IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
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국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
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출원번호 |
US-0741182
(2008-11-05)
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등록번호 |
US-8459043
(2013-06-11)
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국제출원번호 |
PCT/CA2008/001943
(2008-11-05)
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§371/§102 date |
20100503
(20100503)
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국제공개번호 |
WO2009/059405
(2009-05-14)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
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출원인 / 주소 |
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대리인 / 주소 |
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인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
5 인용 특허 :
8 |
초록
▼
An apparatus for producing beverages. The apparatus comprises a dispensing system, a mixing unit, and a control unit comprising a user interface, which interact to prepare a particular beverage when requested by a user. When the control unit receives user input requesting the particular beverage via
An apparatus for producing beverages. The apparatus comprises a dispensing system, a mixing unit, and a control unit comprising a user interface, which interact to prepare a particular beverage when requested by a user. When the control unit receives user input requesting the particular beverage via the user interface, it causes the dispensing system to dispense various ingredients (e.g., fragmented ice, water, flavoring ingredients, milk product) that are mixed by the mixing unit in order to prepare the particular beverage, which is served in a cup. In various embodiments, the apparatus may produce frozen beverages that include fragmented ice (e.g., shaved or crushed ice) as one of their ingredients, such as slush beverages and smoothie beverages, and/or hot beverages that include heated water as one of their ingredients, such as coffee and flavored coffee beverages (e.g., French Vanilla, Mocha, etc.).
대표청구항
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1. An apparatus for producing frozen beverages, the apparatus comprising: a control unit comprising a user interface, the user interface allowing a user to input a request for a frozen beverage, the request being indicative of a desired flavor of the frozen beverage and a desired consistency of the
1. An apparatus for producing frozen beverages, the apparatus comprising: a control unit comprising a user interface, the user interface allowing a user to input a request for a frozen beverage, the request being indicative of a desired flavor of the frozen beverage and a desired consistency of the frozen beverage, the desired consistency of the frozen beverage being one of a plurality of consistencies of frozen beverages producible by the apparatus;a dispensing system, responsive to signals from the control unit, for dispensing ingredients of the frozen beverage, the dispensing system comprising: an ice supply unit configured to supply ice for producing multiple frozen beverages;an ice fragmentation unit configured to fragment ice from the ice supply unit and dispense fragmented ice;a flavoring ingredient dispensing unit configured to store a plurality of supplies of flavoring ingredients, the flavoring ingredient dispensing unit being configured to dispense at least one flavoring ingredient from the supplies of flavoring ingredients in accordance with the desired flavor of the frozen beverage; anda milk product dispensing unit configured to store a supply of milk product, the milk product dispensing unit being configured to either dispense an amount of milk product from the supply of milk product or not dispense milk product from the supply of milk product in accordance with the desired consistency of the frozen beverage;anda mixing unit, responsive to at least one signal from the control unit, for mixing the ingredients of the frozen beverage. 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the dispensing system is configured to dispense the ingredients of the frozen beverage into a cup in which the frozen beverage is to be served; and the mixing unit is configured to mix the ingredients of the frozen beverage in the cup. 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ice supply unit comprises an ice chamber for receiving ice from an external source. 4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ice supply unit comprises an ice maker for making ice using water from a water supply line. 5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein, to fragment ice from the ice supply unit, the ice fragmentation unit comprises an ice shaver configured to shave ice from the ice supply unit such that the fragmented ice comprises shaved ice. 6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein, to fragment ice from the ice supply unit, the ice fragmentation unit comprises an ice crusher configured to crush ice from the ice supply unit such that the fragmented ice comprises crushed ice. 7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, comprising a fragmented ice sensor configured to sense a quantity of the fragmented ice dispensed by the ice fragmentation unit and to send a signal indicative of the quantity of the fragmented ice to the control unit. 8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flavoring ingredient dispensing unit comprises, for each supply of flavoring ingredient, a flavor dispenser operable in a first state in which the flavoring ingredient is dispensed and a second state in which the flavoring ingredient is not dispensed, the control unit being operative for causing the flavor dispenser to operate in either one of the first state and the second state. 9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of supplies of flavoring ingredients comprises a plurality of supplies of flavoring syrups. 10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of supplies of flavoring ingredients comprises a plurality of supplies of fruit-flavored ingredients. 11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of supplies of flavoring ingredients comprises a plurality of supplies of coffee-flavored ingredients. 12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mixing unit comprises a mixing element configured to extend into a container into which the dispensing system dispenses the ingredients of the frozen beverage, the mixing element being configured to mix the ingredients of the frozen beverage in the container. 13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the container is a cup in which the frozen beverage is to be served. 14. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the mixing element is configured to mix the ingredients of the frozen beverage in the cup while the cup is within a housing of the apparatus. 15. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, comprising a sanitizing unit configured to sanitize the mixing element after the mixing element has mixed the ingredients of the frozen beverage in the cup. 16. An apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein, to sanitize the mixing element, the sanitizing unit comprises a sanitizing chamber configured to contain a sanitizing solution, the mixing element being movable relative to the sanitizing chamber to dip the mixing element into the sanitizing solution. 17. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dispensing system comprises a water dispensing unit configured to dispense water. 18. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supply of milk product is a supply of natural milk product. 19. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supply of milk product is a supply of artificial milk product. 20. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supply of milk product is a supply of liquid milk product. 21. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supply of milk product is a supply of powder milk product. 22. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, comprising a transporting unit configured to transport the cup between a plurality of stations, the stations comprising: a. at least one dispensing station at which the dispensing system dispenses at least some of the ingredients of the frozen beverage into the cup; andb. a mixing station at which the mixing unit mixes the ingredients of the frozen beverage in the cup. 23. An apparatus as claimed in claim 22, wherein the stations are arranged such that a direction of motion of the cup changes when the transporting unit transports the cup along a path from a first one of the stations to a second one of the stations. 24. An apparatus as claimed in claim 23, wherein the path is a circular path. 25. An apparatus as claimed in claim 23, wherein the second one of the stations is the first one of the stations. 26. An apparatus as claimed in claim 23, wherein the second one of the stations is different from the first one of the stations. 27. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, comprising a showering unit configured to shower liquid inside the ice chamber. 28. An apparatus as claimed in claim 27, wherein the liquid contains at least one of heated water and a sanitizing agent. 29. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, comprising: a cup support for receiving the cup from the user, the cup support being configured to support the cup while the frozen beverage is being prepared; anda cup detection unit configured to detect the cup when the cup support supports the cup; the control unit being configured to issue the signals to the dispensing system upon the cup detection unit having detected the cup. 30. An apparatus as claimed in claim 29, wherein the cup detection unit is configured to detect a size of the cup when the cup support supports the cup, the control unit being configured to issue the signals to the dispensing system based at least in part on the size of the cup. 31. An apparatus as claimed in claim 30, wherein, to issue the signals to the dispensing system based at least in part on the size of the cup, the control unit is configured to determine a respective quantity of each of the ingredients of the frozen beverage based at least in part on the size of the cup and to issue the signals such that the dispensing system dispenses the respective quantity of each of the ingredients of the frozen beverage. 32. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of consistencies of frozen beverages producible by the apparatus comprises at least two of: a consistency of a slush beverage producible by the apparatus; a consistency of a smoothie beverage producible by the apparatus; and a consistency of a milkshake beverage producible by the apparatus. 33. An apparatus for producing frozen beverages, the apparatus comprising: a. a control unit comprising a user interface, the user interface allowing a user to input a request for a frozen beverage, the request being indicative of a desired flavor of the frozen beverage, the desired flavor of the frozen beverage including at least one flavor component;b. a dispensing system, responsive to signals from the control unit, for dispensing ingredients of the frozen beverage into a cup in which the frozen beverage is to be served, the dispensing system comprising: an ice supply unit configured to supply ice for producing multiple frozen beverages;c. an ice fragmentation unit configured to fragment ice from the ice supply unit and dispense fragmented ice;d. a flavoring ingredient dispensing unit configured to store a plurality of supplies of flavoring ingredients, the flavoring ingredient dispensing unit being configured to dispense at least one flavoring ingredient from the supplies of flavoring ingredients in accordance with the desired flavor of the frozen beverage, the at least one flavoring ingredient including more than one flavoring ingredient if the desired flavor of the frozen beverage includes more than one flavor component; ande. a mixing unit, responsive to at least one signal from the control unit, for mixing the ingredients of the frozen beverage in the cup. 34. An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, wherein the ice supply unit comprises an ice chamber for receiving ice from an external source. 35. An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, wherein the ice supply unit comprises an ice maker for making ice using water from a water supply line. 36. An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, wherein, to fragment ice from the ice supply unit, the ice fragmentation unit comprises an ice shaver configured to shave ice from the ice supply unit such that the fragmented ice comprises shaved ice. 37. An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, wherein, to fragment ice from the ice supply unit, the ice fragmentation unit comprises an ice crusher configured to crush ice from the ice supply unit such that the fragmented ice comprises crushed ice. 38. An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, comprising a fragmented ice sensor configured to sense a quantity of the fragmented ice dispensed by the ice fragmentation unit and to send a signal indicative of the quantity of the fragmented ice to the control unit. 39. An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, wherein the flavoring ingredient dispensing unit comprises, for each supply of flavoring ingredient, a flavor dispenser operable in a first state in which the flavoring ingredient is dispensed and a second state in which the flavoring ingredient is not dispensed, the control unit being operative for causing the flavor dispenser to operate in either one of the first state and the second state. 40. An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, wherein the plurality of supplies of flavoring ingredients comprises a plurality of supplies of flavoring syrups. 41. An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, wherein the plurality of supplies of flavoring ingredients comprises a plurality of supplies of fruit-flavored ingredients. 42. An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, wherein the plurality of supplies of flavoring ingredients comprises a plurality of supplies of coffee-flavored ingredients. 43. An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, wherein the mixing unit comprises a mixing element configured to extend into the cup, the mixing element being configured to mix the ingredients of the frozen beverage in the cup. 44. An apparatus as claimed in claim 43, wherein the mixing element is configured to mix the ingredients of the frozen beverage in the cup while the cup is within a housing of the apparatus. 45. An apparatus as claimed in claim 43, comprising a sanitizing unit configured to sanitize the mixing element after the mixing element has mixed the ingredients of the frozen beverage in the cup. 46. An apparatus as claimed in claim 45, wherein, to sanitize the mixing element, the sanitizing unit comprises a sanitizing chamber configured to contain a sanitizing solution, the mixing element being movable relative to the sanitizing chamber to dip the mixing element into the sanitizing solution. 47. An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, wherein the dispensing system comprises a water dispensing unit configured to dispense water. 48. An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, wherein the request is indicative of a desired consistency of the frozen beverage, the apparatus comprising a milk product dispensing unit configured to store a supply of milk product, the milk product dispensing unit being configured to either dispense an amount of milk product from the supply of milk product or not dispense milk product from the supply of milk product in accordance with the desired consistency of the frozen beverage. 49. An apparatus as claimed in claim 48, wherein the supply of milk product is a supply of natural milk product. 50. An apparatus as claimed in claim 48, wherein the supply of milk product is a supply of artificial milk product. 51. An apparatus as claimed in claim 48, wherein the supply of milk product is a supply of liquid milk product. 52. An apparatus as claimed in claim 48, wherein the supply of milk product is a supply of powder milk product. 53. An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, comprising a transporting unit configured to transport the cup between a plurality of stations, the stations comprising: a. at least one dispensing station at which the dispensing system dispenses at least some of the ingredients of the frozen beverage into the cup; andb. a mixing station at which the mixing unit mixes the ingredients of the frozen beverage in the cup. 54. An apparatus as claimed in claim 53, wherein the stations are arranged such that a direction of motion of the cup changes when the transporting unit transports the cup along a path from a first one of the stations to a second one of the stations. 55. An apparatus as claimed in claim 54, wherein the path is a circular path. 56. An apparatus as claimed in claim 54, wherein the second one of the stations is the first one of the stations. 57. An apparatus as claimed in claim 54, wherein the second one of the stations is different from the first one of the stations. 58. An apparatus as claimed in claim 34, comprising a showering unit configured to shower liquid inside the ice chamber. 59. An apparatus as claimed in claim 58, wherein the liquid contains at least one of heated water and a sanitizing agent. 60. An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, wherein the desired consistency of the frozen beverage is one of a plurality of consistencies of frozen beverages producible by the apparatus, the plurality of consistencies of frozen beverages producible by the apparatus comprising at least two of: a consistency of a slush beverage producible by the apparatus; a consistency of a smoothie beverage producible by the apparatus; and a consistency of a milkshake beverage producible by the apparatus. 61. An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, wherein the request is indicative of a desired size of the frozen beverage, the desired size of the frozen beverage being one of a plurality of sizes of frozen beverages producible by the apparatus, the control unit being configured to issue the signals to the dispensing system based at least in part of the desired size of the frozen beverage. 62. An apparatus as claimed in claim 33, comprising: a cup support for receiving the cup from the user, the cup support being configured to support the cup while the frozen beverage is being prepared; anda cup detection unit configured to detect the cup when the cup support supports the cup; the control unit being configured to issue the signals to the dispensing system upon the cup detection unit having detected the cup. 63. An apparatus as claimed in claim 62, wherein the cup detection unit is configured to detect a size of the cup when the cup support supports the cup, the control unit being configured to issue the signals to the dispensing system based at least in part on the size of the cup. 64. An apparatus for producing frozen beverages, the apparatus comprising: a. a control unit comprising a user interface, the user interface allowing a user to input a request for a frozen beverage, the request being indicative of a desired flavor of the frozen beverage;b. a dispensing system, responsive to signals from the control unit, for dispensing ingredients of the frozen beverage into a cup in which the beverage is to be served, the dispensing system comprising: an ice supply unit configured to supply ice for producing multiple frozen beverages;c. an ice fragmentation unit configured to fragment ice from the ice supply unit and dispense fragmented ice;d. a flavoring ingredient dispensing unit configured to store a plurality of supplies of flavoring ingredients, the flavoring ingredient dispensing unit being configured to dispense at least one flavoring ingredient from the supplies of flavoring ingredients in accordance with the desired flavor of the frozen beverage;e. a mixing unit, responsive to at least one signal from the control unit, for mixing the ingredients of the frozen beverage in the cup; andf. a transporting unit, responsive to at least one signal from the control unit, for transporting the cup between a plurality of stations, the stations comprising: g. at least one dispensing station at which the dispensing system dispenses at least some of the ingredients of the frozen beverage into the cup; andh. a mixing station at which the mixing unit mixes the ingredients of the frozen beverage in the cup;the stations being arranged such that a direction of motion of the cup changes when the transporting unit transports the cup along a path from a first one of the stations to a second one of the stations. 65. An apparatus for producing frozen beverages, the apparatus comprising: a. a control unit comprising a user interface, the user interface allowing a user to input a request for a frozen beverage, the request being indicative of a desired flavor of the frozen beverage;b. a cup support for receiving a cup provided by the user and into which the frozen beverage is to be served, the cup support being configured to support the cup while the frozen beverage is being prepared;c. a cup detection unit for detecting the cup when the cup support supports the cup,d. a dispensing system, responsive to signals from the control unit, for dispensing ingredients of the frozen beverage into the cup, the control unit being configured to issue the signals to the dispensing system upon the cup detection unit having detected the cup, the dispensing system comprising: an ice supply unit configured to supply ice for producing multiple frozen beverages;e. an ice fragmentation unit configured to fragment ice from the ice supply unit and dispense fragmented ice;f. a flavoring ingredient dispensing unit configured to store a plurality of supplies of flavoring ingredients, the flavoring ingredient dispensing unit being configured to dispense at least one flavoring ingredient from the supplies of flavoring ingredients in accordance with the desired flavor of the frozen beverage; andg. a mixing unit, responsive to at least one signal from the control unit, for mixing the ingredients of the frozen beverage in the cup.
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