METHOD AND ASSEMBLY FOR MAKING A BEVERAGE

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method and assembly for making a beverage by percolating a measure of anhydrous material inside a container.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and assembly for making a beverage by percolating a measure of anhydrous material inside a container, and which provide for automatically unloading the container after percolation. DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and assembly as described above, which provide for automatically unloading the used container in a straightforward, low-cost manner.

According to the present invention, there is provided an assembly for making a beverage by percolating a measure of anhydrous material inside a container, as claimed in Claim 1 and, preferably, in any one of the following Claims depending directly or indirectly on Claim 1.

According to the present invention, there is also provided a method of making a beverage by percolating a measure of anhydrous material inside a container, as claimed in Claim 28 and, preferably, in any one of the following Claims depending directly or indirectly on

Claim 28 .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A number of non-limiting embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a side view, with parts removed for clarity, of a first preferred embodiment of the assembly according to the present invention;

Figures 2 and 3 are similar to Figure 1, and show the Figure 1 assembly in respective different operating configurations ;

Figure 4 shows a further side view of the Figure 1 assembly in the Figure 2 operating configuration;

Figures 5-7 show a larger- scale detail of Figure 1 in respective different operating configurations;

Figures 8-10 show a larger- scale, partly sectioned detail of Figure 4 in respective different operating configurations ;

Figures 11 and 12 show partly sectioned, partial side views of a second preferred embodiment of the assembly according to the present invention in respective different operating configurations.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Number 1 in Figures 1 to 3 indicates as a whole an assembly for making a beverage from a measure of anhydrous material inside a container 2.

In the example shown, container 2 is a sealed container with a truncated-cone-shaped lateral wall, a

minor base of which is closed by a pierceable rear wall 3, and a major base of which has a flange 4 to which is sealed a front wall 5 of pierceable foil.

Assembly 1 comprises a rectangular-parallelepiped- shaped box frame 6 having a substantially vertical longitudinal axis 7, and defined by two vertical lateral plates 8 parallel to each other and to longitudinal axis 7, and connected to each other by two end cross members 9 and 10 perpendicular to longitudinal axis 7 and to lateral plates 8.

Inside frame 6, assembly 1 comprises a push device 11 - in the example shown, a hydraulic cylinder - in turn comprising a fixed body 12 located between lateral plates 8 and connected integrally to cross member 9 and lateral plates 8; and a push body 13 movable, along longitudinal axis 7 and towards cross member 10 in a direction 14, from a withdrawn rest position to a forward work position in opposition to springs 15, the function of which is described in detail below. Inside frame 6, assembly 1 also comprises a sprinkler 16, which defines a supporting body for a container 2 in an infusion position, in which container 2 is coaxial with longitudinal axis 7 and positioned with its front wall 5 facing downwards and resting on sprinkler 16. Sprinkler 16 is connected integrally to cross member 10, in a position facing push body 13, and is supplied with pressurized hot water by a hydraulic circuit (not shown) via an inlet fitting 17 mounted

through cross member 10. Sprinkler 16 comprises a known piercing device 18, which in turn comprises a number of piercing pins, is coaxial with longitudinal axis 7, and is protected by a perforated plate 19 movable, in opposition to supporting springs, in direction 14 to expose the piercing pins.

A slide 20 is interposed between push body 13 and sprinkler 16, and is defined by a substantially rectangular plate perpendicular to longitudinal axis 7 and fitted in sliding manner to lateral plates 8. For which purpose, the opposite lateral edges of slide 20 have respective grooves 21 parallel to longitudinal axis 7 and each engaged in sliding manner by respective lateral plate 8. Slide 20 is held contacting the end of push body 13 by springs 15, which are stretched between slide 20 and cross member 9. On the side facing sprinkler 16, slide 20 has a cavity 22 coaxial with longitudinal axis 7 and housing a piercing device 23, which is similar to piercing device 18 and communicates with a spout 24 extending through a lateral surface of slide 20.

An inlet edge of cavity 22 is bevelled internally to define a truncated-cone-shaped surface 25 flaring towards sprinkler 16, and the function of which is described below.

Assembly 1 also comprises an unloading device 26, which engages a container 2 resting on sprinkler 16 in the infusion position, retains container 2 in the

infusion position, and, after percolation, moves container 2 transversely from the infusion position to an unloading position in response to push body 13 moving along longitudinal axis 7 into a raised rest position from a lowered work position, in which piercing device 23, in use, engages and pierces rear wall 3 of container 2.

Unloading device 26 comprises an annular body 27 having an axis 28, a supporting body 29 fixed between lateral plates 8 and connected integrally to cross member 9 and to one of lateral plates 8 , and an articulated transmission 30 interposed between annular body 27 and supporting block 29, and in turn comprising a lever 31 located outside frame 6, and a top end of which is hinged to supporting block 29 to oscillate about an axis 32 crosswise to longitudinal axis 7 and perpendicular to the planes of lateral plates 8.

Articulated transmission 30 also comprises an appendix 33 extending radially outwards from annular body 27 and hinged at its free to a bottom end of lever 31 to oscillate - together with annular body 27 and with respect to lever 31, and about a hinge pin 34 having an axis 35 parallel to axis 32 - between a normal raised position and a lowered work position. Annular body 27 is normally maintained in its normal raised position by a spring 36 interposed between appendix 33 and lever 31; and axis 28 of the annular body, in the raised position, forms a roughly 45° angle with lever 31. Conversely,

when annular body 27 is in the lowered work position, axis 28 is positioned substantially parallel to lever 31.

Hinge pin 34 engages in transversely sliding manner a slot 37 formed longitudinally along lever 31 to allow hinge pin 34 to slide along lever 31, in opposition to spring 36 and by substantially the same distance as plate 19, between a raised rest position and a lowered work position. Unloading device 26 also comprises an actuating assembly 38 which cooperates with lever 31 to oscillate lever 31, about axis 32, between a normal lowered position and a raised position. Lever 31 is normally maintained in the lowered position by a leaf spring 39 interposed between supporting block 29 and lever 31, and extends, in the lowered position, parallel to longitudinal axis 7 so that annular body 27 is housed completely inside frame 6 and in a space extending - when push body 13 is in the withdrawn rest position - between slide 20 and rear wall 3 of a container 2 positioned, in use, on sprinkler 16 in the infusion position. In the raised position, lever 31 slopes outwards so that annular body 27 is located completely outside frame 6 and the space between sprinkler 16 and slide 20.

Actuating assembly 38 comprises a block 40 connected integrally to a lateral surface of lever 31, close to axis 32, and comprising two ribs 41 and 42,

which define a track 43 extending longitudinally along a portion of lever 31.

A bottom surface of track 43 is defined by a flexible blade 44 having a curved end edge 45 and normally flexed outwards of track 43 to normally close a bottom end of track 43.

On the side facing frame 6, rib 42, located between rib 41 and longitudinal axis 7, has a curved profile which blends with end edge 45 of blade 44 to define, with end edge 45, respective portions of a cam profile 46 sloping generally towards frame 6 and longitudinal axis 7.

Track 43 and cam profile 46 define respective alternative paths Pl and P2 for a cursor 47, which forms part of actuating assembly 38 and is fitted to a rod 48 parallel to longitudinal axis 7 and connected integrally to slide 20. Path Pl is a straight path extending longitudinally along track 43 and lever 31, whereas path P2 is a curved path extending over a top end of x"ib 42 to connect a bottom point and a top point of path Pl .

Operation of assembly 1 will now be described, as of the Figure 1 configuration, which is a container 2 loading configuration, in which assembly 1 is deactivated; lever 31 is maintained by leaf spring 39 in the lowered position; appendix 33 is maintained by spring 36 in the normal raised position; and annular body 27 is located inside frame 6, between slide 20 and sprinkler 16, to form, with sprinkler 16, a large enough

passage to push container 2, with front wall 5 resting on plate 19, into the infusion position, in which container 2 is coaxial with longitudinal axis 7, is located completely beneath annular body 27, and is inserted partly inside annular body 27 (Figure 1) .

When assembly 1 is activated by means of an external control, pressurised fluid is fed in known manner to the push device 11, so that push body 13 and slide 20 move downwards; and, as it does, slide 20 intercepts and rotates annular body 27, in opposition to spring 36, about axis 35 into a position coaxial with longitudinal axis 7 and fitted completely about container 2.

From this point on, by virtue of pin 34 sliding along slot 37, the thrust exerted by slide 20 pushes annular body 27 down axially until plate 19 is withdrawn completely, so that the pins of piercing 18 pierce container 2 through front wall 5, and, at the same time, the pins of piercing device 23 pierce container 2 through rear wall 3 (Figure 2) .

In the Figure 2 operating configuration, the free edge of annular body 27 presses flange 4 in fluidtight manner against plate 19 to define, about container 2, an infusion chamber 49, a first end portion of which is defined by plate 19; a second end portion of which is defined by cavity 22, whose truncated-cone-shaped surface 25 fits onto a corresponding truncated-cone- shaped portion 50 of annular body 27 to lock annular

body 27 in position with respect to slide 20; and an intermediate portion of which is defined by annular body 27, a truncated-cone-shaped inner surface 51 of which mates with the truncated-cone-shaped outer lateral surface of container 2. When pressurized hot water is fed through sprinkler 16, the anhydrous material inside container 2 is percolated, and the resulting beverage flows in known manner through the pins of piercing device 23 and out of spout 24. As shown in Figures 5 and 8-10, as push body 13 moves down into the lowered work position, cursor 47 is drawn by rod 48 along path Pl (Figures 5 and 8) . Blade 44, being flexed outwards of track 43 in its normal rest position, is flexed inwards against block 40 and the bottom of track 43 as cursor 47 moves downwards along path Pl (Figure 9) . And when cursor 47 moves beneath track 43, blade 44 flexes back into its normal position, with end edge 45 positioned crosswise to the bottom end of track 43 (Figure 10) . Once the beverage is produced, pressurized hot water supply to push device 11 is cut off, and push body 13 is backed up by springs 15 into the raised rest position, thus vertically raising cursor 47.

As it is raised vertically, cursor 47 comes into contact with the raised end edge 45 of blade 44, and is diverted from a given bottom point of path Pl onto path P2, so that lever 32 is gradually rotated about axis 32, in opposition to leaf spring 39, into its raised

position, thus extracting annular body 27 and the used container 2 from the space between slide 20 and sprinkler 16. Once removed completely from frame 6, the used container 2 drops by gravity out of annular body 27 and normally into a bin (not shown) behind and at the bottom of assembly 1.

On reaching the end of cam profile 46, cursor 47 (Figure 5) moves over rib 42 and back onto a given top point of path Pl . In the Figure 11 and 12 variation, the annular body in Figures 1 to 3 is replaced by a different hollow body defined by a cup- shaped body 52 positioned with its concavity facing downwards and comprising a lateral wall 53, which is connected integrally to appendix 33, is closed at the top by an externally convex top wall 54, is bounded internally by a truncated-cone-shaped surface 55, and is the same shape at the bottom as annular body 27.

In the Figure 11 and 12 variation, piercing device 23 is housed inside cup- shaped body 52, against the inner surface of top wall 54, communicates with a spout 24 fitted to cup-shaped body 52, and has an ejector device defined by a spring 56 located centrally on piercing device 23 and compressed, in use, on rear wall 3 of container 2 to assist expulsion of container 2 from cup-shaped body 52 when lever 32 moves into the raised position.

To interact correctly with cup-shaped body 52 as

push body 13 moves into the lowered work position, slide 20 has a central cavity 57 which cooperates with the convex top surface of top wall 54 of cup-shaped body 52.