Dispensing unit for ice or snow-like particles

Abstract

A dispensing unit 601 dispenses ice, snow or snow-like particles to a customer on demand, generally without storage of ice within the unit. The unit 601 includes an actuation device 640 which is operable by the customer. Further, the unit includes apparatus 639 for making the ice or snow-like particles. The apparatus 639 is responsive to actuation of the actuation device 640 to produce the ice or snow-like particles on demand. The ice or snow-like particles are produced from ingredients including liquid water and preferably cryogenic material. The unit is operable to deliver the ice or snow-like particles to a containment vessel 612B, 632, which is accessible by the customer.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a dispensing unit for dispensing ice, snow or snow like particles to a customer on demand. In particular, the invention relates to a machine for making instant packing ice or powdered snow for use as an ice or crushed ice substitute. Typically such products are used for cooling foods and beverages in ice boxes, coolers and the like. The present specification forms part of a continuation-in-part application based on our earlier application Ser. No. 10/475,228.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Over the years, a number of methods of making snow have been proposed, and two examples will now be discussed.

The “Polar Process” is a cryogenic form of snow making, where liquid nitrogen (N₂) is mixed with water atomised by an air compressor in a snow pipe to make snow. This has proven a popular form of snow production for events and promotions. While the capital cost is not great, the operational costs for making the snow are very high, as up to 500 kg of liquid nitrogen is required to be mixed with water to form one cubic metre of snow.

Another known method is the “Crushed Ice Process”. This process of snow production is expensive and very labour intensive and the snow product is more in the form of shaved ice, and not a true snow crystal. The process relies on the production of, say, 150 kg, blocks of ice which are transported to a site, where they are put through an ice grinding machine to be shaved into shaved ice particles for use as snow. The process is expensive as the blocks are expensive to buy, and require specialised transport and labour to transport and handle the blocks. The machinery to make the ice blocks is large and cumbersome, and there are very few ice-making works capable of producing the blocks. The use of this form of snow production for events has been limited.

The supply of ice cubes in plastic bags is a multi billion industry throughout the world. The ice can be supplied in 2 ways. The first way is through an ice making factory where the ice is first produced by ice making machines. The ice produced is transported by conveyor to be bagged, stockpiled on a pallet, transported to a cold room where it is stored for later use, transported to a truck that delivers it to a service outlet where it is unloaded into a smaller storage box requiring refrigeration, where the customer can purchase and use the ice for their intended use. The product when used by the customer has gone through a number of refrigeration processes and it is not uncommon for the ice cubes to have frozen together making them impossible to separate without first applying force. Further, because of the large particle size being between ½ to 1 cubic inch (1.3 to 2.5 cm), it is difficult to distribute the ice evenly to the food to be cooled.

The second known mode of operation is where the same type of ice particles are formed but are done so at the point of sale of the product. In this application a small capacity ice making machine is installed and the ice is made and bagged by a machine. The bags are then stored at the premises for sale. The system requires mechanical refrigeration both to make and store and the machines are normally built to meet the peak demand period. As ice is a product with seasonal use, there is a lot of redundancy and down time with the system. In both cases the capital expenditure is high to set up the operating plants and the returns need to be generated in the peak seasons.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dispensing unit for dispensing ice, snow or snow-like particles to a customer, the unit including:

• • an actuation device operable by the customer; and
  • an apparatus for making ice, snow or snow-like particles, wherein the apparatus is responsive to actuation of the actuation device to produce ice, snow or snow-like particles on demand from ingredients including liquid water;
    wherein the unit is operable to deliver the ice, snow or snow-like particles to a containment vessel.

Preferably the invention described in this document relates to a self dispensing machine that can deliver optionally a 40 pound, 20 pound or 7 pound bag of packing ice (snow) every 30 seconds by feeding a container such as a bag or tub into the machine. The container may be purchased by the customer from the shop assistant and then placed by the customer at the feed section of the machine. The container may include a scanner code. Once the machine reads the scanner code, the machine knows that the container is in place and it starts the process of filling the container with packing ice. In the present form of the invention, the code reader comprises the actuation device to commence operation of the apparatus. In an alternative form of the invention, a button or a coin or note insert mechanism may start the process. Alternatively, tokens may be inserted in place of currency. The coin/token/note receptor may comprise the actuation device to commence operation of the apparatus.

Once the process is started, preferably water and liquid refrigerant are mixed together in a mixing process to produce a granulated or particulate product referred to as packing ice. The packing ice produced is expelled from the machine to fill the container below. The process is quick and energy efficient as power is only used at the time of making the product and there is no requirement for storage, transport or expensive refrigeration or bagging equipment. As well, the cost of producing the product may be a similar gross cost as the current method of producing bagged ice but the consumer is provided with a free flowing product that is easy to spread in their cooler box. The packing ice can also be provided at a desired selected temperature from 0 degrees Celsius to −20 degrees Celsius or lower for use.

The packing ice making machine may be operated by adding pure water to liquid carbon dioxide, nitrogen or similar type of cryogenic refrigerant whereby a mixture of both are mixed in the machine as described below to convert the mixture into a powder ice product for immediate use by the consumer. The machine can also be operated by adding other liquids such as soft drinks, syrup and also other ingredients such as pure ice.

The cryogenic material or refrigerant can be recycled for reuse. The amount of cryogenic material such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen can be as little as 2 to 10% of the total mixture and up to 99% of this material may be recovered for further use. The mixing of the materials may be done in a specially designed insulated vessel that can create the powder snow product in amounts of up to 40 pounds or more in less than 10 seconds.

The packing ice or snow produced by this cryogenic process may also be created to have a longer life cycle than any other snow produced by varying the amount of cryogenic material included in the process. This also makes the storage of the product in cold rooms more favourable as the snow does not stick together due to the elimination of water from the final product.

Preferably, an additive, such as salt, sugar or other soluble material, is included in the mixture, preferably in the range of 0.25% to 1.0% (w/w).

Preferably, the cryogenic material constitutes 2% to 10% (w/w), more preferably 5% to 7% of the mixture.

Preferably, the cryogenic material is placed in the mixing vessel, before the introduction of the water and/or ice, to assist in cooling the walls of the vessel.

Preferably, the mixture is agitated or mixed by at least two sets of rotating blades or knives, which are preferably mounted on the shaft, rotatably journalled in the vessel. Preferably, the first set of blades or knives urge the mixture in a direction opposed by the second set of blades or knives.

The resultant snow may be tipped from the vessel into a suitable receptacle; may be discharged from the vessel by gravity via a valve; be drawn from the vessel by vacuum or suction means; or be discharged through an outlet in a side wall of the vessel by centrifugal force; or by other suitable discharge means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, some embodiments will now be described by way of example with reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a first machine for the snow making method;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the mixing vessel of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a second machine for the snow making method;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the mixing vessel of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a third machine for the snow making method;

FIGS. 6 to 8 are schematic views of alternative apparatus for discharging the snow from the mixing vessels;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a dispensing unit in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a recovery process for the recovery of cryogenic material used in the dispensing unit of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 is another schematic view of another dispensing unit according to the present invention, illustrating further useful features.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the mixing vessel 10 has a cylindrical tank-like body 11 with a top wall (or lid) 12, side wall 13 and floor 14 formed of metal and/or plastics material. (The walls may be of metal skin/insulating core/metal skin construction.)

A shaft 15 is rotatably journalled in the bottom wall 14, substantially c-axial with the vertical axis of the vessel 10. The shaft 15 is driven via an electric motor 16 via a drive system 17 (eg., mechanical transmission/pulleys and belt/sprockets and chain).

Respective first and second blades 18,19 are mounted on the shaft 15 at spaced locations and extend substantially radially to the shaft 15. As per the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the blades 18,19 are inclined to the axis of the shaft 15 in opposite directions so that rotation of the shaft 15 will cause the lower blade 18 to “lift” the mixture in the vessel 10 and the upper blade 19 to “push down” the mixture in opposition thereto for complete mixing of the mixture.

A snow discharge outlet 20 is provided in the side wall 13, or floor 14, of the body 11 and is selectively closable by a valve controlled by an air cylinder 21.

The top wall or lid 12 has a cryogenic material inlet 22, a water inlet 23 and an additive inlet 24, where each may have a respective inlet valve (not shown).

Dry ice (CO₂) pellets or snow are deposited into the mixing vessel 10, via the inlet 22, from a storage source or snow horn 25. Water is deposited into the mixing vessel 23, together with an additive (eg., sugar/salt/at a concentration of 0.25-1.0% (w/w)). The electric motor 16 is operated to drive the shaft 15 and the mixture in the mixing vessel 10 is agitated/mixed by the blades 18,19 to cause the water to be converted into snow crystals, eg., within 10-15 seconds.

Preferably, the shaft 15 is rotated between 300 rpm and 5000 rpm, with 2000 rpm to 3000 rpm being a typical rotational speed. It is believed that the release of the CO₂ gas from the dry ice, together with the agitation/mixing of the mixture by the blades, operates to “aerate” or “foam” the mixture so that the water is converted into fine snow crystals of a nature identical, or similar, to natural snow. The snow produced by the present method has an appearance, texture and/or characteristic equal, or substantially identical, to natural snow.

The snow crystals are discharged into a suitable container 26, eg., a wheeled bin by operation of the air cylinder 21 to open the snow discharge outlet 20.

The operation is then repeated for the next batch.

The CO₂ gas released from the dry ice can be recovered for recycling into liquid or solid CO₂, to minimise the operational costs.

The CO₂ gas is drawn from the vessel 10 via a gas outlet 27 by a non-lubricating compressor 28, which compresses the CO₂ to, eg., 12 Bar. The compressed CO₂ gas is passed through at least one drier 29 and condenser 30 to remove any water moisture. The dried gas is then passed through an evaporator 31 of a refrigeration unit 32, the evaporator being at a temperature of −5 C. to −70 C., preferably approximately −20 C.

The CO₂ gas will liquefy and collect at the bottom of the liquefier unit 33 and may be stored at a pressure of 1-3 Mpa, at −20 C. or lower, before return to the vessel 10 via CO₂ line 34 and liquid CO₂ inlet 35. The inlet 35 incorporates expansion valves and/or expansion chambers 35a to cause the liquid CO₂ to be released into the vessel 10 in the form of CO₂ snow or like solid particles, for mixing with the aqueous mixture in the vessel 10.

The CO₂ from the liquefier unit 33 may be stored in a tank (not shown) or be directed to the CO₂ source 25 when the mixer vessel 10 is not in operation.

In low temperature applications such as at a ski resort, the low ambient temperatures may be sufficient to condense the gaseous CO₂ avoiding the need for the refrigeration unit 32.

For safety, the mixing vessel 10 can be provided with a gas safety valve (not shown).

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the mixing vessel 110 of the second embodiment has a body 111, shaft 115, blades 118,119 and drive 116,117 substantially as hereinbefore described.

The snow can be discharged via the snow discharge outlet 120 onto a belt conveyor 140 into containers 126 on a vehicle 150 for transport to a remote site, eg., a sports stadium, sporting event or the like.

Ice, in block and/or lump form, is discharged from an ice making machine 160 through an ice inlet 136 provided with an inlet valve 137 and is mixed with CO₂ gas or liquid injected via CO₂ gas inlet 122 and water injected via water inlet 123, the CO₂ gas and water being supplied from respective sources 170,171.

The water/ice/CO₂ mixture is agitated/mixed by the blades 118,119 and the water/ice are converted to snow, for periodic, or batch, discharge via the snow discharge outlet 120.

The CO₂ gas liberated by the mixing may be drawn off via a CO₂ gas outlet 127 and may be refrigerated to a liquid state by a refrigeration unit 132 and returned to the CO₂ source 170 for re-use.

In the modified embodiment of FIG. 5, the ice may be supplied via containers 226 which are raised via a lift unit 280 to deposit the ice into the mixing vessel 210 via the ice inlet 236.

The method of making the snow is as hereinbefore described and the resultant snow may be discharged via the snow discharge outlet 220, onto a conveyor 240 and into a storage or transport container 226 or vehicle 250.

The snow discharge outlet 20,120,220 may be provided in the side wall 13,113,213, of the mixing vessel 10,110,210, for discharge of the centrifugal force due to the blades 18, 19,118,119 rotating at, eg., 500-3000 rpm; or be provided in the floor 14,114 to enable gravity discharge from the mixing vessel 10,110,210.

FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative snow discharge arrangement 320 where the snow passes through a manifold 322, connected to the interior of the mixing vessel 10,110,210, and a pipe 323.

A blower 324 forces pressurised air through an air pipe 325 and snow released via a rotary valve 326 is entrained in air flow 327 through a blower pipe 328 for pneumatic transfer to a remote location.

In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the snow from the mixing vessel 410 is discharged through a snow discharge outlet 420 in the floor 414. A suction/blower unit 424 draws the snow from the mixing vessel 410 and discharges it through a discharge pipe 428.

In the alternative embodiment of FIG. 8, the snow discharge outlet 520 is connected to a storage tank 530 which has a vacuum pump 531 so that a low pressure in the tank 530 draws the snow from the mixing vessel 510. The pump 531 may be reversed, or a pressure pump (not shown) forces the snow from the tank via a pipe 528.

In a further alternative embodiment (not shown), the top wall (or lid) 12,113 may be hingedly connected to, or removable from, the mixing vessel 10,110 and the latter may be tipped to discharge the snow from the vessel. This arrangement would preferably only be used for small volume, batch-type machines.

For ski slopes, the snow-making machine could be mounted on a vehicle, eg., a prime mover or trailer; to discharge the snow directly to the skiing slope.

The snow produced can be of a quality for use in the food and/or beverage industries, eg., to cool food, such as seafood (such as seafood for display or transportation); mixed in drinks as an alternative to ice; or the like.

As up to 99% of the cryogenic material, eg., the dry ice, can be recovered (and re-used), the cost of production is minimised.

The machines can be scaled to suit the particular snow requirements of a particular installation or site; can be mobile; or can be installed in an ice works.

Advantages of the above described snow making machines include:

• 1. The machines can be created in a continuous or batch form of operational system, and machines can be built of all sizes from, eg., a large capacity to 10,000 litre batch capacity.
• 2. The machines can convert water and ice or a mixture of both into snow in less than 15 seconds per cycle.
• 3. The system can use as little as 5% of the liquid Nitrogen or Cryogenic material used in the known Polar Process, which amounts to an enormous saving in production costs for this form of snow making process.
• 4. The system can use any form of ice product or pure water alone to make snow and therefore can be used in any location. The system mixes ice, water, or a mixture of both with a cryogenic material or refrigerant which can be recycled for re-use. The amount of cryogenic material, such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen, can be as little as 2 to 10% of the total mixture, and up to 99% of this material can be recovered for further use. The mixing of the materials is done in a specially designed insulated vessel that can create the powder snow product in amounts of up to one cubic metre or more in less than 10 seconds.
• 5. The system has major operational advantages that can benefit from ice making factories and consumers worldwide. This is because the system can be linked to any new or existing machine at an ice factory, which can be used to convert most ice products into high quality powder snow for the purposes of event or consumer use. In normal circumstances, an ice factory will sell its premium products for around $500 per tonne and their bulk ice products for as low as $70 per tonne. The production cost for the ice making for both products is normally around $20 per tonne or lower. For little extra operating cost, the ice works operator can convert the cheaper bulk ice products into snow on an “as required” basis and, thereby, adding value to their cheaper product and improve the product range and profitability of his business.
• 6. The snow produced by this method and machine is a high quality powder snow, that is difficult to create with any form of artificial snow making machine. The snow produced by this cryogenic process can also be created to have a longer life cycle than an other snow produced, by varying the amount of cryogenic material included in the process. This also makes the storage of the product in cold rooms for later use more favourable as the snow does not stick together due to the elimination of all water from the process.
• 7. The snow system has a major cost advantage for indoor ski centres and ski resorts and areas that have below freezing ambient temperatures. In this regard, the ability to utilise the freezing conditions of the ambient air (which can be increased by the utilisation of high speed fans or the natural wind) to pre-chill the snow-making water to any form of ice or partial ice product. In an indoor ski centre, this requires a minimal additional operating or capital cost and allows the opportunity to optimise the naturally occurring equipment or conditions to make snow for use at the ski area.
• 8. For events at any location, the ice making process can occur in a similar manner and minimal cost as for the use of the system at a ski resort location with below freezing temperature. This is done by providing a chilled air refrigeration truck or container that freezes water in the storage area into ice cubes or other particles which are used in the machine to make snow. At a ski resort with below freezing temperature, the ice can be made in the ambient atmosphere and distributed to the machine. The machine built for the process can be a batch type or continuous system and can incorporate a continuous ice feed for the production to occur.
• 9. The system is simple and operates quickly, and the snow produced can be used straight away or stored in a conventional freezer indefinitely for later use or consumer counter sales.
• 10. A recovery system can be built into the process to recycle the cryogenic material and further reduce the cost of snow production.
• 11. In low temperature applications, such as at a ski resort, the low ambient temperatures that are prevalent can replace the need for a refrigeration system to condense the gaseous carbon dioxide.

Various changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments described and illustrated without departing from the present invention. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7 the blades 418,419 may be replaced by paddles/scrapers on a shaft, where the shaft is substantially horizontal and the snow is agitated about a horizontal axis.

FIGS. 9 to 11 are illustrative of the features of the invention claimed in the present application. Referring to the attached drawing the dispensing unit 601 comprises a mixing vessel of between 2-100 litres capacity, preferably in the form of an insulated stainless steel tank that holds water. The mixing vessel can also be made from polypropylene, plastic, mild steel or other non corrosive metals.

The vessel can be made of any size. Inside the vessel is a mixing implement 602 with sheer blades 603 that extend to the radius of the tank. Each vessel will have between 1 to 10 blades that can be spaced at 5 to 20 mm apart and are limited to the bottom half of the vessel. This will allow sufficient space for the aerated packing snow that is to be formed in the top half 604 of the vessel. The mixing vessel can also use other forms of mixing blades and utensils that are commonly used in sheering or milling vessels. The blades are attached to a centre shaft 605 that is connected to a rotating motor 606.

The ingredients are added by way of the clean filtered water pipe line and a liquid refrigerant feed line 608. Optionally, ice may be added from ice hopper 607.

The mixing implement 602 is rotated at 450 to 3000 rpm or more by a suitable hydraulic, air or electric motor 610. At the same time as the motor operates, a blower fan attached to the exhaust 611 removes any expandable refrigerant gas from the cryogenic material that is used in the process.

The machine can be placed on a tipping stand 612A. At the end of the cycle the mixing vessel or the machine can be tilted by an air ram or similar device to drop the packing ice into the container 612B. Alternatively the side gate 612 of the tank is opened by a cylinder 613 controlled by a solenoid valve and the snow is thrown from the tank by centrifugal force when the door is opened at the end of the cycle. The packing ice formed is collected in a container or bag 612B which can be placed by the consumer or operator into position or automatically placed into position by the machine. In another form of the invention, the machine may have a removable base that allows the packing ice formed to drop out.

In a preferred form of the invention a recovery system can be built into the process to recycle the cryogenic material and further reduce the cost of snow production.

Referring to FIG. 10, this drawing shows the machine 601 linked to a refrigeration plant to reduce the cost of the snow making process by recycling the refrigerant such as nitrogen or carbon dioxide. The drawing deals specifically with the recovery of the CO₂ gas that is drawn from the machine by a non-lubricating compressor 614 which draws the gaseous CO₂ from the machine 601 and compresses the gas to a pressure of 1 Bar or more, preferably 2 Bar. After compressing, the gas is forced through desiccant driers 616, condensers or similar appliances to remove any water residue from the gaseous CO₂. After this process the gaseous CO₂ is drawn to an evaporator chamber 618 of a suitably sized refrigeration unit 619. The coil temperature of the evaporator should be in the range of −5 to −70 degrees Celsius, preferably −20 degrees Celsius. When the pressure of the gas and the coil temperature meet the dew point of the Gaseous CO₂ state, the CO₂ will liquefy and be collected at the bottom of a liquefier unit. The liquefier unit can be a vertical shell and tube, inclined double pipe or a shell and tube configuration.

The CO₂ liquid that is collected can be stored in a pressure vessel 620 at a pressure of 1 to 3 Mpa and can be maintained at a temperature of −20 degrees Celsius or lower. The liquid CO₂ can be returned to the machine 601 by line 621 for reuse in the snow making system. A solenoid valve 622 is provided to control the flow. Expanding chambers (not shown) placed at the entry point of the liquid allow for the liquid to be released into the snow making machine as carbon dioxide snow. A suitable quantity is added and mixed with the aqueous solution to be made into packing ice. The CO₂ snow is returned to its gaseous state and the cycle is again repeated. This process of recycling the CO₂ cuts down on green house gas emissions and substantially reduces the cost of the snow produced.

A large liquid CO₂ reservoir could be created to hold the liquid when not needed for use. The process described above may be appropriate for use with other cryogenic materials.

Referring to FIG. 11, a diagram of another preferred embodiment of the machine is shown. The control panel 631 including display has the capability to question the requirement of temperature of the packing ice and asks the consumer to insert the container 632. When the container is added, the operator is asked to close the door 633. Once the door is closed the container is automatically scanned by scanner 640 to detect valid payment indicia on the container. The scanner thereby constitutes the actuation device and the process commences whereby solenoid valve 634 for water opens for a predetermined time and solenoid valve 635 for liquid carbon dioxide opens for a predetermined time. The opening of the valves is calculated by a logic controller 636 based on the temperature of the water and packing ice temperature input by the customer/operator. After both ingredients are in the bowl the exhaust fan 637 is opened and the mixing motor 638 is started. The mixture of materials creates the packing ice product quickly. When this is done (normally after 10 seconds) the motor is stopped and the mixing vessel 638 is tilted to distribute the product to the container 632 below. The exhaust fan then stops. The mixing vessel is tilted back into the operating position and the door 633 is opened automatically and the consumer can take their packing ice product for use. The machine is ready for reuse. The mixing vessel 638 is sterilised on a regular basis by an injection of liquid refrigerant.

The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention set out in the following claims.

It will also be understood that the term “comprising” (or its grammatical variants) as used in this specification is equivalent to the term “includes” and should not be taken as excluding the presence of other elements or features.

The foregoing prior art discussion does not form part of the common general knowledge.

It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined herein extends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text or drawings. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the invention.

Claims

1. A device for dispensing ice, snow or snow-like particles comprising:

an actuation device;

an apparatus for making ice, snow or snow-like particles, wherein the apparatus is responsive to actuation of the actuation device to produce ice, snow or snow-like particles on demand from ingredients comprising liquid water;

wherein the device delivers the ice, snow or snow-like particles on demand from ingredients comprising liquid water;

wherein the device delivers the ice, snow, or snow-like particles to a containment vessel.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said actuation device is actuated upon detecting an indication of a payment by a customer.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the device is a vending machine in which its actuation results from the introduction of a suitable currency or tokens into the vending machine.

4. The device according to claim 2, wherein the actuation device is actuated by detecting indicia provided on the containment vessel.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the ingredients further include a cryogenic material.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the cryogenic material comprises dry ice.

7. The device according to claim 5, wherein the cryogenic material comprises dry ice.

8. The device according to claim 5, further comprising a mixing vessel for mechanically agitating and/or mixing the ingredients at a speed sufficient to convert the water into ice, snow or snow-like particles.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the mixing vessel tilts to cause the ingredients and/or ice, snow or snow-like particles to be discharged from the mixing vessel.

10. The device according to claim 9, wherein the mixing vessel has a closure which opens to empty the mixing vessel's contents.

11. The device according to claim 1, located in a housing wherein the containment vessel is accessible to a customer.

12. The device according to claim 5, further including a controller which controls the proportion of the ingredients base on the temperature of the water.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein a customer selects the temperature of the ice, snow or snow-like particles by activation of the controller.