body (2),

❖ payment mechanism for collecting the charge to sell the product before the product is serviced (7),

❖ heating mechanism (8) for heating the water in the heating chamber (4),

❖ water level indicators that allow water levels to be monitored (9),

❖ water pump (10) providing water pressure for washing,

❖ PLC control unit for programming automation mechanisms (11 ),

❖ automation cabinet (12) that allows automation mechanisms to be gathered together,

❖ support mechanism with pressurized spring that supports the opening of the lid and mechanical assemblies (13),

❖ cable channel (14) for the orderly movement of cables and water hoses,

❖ service lid (15) protecting the service area of the product from external factors,

❖ leveling feet (16) for leveling the body (2) and stabilizing the system (1 ) on the horizontal axis on uneven ground,

❖ slide mechanism (17) to support the horizontal movement of the lids and the filling mechanism,

❖ lifting mechanism (18) to support the lifting of the lids and the filling mechanism, ❖ fan mechanism (19), which discharges the hot air inside the body (2) and allows filtered clean and fresh air to enter the interior environment and thus ventilate the interior of the body (2),

❖ weighing sensor (20) that measures the volume/weight of the product and ensures that the product served in the serving container is served at the desired weight,

❖ presence sensor (21 ) that detects and reports the presence of the serving container (cup) and ensures that the product is not served outside the serving container,

❖ mixing engine (22), which ensures that the product remains homogeneous at all times,

❖ mixing device (23) rotated by means of a mixing engine (22), which performs the mixing function to ensure that the product remains homogeneous and is kept at a constant temperature,

❖ feeding mechanism (24) for transferring the product from the product container (3) to the serving container,

❖ temperature control mechanism (25) for activating and deactivating the heating mechanism (8) and maintaining the heating mechanism (8) in the heating chamber (4) at the desired temperature at all times,

❖ clean water tank (26) storing clean water to enable washing,

❖ on and off mechanism (27), which opens and closes the water paths for washing operations thanks to its solenoid valve and thus helps to fill the clean water tank (26) with clean water via the water pump (10),

❖ reserve water tank (28), which is used as a backup and ensures that clean water is replenished to the clean water tank (26) when the water in the clean water tank (26) is low,

❖ multiport valve mechanism (29) for separating product service and washing function,

❖ valve activation engine (30) for activation of the multiport valve mechanism (29),

❖ the washing mechanism (31 ), which, thanks to its solenoid valve, opens the water paths for washing after the product has been served and allows the entire circuit to be disinfected with hot water and CIP (Cleaning In Place) disinfectants, ❖ primary activation engines (32), which start to operate when the multiport valve mechanism (29) reaches its second position, activating the feeding mechanism (24) and drawing the finished product from the product container (3) and

❖ a secondary activation engine (33) that allows the product drawn into the feeding mechanism (24) to act on the serving container

The body (2) ensures that the elements and components of the system (1 ) are positioned together and in an orderly manner and that they are protected against external factors. The heating chamber (4) contains the heating mechanism (8) for heating the product. The serving container mechanism (5) provides the serving containers in which the soup (product) is served. Lid locking mechanism (6) ensures the locking of the lid that provides access from the body (2) to the elements of the system (1 ).

The payment mechanism (7) collects the charge before the product is served. After the customer has paid, the PLC control unit (1 1 ), which receives information from the automation cabinet (12), gives approval, the heating mechanism (8) heats the product in the product container (3) and the heated product is given to the customer through the service lid (15).

The temperature control mechanism (25) ensures that the heating mechanism (8) in the heating chamber (4) is constantly kept at the desired temperature. The mixing device (23) rotated by means of the mixing engine (22) ensures that the product is kept at a homogeneous and constant temperature. The heated product is filled into the feeding mechanism (24) by means of the multiport valve mechanism (29) driven by the valve activation engine (30). When the multiport valve mechanism (29) reaches its second position, the primary activation motors (32) start to operate, thus the feeding mechanism (24) moves again and draws the product from the product container (3). The product drawn into the feeding mechanism (24) moves onto the serving container with the help of the secondary activation motor (33).

After the product is served, the washing mechanism (31 ) is activated and the entire circuit is disinfected with hot water and CIP (Cleaning In Place) disinfectants. When the on-off mechanism (27) is turned on and the water pump (10) is activated, the clean water tank (26) and water level indicators (9) are filled with water until they reach the upper level. When the water in the clean water tank (26) is low, clean water is replenished from the reserve water tank (28) to the clean water tank (26). The product containers (3) can be removed and cleaned by means of the lid, which opens with a pressurized spring support mechanism (13). Cable channels (14) support the cable and water pipes to adapt to the movements in a proper way. Leveling feet (16) allow the system (1 ) to be leveled and to remain stable on the horizontal axis even on uneven ground. The slide mechanism (17) ensures straight horizontal movement of the lid and the lifting mechanism (18) is responsible for lifting the lid.

The fan mechanism (19) evacuates the hot air inside the body (2), allowing filtered clean and fresh air to enter the interior environment. Weighing sensor (20) ensures that the product served in the serving cup is served at the desired weight. The serving container presence sensor (21 ) detects and notifies the presence of the service container (cup) and ensures that the product is not served outside the serving container.