Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a device for producing a liquid comestible from food ingredients, such as coffee powder, by passing a liquid through the ingredients using centrifugal forces. In particular, the invention relates to an improved device and method whereby the liquid comestible is discharged at a suitable hot temperature after centrifugation. Furthermore the invention relates to a collecting unit for such a device.

Background of the invention

It is known to prepare beverages by separating a mixture consisting of brewed coffee and coffee powder with centrifugal forces. Such a mixture is obtained by the interaction of hot water and ground coffee powder for a defined time. The water is then forced through a screen, on which screen powder material is present.

The existing centrifugal systems suffer the inconvenience that the liquid extract discharged from the device comes at a too low temperature. In particular, the liquid extract is cooled down in the collecting device by heat exchange with the extensive surfaces of the collector of the device. Indeed, according to the principle of the centrifugal process, the brewing unit is rotated along a central axis to form a thin layer or jets of liquid impacting on a substantially tubular impact surface. The liquid comes in contact with and drip from a surface that can be equal, for instance, to a first impact surface if when it is a pure cylinder may have an area of at least about 500 mm ² . Furthermore, the liquid is normally collected in a U-shaped cavity that leads to at least one dispensing duct forming again extensive areas of contact with the extracted liquid. Furthermore, the receptacle such as a cup further cools the liquid down unless it has been heated before being placed under the device for the reception of the liquid.

Furthermore, it is known that certain beverage

ingredients, such as roast and ground coffee, must be brewed with a heated liquid, e.g., hot water, within a particular range of temperature to ensure the full extraction of the ingredients including the capture of the desired aroma compounds. Therefore, the liquid supplied in the brewing unit cannot be overheated to compensate for the temperature losses endured by the liquid after extraction as it would negatively affect the quality of extraction. The range of temperatures for an optimal brewing such as for coffee or tea must be so respected for ensuring the best quality of the final beverage. Furthermore, other quality characteristics of the coffee beverage must be preserved during preparation such as the head of foam called "crema".

It is already known from EP 2393404 Al to compensate for a temperature loss in a device as described above by using additional heating elements, but these devices are very complex.

The present invention aims at providing a simple device which is easy to produce and to control for compensating at least partially the thermal losses of the beverage (or liquid extract) during its production by centrifugation and so allow the delivery of the beverage at a suitable temperature of service.

The invention also aims at providing a device preserves the gustative and foam characteristics of a coffee

beverage.

Object and summary of the invention

In one aspect, the present invention relates to a

beverage production device for preparing a liquid extract by interaction between a liquid and food ingredients to form the liquid extract by effect of centrifugation of the liquid passing through the ingredients comprising: a brewing unit for receiving the food ingredients, a collecting unit for collecting the liquid extract centrifuged outside the centrifugal unit, driving means connected to the centrifugal unit for driving the centrifugal unit in rotation, liquid supply means being connected to the

centrifugal unit to supply liquid in the centrifugal unit, a heater for heating the liquid supplied in the centrifugal unit,

wherein the collecting unit comprises a heater for heating the liquid supplied in the centrifugal unit, said heater being arranged to furthermore heat the liquid extract after it leaves the brewing unit.

Preferably, the temperature of the liquid extract leaving the device is controlled to be no more than 10 degrees lower, preferably no more than 8 degrees lower than the temperature of the supplied heated liquid in the brewing unit. Preferably, the collecting unit comprises a collecting cavity, wherein the liquid extract is heated in this collecting cavity. The collecting cavity can for instance be of annular shape.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the collecting cavity can be thermally connected with a heating block of the heater, so that it is heated due to thermal conductivity. When the heater is a thermobloc heater with a massive metal bloc having a high thermal conductivity, this allows it to efficiently heat up the collecting unit without the need for any other additional heating means.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the temperature difference between the collecting cavity and the liquid when it leaves the heater is a function of the liquid flow rate only, i.e. the temperature difference is constant for a given flow rate.

The device can be arranged to produce beverages of different pre-defined volumes, such as "short" coffee beverages of the espresso-type, long and very long coffee beverages, using different flow rates for different beverages. In this case the temperature difference between the collecting cavity and the liquid when it leaves the heater can be held constant for type of beverage having a pre-defined volume and thus a specific flow rate.

Preferably the temperature difference between the

collecting cavity and the liquid when it leaves the heater is in a range between 8°C and 20°C, more

preferably between 8°C and 17 °C. The temperature

difference can for example be from 8-10°C, preferably around 9°C, for an espresso type coffee (flow rate of 80ml/min) , between 12°C and 14°C, preferably 13°C for a medium sized coffee (flow rate of 180ml/min) , and between 15° and 17°C, preferably 16°C, for an extra-long coffee beverage (flow rate of 210ml/min) . The constant

temperature difference allows it to always have the ideal parameters for each recipe.

The brewing unit can be configured to receive a dose of food ingredients in a portioned package such as a capsule or pod. Therefore, a rotating drum in the brewing unit may be sized and shaped to form a capsule or pod holder in which is seated a capsule or pod before the brewing operation. The lid may comprise means for injecting the liquid in the capsule or pod and may additionally be provided with inlet piercing means to allow the intrusion of a liquid injection lance. The lid may also comprise at its peripheral outlet piercing means to provide at least one, preferably several peripheral outlets in the capsule or pod for enabling the exit of the liquid from the portioned package. Of course, the pod may as well be a filter pod comprising filter walls permeable to liquids and so which do not require to be pierced.

The collecting unit may comprise an impact wall situated at a distance from the liquid outlet of the brewing unit for receiving said centrifuged liquid extract. The impact wall may be dissociated from said heater.

By "dissociated" it is meant that the wall is not

directly heated by the heater that would provide a certain heat compensation by liquid impacting the wall. Indeed, it has been experienced that during impact of the centrifuged liquid with the impact wall, i.e., as soon as liquid leaves the brewing unit (e.g., when it is

projected from the capsule) with high centrifugal forces, the foam bubbles tend to collapse against a heated

surface. As a result, coffee crema can be seriously deteriorated by a heated impact wall. Therefore, it is preferred to compensate heat loss in the collecting unit only in the receiving cavity and to maintain the compact wall at or close to the ambient temperature to avoid collapsing of the foam bubbles.

The collecting unit may also comprise at least one

dispensing duct. The dispensing duct can be a tubular part which is made of one block with the cavity or be associated (e.g., fixed) to it. Several dispensing duct may be provided to distribute the liquid extract in

different receptacles (e.g., in two cups).

Heat transfer between a heater block of the heater and the annular collecting cavity can happen via contacting walls or parts, or the heater block and the annular cavity can be made out of one block.

Preferably, the collecting cavity is cooled by liquid circulating in the heater close to said collecting cavity. The liquid does preferably enter the heater in a region close to the collecting cavity, so that the liquid

entering the heater usually a ambient temperature cools the collecting cavity down. This allows it to bring the collecting cavity to a temperature which is lower than the temperature of the heater block to which it is

thermally connected without the need for an additional heating or cooling element. A particular efficient

arrangement combines an annular collecting cavity with a first section of a duct circulating liquid in the heater, said first section being substantially annular as well with a similar cross-section and arranged co-axially below the annular collecting cavity.

In general, the average thickness of the walls of the collecting unit in contact with the liquid extract are dimensioned below 2 mm, preferably below 1 mm, most preferably of about 0.5 mm. Indeed, it has been found particularly effective to reduce the heat dissipation of the liquid extract when contacting the walls of the collecting unit.

For example, for a coffee extract, the brewing

temperature of the liquid entering the brewing unit, is comprised within a range 75 and 95 °C. More preferably, the device is configured to heat liquid in the heater so that the heated liquid is supplied in the brewing unit at a temperature between 90 and 95 °C. The temperature range is selected to ensure an optimal extraction of the ingredients while avoiding burnt flavour notes that are not desired, in particular, for coffee.

The temperature of the heater can be controlled by a control unit and by suitable temperature sensors (e.g., NTC thermistors) . This control unit may be the central controller of the device which provides different control functions such as the control of the pump of the liquid supply in the brewing unit.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 represents a schematical view of the dispensing device of the present invention with a capsule inside ; Figure 2 represents a 3-D view of a collecting unit comprising a heater which is part of the device of Fig. 1,

Figures 3A, 3B and 3D are cut views along different planes of the collecting unit of Fig. 2.

The beverage production device 1 of the present invention illustrated in Figure 1 is configured for preparing a liquid comestible also called liquid extract from the interaction of food ingredients and a liquid by

centrifugation in a brewing unit 2. The effect of the centrifugal forces is used to provide the necessary fluid momentum through the ingredients in such a way that a liquid charged with ingredients solids, liquids and aroma compounds are extracted from the brewing unit. The terms "extraction" or "extract" are to be taken in a general meaning as a process or product resulting from the

actions of brewing, dissolution, dilution, mixing,

emulsifying and combinations thereof.

The brewing unit 2 usually comprises a drum 4 for receiving the food ingredients. The device may be

configured to receive food ingredients packaged in a single-serve capsule 60 which takes place in the device when the device is opened. It should be noted that the drum may also be designed as a rotationally driving or driven ring with a central aperture allowing the bottom of the capsule to protrude downwardly. The ring can thus be designed to support the capsule at its side wall and/or rim.

At its top side, the brewing unit comprises a lid 5 which at least partially closes the drum so as to ensure an enclosure for the capsule inserted therein. The brewing unit is connected to a liquid supply duct 6 configured to feed heated liquid in the brewing unit, more particularly, inside the capsule when inserted in the unit. The supply duct 6 ends by a liquid injector 11 which forms a tubular conduit projecting downwards in the brewing enclosure. The liquid is stored in a liquid reservoir 7 and led via a fluid circuit 8 with a pump 9 towards an in-line heater 10 which it enters at an heater inlet 130. The heater 10 will be discussed in more detail below. The heated liquid leaves the heater through an heater outlet 140 and heated liquid is provided to the brewing unit at a certain positive pressure from the reservoir. The liquid is preferably water and the

temperature is typically an optimal temperature of

brewing which may vary in function of the ingredients to be brewed. For coffee, the temperature may range from about 75 to 95 degrees Celsius. More preferably, the temperature of the supplied liquid is from about 90 to 95°C to ensure an optimal quality extraction of the coffee. The temperature is here measured in the liquid injector 11 just before the liquid is fed in the capsule. The water heater can in principle be chosen amongst different heating modules such as a high-inertia thermal bloc (thermoblock) , or an ODH ("On Demand Heater") such as a cartridge (e.g., described in EP1913851) or a tube heater embedding one or more thick film or resistor (e.g., described in EP1253844 or EP1380243) .

In the present embodiment of the invention, the heater 10 is a high-inertia thermal bloc (thermobloc) which will be explained more in detail below. The pump can be any suitable pump such as a piston pump, a

peristaltic pump, a diaphragm pump, a rotary pump, a gravity pump, etc.

The device further comprises a control unit 12 which is programmed to control the components of the device. In particular, the control unit 12 controls the activation of the pump 9 "on" and "off". This control may result from the activation of a command (e.g. button) on a key board or screen of the device (not shown) . The control unit further controls the activation of the heater 10

"on" and "off" for raising the temperature of the liquid at the correct value in the brewing unit. A temperature control loop is provided in the control unit with at least one temperature sensor, here a NTC (negative

temperature coefficient) thermistor 160 placed on the surface of the heater 10, as shown in Fig. 3C

The liquid injector 11 is mounted in the brewing unit in a manner that the brewing unit can rotate along a central axis I around the injector 11 which is preferably fixed. More particularly, the lid 5 is mounted along ball bearing means 13 so that the lid can rotate when driven on rotation around the injector.

The brewing unit is driven in rotation during the centrifugal process by means of a driving unit 14. The driving unit is preferably connected to the drum 4 via a connecting part 15. The driving unit comprises an

electrical motor 16 such as a direct current (DC) motor mounted onto a frame 17 of the device via bolts or the like. The motor 16 comprises a shaft 88 linked to the connecting part 15 via a suitable socket 41. It should be noted that the drum is also mounted in rotational linkage relative to the frame. For this, the connecting part 15 is mounted via ball bearing means 39 to the frame.

Therefore, the brewing unit 2 is rotatably mounted in the device, i.e., between the frame 17 and injector 11. The activation of the motor 16 is also controlled by the control unit 12 to drive the brewing in rotation during the centrifugal process. The speed of centrifugation is set by the controller according to a profile which may be constant or variable. In general, the speed during the extraction phase is between 1000 and 16000 rpm. The speed may be increased or decreased upon needs during the beverage preparation cycle by the control unit.

The liquid extract which is centrifuged in the brewing unit is collected by a collecting unit 18. The brewing unit is further preferably configured to leave a small interstice or liquid outlets at its periphery for the liquid extract to be centrifuged out of the unit. The interstice or liquid outlets is such that a certain pressure is created just upstream of the interstice or outlets, in the enclosure of the brewing unit, e.g., in the capsule. In a preferred mode, a valve means 56 is provided which opens the brewing unit only when a

sufficient pressure of liquid is exerted at the inside periphery of the brewing unit. The valve means 56 can be formed by a ring portion 19 which applies a closing force onto the drum and/or edge of the capsule. The valve means further comprises an elastic biasing member 20 which maintains the ring portion in closure tension. The biasing member can be a spring, a rubber elastic or an hydraulic pressure means. The ring portion forms a continuous gap when the valve means is opened by the pressure of the centrifuged liquid. The flow gap or restriction may be very small in width (w) , for instance, between 0.01 and 0.5 mm but of a continuous perimeter along the whole periphery of the ring portion. The surface area (S) of the flow gap or restriction may so be calculated by the formula: S= 2.J1.R.W , where R is the radius of the ring portion and "w" represents the opening width of the valve means. The surface area of the gap can range between 1 and 500 mm ² . The surface area varies with the rotational speed such that, usually, the higher the rotational speed the larger the area.

As illustrated in figure 1, the lid may further comprise piercing members 21 for piercing several outlets in a wall of the capsule. The piercing members may be placed at the periphery of the lid and directed

downwardly in direction of the enclosure. As also

apparent in the figure, the capsule may optionally comprise a filter part 22 for separating a main chamber containing the ingredients, e.g., ground coffee, and a small peripheral collecting recess adjacent the pierced upper wall of the capsule. The recess in the capsule is so deep enough, e.g., 5-10 mm, to enable the piercing members to be introduced in the capsule for forming the several outlets.

The collecting unit 18 of the device forms

peripheral walls surrounding the brewing unit to collect the liquid which is centrifuged through the small

interstice or outlets. In particular, the collecting unit comprises a first impact wall 23 placed at a certain distance or air gap (d) from the brewing unit, in

particular, the restriction valve. This impact wall can be a tubular wall forming a surface of impact for the liquid and that extends downwards in a U-shaped

collecting part 24 of the collecting unit. The U-shaped collecting part 24 forms a part of the frame 17 or is connected to the frame of the device.

The U-shapes collecting part 24 forms one block with a thermobloc heater 10. This block is shown more in details in Fig.2 and Figs. 3A - 3B. As already mentioned above, the liquid enters the thermobloc through an inlet 130, is circulated through a heating chamber formed by a helocoidal duct 120 for heating, and leaves the thermobloc through an outlet 140. The duct 120 is preferably made of steel and extending through a (massive) mass of metal forming a substantially cylindrical block 10a, in particular made of aluminium, iron and/or another metal or an alloy, that has a high thermal capacity for accumulating heat energy and a high thermal conductivity for transfer of the required amount of accumulated heat to liquid circulating therethrough whenever needed. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the heater block 10a is made of aluminium. It can be made in a die-casting process, wherein it is ejected by two mold halves and a mold core in the center axis. Instead of a distinct duct 120, the thermoblock' s duct may be a through passage that is machined or otherwise formed in the duct's body, e.g. formed during a casting step of the thermoblock' s mass. When the thermoblock' s mass is made of aluminium, it is preferred, for health considerations, to provide a separate duct, for example of steel, to avoid contact between circulating liquid and aluminium. The block' s mass can be made of one or several assembled parts around the duct. The thermobloc heater 10 includes an annular resistive heating element 100 that convert electrical energy supplied via a connector 110 into heating energy. The heat is supplied to the thermoblock' s mass and via the mass, i.e. via the block 10a, to the circulating liquid. The heating elements may be cast or housed into the metal mass or fixed against the surface of the metal mass. The duct(s) may have a helicoidal or another arrangement along the thermoblock to maximise its/their length and heat transfer through the block.

The U- shaped collecting part 24 is in thermal contact with the block 10a of the thermoblock heater 10, and will thus be heated as well in order to compensate for the temperature loss of the liquid during the

centrifugation process. However, the temperatures which the block 10a reaches are higher than desired for the collecting part. To ensure that the collecting part 24 is only heated up to a certain temperature which is lower than the temperature of the liquid when it is supplied to the brewing unit, the liquid enters the block 10a through an inlet 130 just below the annular collecting unit 24 and is circulated through a first winding 120a of the helicoidal duct 120 which is arranged below the annular U-shaped collecting unit 24. The collecting unit 24 is thus cooled by the liquid which enters the duct 120 at a temperature which is usually around 20 °C, i.e. at ambient temperature. After a few seconds, the collecting unit 24 reaches a temperature which is lower than the temperature of the liquid leaving the heater 10, with the temperature difference being constant for a constant flow rate of liquid through the duct 120. This means that in a system where different flow rates are used for different

beverage recipes, e.g. shorter coffees prepared with a lower flow rate, and longer coffees with a higher flow rate, a constant and well-defined temperature difference is obtained for each recipe. In general, the invention allows it to maintain the collected liquid at a

sufficiently hot temperature for service (e.g., 60-90°C) and the temperature losses are minimized or even

suppressed, depending on the flow rate of the liquid, and of course on the temperature of the liquid in the

reservoir 7 and on the design of the thermobloc heater 10 and the associated collecting unit 24. The impact wall is dissociated from the U-shaped annular collecting part 24 and is not, or at least not

significantly heated. This reduces the risk of breaking the coffee foam ("crema") during the centrifugal

projection of the liquid extract from the brewing unit.

As shown in Fig. 2 and 3C, the liquid collected in the annular collecting unit is then dispensed via at least one discharge duct 26. In the context of the present invention, the discharge duct is considered as part of the collecting unit.

It can also be desirable to provide heat reflective walls of the device that can minimize conduction of heat therethrough and can reflect heat towards the liquid extract. Such surfaces may be made, for example, of polymeric support including metallic reflective pigments or coated with a thin metallic membrane (e.g., alu membrane) .