JP2000051101A - Coffee maker - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a convenient coffee maker which can efficiently make such cups of coffee as requested by a user from raw coffee beans. SOLUTION: This coffee maker has a parcher 7 to parch raw coffee beans, a storage part 23 to store the parched coffee beans tentatively, a grinding part 25 to grind the coffee beans, a hot water supply part 30 to heat and supply water from a water tank, and a brewing part 5 to brew coffee. Whenever a request for brewing is made by a user, the coffee beans tentatively stored in the storage part 23 are sent to the grinding part 25, and the volume of coffee powder to be ground from the coffee beans in the grinding part 25 is determined based on the operating period of the grinding part. The coffee maker is controlled in plural ways with the operation period determined according to the volume of coffee powder. The coffee maker has also a selector switch to change such plural ways of control, and an exclusive switch to operate the grinding part only while the switch is being pressed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a coffee maker which can perform roasting of green coffee beans to extraction of coffee.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various types of coffee makers of this type have conventionally been known. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-224
No. 719 discloses a temporary storage tank for cooling roasted coffee beans, and further describes a series of operations from roasting to cooling of green coffee beans and a series of operations from pulverization to extraction and filtration. A coffee maker having a configuration that can be operated separately is disclosed, and roasting of green coffee beans, grinding of roasted coffee beans, and extraction of coffee are performed at a predetermined timing by such a configuration. Has become.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned coffee maker, the process from roasting to extraction of coffee is performed at a predetermined timing, or the roasted coffee beans are stored in a temporary storage tank. This allows for simultaneous extraction during roasting. However, since the whole coffee beans stored in one roasting are crushed and extracted, even though the approximate number of cups of coffee can be selected, the user cannot select the amount of coffee powder according to the user's preference and is easy to use. Was bad.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an easy-to-use coffee maker that can efficiently produce the required number of cups of coffee from green beans.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a roaster for roasting green coffee beans, a storage section for temporarily storing the roasted coffee beans, and a method for storing coffee beans. A cooling unit for cooling, a grinding unit for grinding coffee beans,
A hot water supply unit that heats and supplies water from a water tank, and an extraction unit that extracts coffee from hot water supplied from the hot water supply unit and ground coffee powder are provided, and there is a coffee extraction request from a user. A coffee maker which supplies coffee beans temporarily stored in the storage unit to the crushing unit and determines the amount of coffee powder crushed in the crushing unit by the operation time of the crushing unit, The present invention relates to a coffee maker, wherein a changeover switch for setting a plurality of operation times corresponding to the above, and a switch for switching the operation time, and a dedicated switch for operating the crushing unit only while the switch is pressed are provided.

[0006]

According to this configuration, coffee beans roasted in the roasting section are temporarily stored in a storage section, and each time a user requests coffee extraction, the roasted coffee beans are stored in the storage section. Since coffee beans are supplied to the crushing unit and crushed and then extracted, it is possible to supply the required number of cups of coffee in a short time and set multiple operation times corresponding to the amount of coffee powder crushed in the crushing unit. Since a changeover switch for switching this and a dedicated switch for operating the crushing unit only while the switch is pressed are provided, the user can freely select the number of cups of coffee by operating any of the switches. The amount of coffee powder can also be adjusted according to the user's preference.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view of a coffee maker according to the present embodiment, in which a lid 2 for putting green coffee beans is provided on an upper part of an outer case 1 and includes an operation panel 3, a water tank 4, an extraction unit 5, and a detachable decanter 6. Have been.

Next, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a coffee maker of the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing details of the roaster 7. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the inside of the roaster 7 viewed in the direction of arrow V in FIG. A roasting machine 7 in the shape of a pot for roasting green coffee beans is provided on the upper part of the outer case 1, and a stirring body 10 in which a plurality of spouts 9 extend around a rotating shaft 8 is provided inside.
And a second electric heater 11 having a ring shape. In addition, the bottom wall of the roaster 7 is provided with a first electric heater 12.
The first temperature sensor 14 is embedded in an appropriate position of the plate 13.

The amounts of heat generated by the first electric heater 12 and the second electric heater 11 can be arbitrarily set, and are 430 W and 160 W, respectively. As described above, if the amount of heat generated by the second electric heater 11 is suppressed, the charring of beans can be effectively prevented by itself, which is convenient.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a second temperature sensor protruding from the inner wall of the roaster 7, and the lid 2 is provided with a deodorizing catalyst 17 provided above and adjacent to the exhaust port 16. Reference numeral 20 denotes a drop port that opens when the solenoid 18 sucks the opening / closing member 19.
Reference numeral 21 denotes a motor for rotating and driving the stirring body 10,
Is engaged and connected here via a spring 22, thereby reducing heat conduction from the agitator 10 to the motor 21.

Reference numeral 23 denotes a storage unit disposed immediately below the drop port 20. The storage unit 23 has a cooling unit 24 provided with a fan at the bottom.
A mortar-type pulverizing unit 25 communicates with the lower part of the storage unit 23, and the extracting unit 5 below the pulverizing unit 25 includes a dripper 26 and a filter 27.

The decanter 6 is detachably mounted on a heat retaining base 29 provided with a heat retaining heater 28. Reference numeral 30 denotes a hot water supply unit, which includes a hot water supply pipe 31, a water tank 4, and the like in addition to the above-described heat retention heater 28. The hot water supply pipe 31 is routed so that a part of the hot water supply pipe 31 is adjacent to the warming heater 28, and a tap hole 32 at the tip is open toward the extraction unit 5. Reference numeral 34 denotes a chaff receiver for collecting chaff falling from a slit 33 formed in the opening / closing member 19.

As shown in FIG. 5, an operation panel 3 arranged on the side of the outer case 1 selects a power switch 35, a roasting switch 36 for starting roasting of green coffee beans, and a roasting state of coffee beans. Roasting switch 37, and a drip switch 38 for starting grinding and extraction of coffee beans,
The number of cups switch as a changeover switch 39 for switching the operation time of the crushing unit 25 corresponding to the amount of coffee powder, and a dedicated switch 4 for operating the crushing unit 25 only while the switch is pressed.
A powder addition switch which is 0 is provided, and an indicator lamp is individually provided above these switches. In this embodiment, four, six, eight and one cups are selected by the changeover switch 39.
It is configured so that it can be switched to zero.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. First, the lid 2 is lifted and a predetermined amount (for example, 60 g) of green coffee beans is put into the roaster 7. Then, the power switch 35 of the operation panel 3 is turned on. By turning on the power switch 35, one of roasting and crushing / extraction can be operated.

Next, when the roasting switch 36 is depressed in order to start roasting, the second electric heater 11 and the motor 21 are energized and the deodorizing catalyst 17 heated by the second electric heater 11 is turned on. Gradually raise the temperature. Then, after the deodorizing catalyst 17 reaches a predetermined temperature, the first electric heater 12
Is energized. When the power supply to the first electric heater 12 is started, the temperature of the bottom of the roaster 7 gradually rises, and the green coffee beans are heated while being stirred by the stirring body 10. Then, the first electric heater 12 quickly raises the temperature of the first temperature sensor 14 provided on the plate 13.

When the temperature in the roasting machine 7 rises, the green coffee beans contain about 12 to 13% of water, so that steam is first generated from the heated green coffee beans. This time, odorous smoke is generated with the steam. At this time, since the deodorizing catalyst 17 has already been activated by receiving the radiant heat of the second electric heater 11, the steam and odor components flowing out from the exhaust port 16 are oxidized and decomposed by the deodorizing catalyst 17. Deodorized.

When the first temperature sensor 14 detects a predetermined temperature suitable for roasting, the amount of electricity supplied to the first electric heater 12 is controlled thereafter to maintain the predetermined temperature. On the other hand, when the second temperature sensor 15 detects a predetermined temperature, the amount of current supplied to the second electric heater 11 is similarly controlled. As for the control of the amount of energization, an appropriate method such as conventionally known on / off control and phase control can be adopted.

By controlling the amount of power supplied to the first electric heater 12 and the second electric heater 11, the entire roaster 7 is maintained at an ideal roasting temperature. In this case, the green coffee beans receive excessive radiant heat from a specific direction,
Unlike conventional equipment where the temperature varies, it is evenly heated to be wrapped. Therefore, green coffee beans have a small temperature difference between the inside and the surface, and heat penetrates into the inside from the center crack, so that the inside expands and shatters, and is roasted uniformly. Furthermore, since the heat generated by the heater is efficiently used for roasting, the roasting time can be shortened.

In the course of roasting, chaff is peeled from coffee beans. The chaff is spoiled when the coffee described below is extracted without removing the chaff, so that the chaff is naturally dropped from the slit 33 during roasting, and the chaff is received by the operation of the solenoid 18 through the inclined surface of the opening / closing member 19. 34.

When the roasting is completed when the water content of the coffee beans becomes about 2 to 3%, the energization of the first electric heater 12 and the second electric heater 11 is stopped, and at the same time, the solenoid 18 is energized. When the solenoid 18 is energized, the opening / closing member 19 rotates as shown in FIG. Therefore, the coffee beans fall into the storage unit 23 through the drop port 20 by the stirring of the stirring body 10 (in the direction of the arrow). When the discharge of the coffee beans to the storage unit 23 is completed,
The energization of the motor 21 and the solenoid 18 is stopped, while the fan of the cooling unit 24 operates for a predetermined time. Cooling unit 2
4 forcibly cools the hot coffee beans, thereby preventing the progress of carbonization and deterioration of the coffee aroma.

The coffee beans temporarily stored in the storage unit 23 are crushed by the crushing unit 2 if a user requests coffee extraction.
5, and is ground. Here, the number of cups of coffee to be extracted can be selected by a changeover switch 39 disposed on the operation panel 3 as shown in FIG. For example, for 10 persons, the changeover switch 39 is pressed to
After turning on the 0 indicator lamp, the drip switch 38
When is pressed, the crushing unit 25 operates to supply the amount of coffee powder for 10 cups to the extraction unit 5. In this embodiment,
The crushing unit 25 is set to operate for 50 seconds for 10 persons. When the amount of coffee powder is further added, the dedicated switch 40 is pressed, and while the button is pressed, the crushing unit 25 is operated to perform crushing, and the coffee powder is supplied to the extraction unit 5.

When the coffee powder accumulates in the extraction section 5, power is supplied to the warming heater 28. The heat retention heater 28 heats the heat retention base 29 to heat the decanter 6, while heating the water in the adjacent hot water supply pipe 31. The water in the hot water supply pipe 31 is heated and eventually generates bubbles and steam to increase the volume, and is discharged from the hot water outlet 32 as hot water. The extraction unit 5 extracts coffee by discharging the hot water, and the extracted coffee is dropped onto the decanter 6. When the water in the water tank 4 runs out, the temperature of the heat retaining base 29 rises. If the temperature is detected by an appropriate sensor, the completion of the extraction operation can be known. After the completion of the extraction operation is detected, the temperature of the coffee in the decanter 6 is controlled by the temperature maintaining heater 28 to the optimum temperature.

[0023]

As described above, in the coffee maker of the present invention, the coffee beans roasted in the roasting section are temporarily stored in the storage section, and each time a user requests coffee extraction. In addition, since coffee beans are supplied from the storage unit to the crushing unit and crushed and extracted, coffee can be supplied in a short time, and a plurality of operation times corresponding to the amount of coffee powder crushed in the crushing unit are set, and And a dedicated switch that activates the crushing unit only while it is pressed, so that the user can freely select the number of cups of coffee by operating any of the switches,
Further, since the amount of coffee powder can be adjusted according to the user's preference, the usability of the user is improved and the coffee maker is excellent in practicality.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view illustrating a coffee maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating a coffee maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating details of a roaster according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a configuration diagram of the inside of the roasting machine viewed from the direction of arrow V in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an operation panel according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram illustrating an operation of the opening / closing member according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 7 Roasting machine 23 Storage unit 25 Crushing unit 30 Hot water supply unit 5 Extraction unit 39 Changeover switch 40 Dedicated switch

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A roaster for roasting green coffee beans, a storage unit for temporarily storing the roasted coffee beans, a cooling unit for cooling the coffee beans, a crushing unit for crushing the coffee beans, A hot water supply unit that heats and supplies water from a water tank, and an extraction unit that extracts coffee from hot water supplied from the hot water supply unit and ground coffee powder are provided, and there is a coffee extraction request from a user. In each case, a coffee maker that supplies the coffee beans temporarily stored in the storage unit to the crushing unit and determines the amount of coffee powder crushed by the crushing unit based on the operation time of the crushing unit. A coffee maker is provided with a changeover switch for setting a plurality of operation times corresponding to the above, and a switch for switching the operation time, and a dedicated switch for operating the crushing unit only while the switch is pressed.