US 12,070,151 B2
Method and device for producing milk-air emulsions
Thomas Diester, Bückeburg (DE); and Bernd Buchholz, Rahden (DE)
Assigned to MELITTA PROFESSIONAL COFFEE SOLUTIONS GMBH & CO. KG, Minden (DE)
Appl. No. 17/273,136
Filed by MELITTA PROFESSIONAL COFFEE SOLUTIONS GMBH & CO. KG, Minden (DE)
PCT Filed Aug. 20, 2019, PCT No. PCT/EP2019/072234
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Mar. 3, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/048765, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 12, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 10 2018 121 567.3 (DE), filed on Sep. 4, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0321817 A1, Oct. 21, 2021
Int. Cl. A47J 31/44 (2006.01)
CPC A47J 31/4485 (2013.01) 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of operating an apparatus for providing a milk-air emulsion, wherein the apparatus at least includes: a milk line through which supplied milk flows; at least one air feed system having an adjusting unit for setting an amount of air injected into a mixing chamber disposed in the milk line for producing the milk-air emulsion from the supplied milk; at least one measuring unit arranged in the milk line downstream of the mixing chamber for determining at least one physical material property of the milk-air emulsion; and a control and evaluation unit coupled to the measuring unit and setting a control variable that is input to the adjusting unit, wherein the apparatus has at least first and second operating modes; the method comprising:
operating the apparatus in the first operating mode which includes introducing an amount of air, controlled by the adjusting unit in response to the control variable, into the mixing chamber for producing the air-milk emulsion from supplied milk and thereafter dispensing the milk-air emulsion via the outlet device; and
operating the apparatus in the second operating mode by performing a self-adjustment in which the control and evaluation unit creates a data set as a function of the physical material property of the milk-air emulsion determined by the measuring unit and generates the control variable, based on the data set, that is input to the adjusting unit.