CH634214A5 - Automatic machine for the rapid preparation of hot drinks, in particular expresso coffee - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to an automatic machine for the rapid preparation of hot drinks, in particular express coffee.

Current machines have many drawbacks. Thus, the state of the art describes infuser groups whose design is complex, the number of organs high; there follows a major drawback due to the complicated structure: the high cost of manufacture and maintenance.

The invention aims to avoid all these drawbacks. In particular, the number of moving members is very low and said members are arranged so that they can be actuated from a source of elementary movements.

Thus, an automatic machine is provided for the rapid preparation of hot drinks, in particular express coffee, of the kind in which the brewing group, with a substantially vertical median longitudinal axis, comprises a fixed sole with a horizontal plane; a screen holder provided with an upper screen, integral with said sole and traversed by a liquid flow conduit; a vertical cylindrical sleeve coaxial with said screen holder and sliding in reciprocating motion in a fixed sleeve guide for respectively coming into leaktight contact with said screen holder or deviating therefrom, said sleeve thus acting as a movable chamber, of which said screen forms the bottom, and constituting the side wall of an infusion chamber; a piston sliding alternately in said cylindrical sleeve and provided with a peripheral seal on its side wall and with a lower screen forming a spray nozzle for distributing hot water under pressure in its active active face communicating with a coaxial conduit liquid flow; a command for respective separate but coordinated movements of said sleeve and said piston; a device for transferring a dose of powder from a dispenser to said infusion chamber, controlled by the control, and a lateral ejection member for marc cake, horizontally movable in reciprocating motion sliding on said sole while penetrating in the space between the fixed upper screen, on the one hand, and said sleeve and piston, on the other hand.

According to the invention, this machine is defined in the characteristic part of claim 1.

The attached figures given by way of indicative and non-limiting example will easily allow the invention to be understood.

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the machine passing through the axis I-I shown in FIG. 2.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the brewing unit and of the coffee grinder.

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Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the coffee grinder, the metering device and the transfer sleeve along the axis II-II of FIG. 2.

Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 represent the different important phases of the machine cycle.

The automatic machine according to the invention mainly consists of an infuser group fixed on a sole 1, on which is also fixed a coffee grinder 2 which, according to a known technique, feeds coffee grounds into a transfer receptacle 3 in sleeve form provided on one of its sides with a protrusion 4. This transfer receptacle 3 is fixed to the end of an arm 5 oscillating around an axis 6 fixed perpendicular to the sole 1. The receptacle of transfer 3 of the coffee grind is driven by a pendulum movement on a horizontal plane comprising an extreme position on the side of the mill corresponding to the filling in the grind and its dosage, at the other end an intermediate position during which the excroissance 4 drives out and ejects the marc from the previous dose, then the movement continues and the transfer receptacle is inserted into the brewing group itself to pour its charge into ground coffee.

The coffee brewing group is constituted by a fixed part which is a guide cylinder 7 comprising at least one window 0. In the figures, it comprises two windows, a window 0j for the passage of the transfer receptacle 3 and a window 02 for the ejection of the cake

8 coffee grounds by the protrusion 4.

On the upper part of the cylinder guide 7 is fixed a screen holder

9 removable, pierced with a conduit 10 which can either admit hot water or evacuate the brewed coffee. Said screen holder 9 is provided with a screen 11 which can serve either as a hand shower for the diffusion of hot water, or as a filter for brewed coffee. A seal 12 provides sealing.

Inside the guide 7 is disposed a movable sleeve 13 which acts as a movable chamber for a piston 14. Said sleeve 13 and the piston 14 are concentric and each driven by an independent vertical reciprocating movement. Said sleeve 14 opens and closes, in a vertical movement, the side window 0t disposed on said guide cylinder 7. At said side window 0j, the mobile transfer receptacle 3 can slide in a horizontal plane to occupy the place of the movable chamber of the piston 14. Said transfer receptacle 3, comprising the protrusion 4, evacuates the cake 8 of coffee grounds. Said receptacle 3, animated with a horizontal movement, is a transfer sleeve whose dimensions cannot be greater than those of the movable chamber of the piston 14 which it will momentarily occupy in order to pour the ground coffee therein while ejecting the wafer 8 from previous marc. The guide 7 may include another window, or two, through which the preceding marc cake 8 will be ejected by the protrusion 4, when the transfer sleeve 3 will occupy the mobile chamber of the piston 14, as shown in FIG. . 6.

Said sleeve 13 and said piston 16 are driven in an alternating vertical movement, the sequences of which are shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7. These figures and the operating cycle will be explained later.

The head of the piston 14 comprises, on a cylindrical disc 15, a removable screen holder 16 pierced with a conduit 17. The screen holder 16 carries a screen 18. A seal 19 provides sealing. Said conduit 17 can pass in the axis of the piston 14 to exit through a side window 03, still open, disposed on said vertically movable sleeve 13 and on the cylindrical guide 7.

The upper part of the piston head 14 must play a role strictly opposite to that of the screen 11 fitted to the screen holder 9.

The sleeve 13 acting as a movable chamber is controlled by an eccentric rod 20. The dimensions of said sleeve 13 are such that they allow it, in the high position, to completely close the volume which should remain between the screens 18 and 11 (see fig. 4 and 7), so as to constitute a sealed chamber by means of the two seals 12 and 19.

The piston 14 is controlled by a rod 21.

The movement of the two rods 20 and 21 is controlled by two cams of different profile, but integral with the same motor axis 22. In FIG. 1, only the cam Ci is visible.

A third cam controls, by an appropriate deflection set R, the movement of the oscillating arm 5, which, by its function, is not subject to any precision constraint.

Of course, the set of cams can be obtained by any other hydraulic or electromechanical system.

A hot water generator associated with a pump and a metering device (of known technique and not shown), supplies the infuser group.

In fig. 3, it is understood that the mill 2 sends the ground coffee into the transfer sleeve 3. A piston 23 cups the ground coffee to obtain a pancake.

In fig. 2, we can see all the movements of the different organs. This fig. 2 shows, in plan view, the infuser group when the screen holder 9 is removed.

The screen holder 9 removed makes it possible to see the guide cylinder 7, the sleeve 13 acting as a movable chamber driven in a vertical movement and the piston 14.

The oscillating arm 5 animated by a pendulum movement as indicated according to the arrow Fj can come either to fill with powder at the level of the mill, or to discharge its grinding slab at the level of the chamber of the piston 14. It can therefore be seen that the sleeve 3 for dosing the coffee powder serves directly as a device for transferring the dose between the mill 2 and the brewing group, said sleeve 3 being absolutely not requested during the infusion in which it does not participate.

According to this figure, it can also be seen that there is a single pendulum movement of the swinging arm and a sliding movement of two concentric parts, which greatly simplifies the entire structure of the infuser group.

Fig. 4 represents the infuser group at the starting point.

The transfer sleeve 3 is filled with ground coffee by the mill 2 until the metering device stops the operation of said mill 2.

The sleeve 13 acting as a movable chamber animated with a vertical movement is in its high position, and it encloses the screen 11 of the screen holder 9. The head of the piston 14, by its cylindrical disc 15, is also in the high position and in this position, there remains between the screen 11 and the screen 18, a gap containing the coffee grounds of the previous cycle.

In fig. 5, the sleeve 13 and the head of the piston 14 descend again until their upper edge is flush with the horizontal plane 1 or sole. It is on this horizontal plane or sole 1 that the transfer sleeve 3 moves along arrow F2. This said transfer sleeve is animated by the oscillating arm 5. The side window 0j is then released and allows the transfer sleeve 3 to come to be positioned concentrically above the screen 18. At the same time, the protuberance 4 carried by the transfer sleeve ejects the cake 8 of marc from the previous cycle as shown in fig. 6.

Once the transfer sleeve 3 is just above the screen 18 as shown in FIG. 6, the piston 14 descends by a value such that it constitutes a cavity into which the new ground coffee contained in the transfer sleeve 3 falls.

Then, as shown in fig. 7, the transfer sleeve 3 returns to its initial position in the direction indicated by the arrow F3 where it will again be loaded with grinding by the mill 2.

During this time, the sleeve acting as a movable chamber 13 rises to its initial position as indicated in FIG. 4. It is the same for the piston head which thus ensures the compaction of the grind into a suitable volume for infusion.

According to the arrows indicated in dotted lines, hot pressurized water is admitted through line 17 and flows as a coffee infusion through line 10.

Of course, the direction of circulation of hot water under pressure can be reversed.

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It should be noted that, in the automatic coffee machine that is the subject of the present invention, the metering and transfer sleeve for the coffee powder serves directly as a dose transfer member between the grinder 2 and the brewing group, and this without contributing to the functions of said group.

The mobile chamber for receiving the coffee powder and the sealed closure of the brewing chamber are produced by concentric sliding of only two mobile elements 13 and 14.

Finally, all the movable members 13, 14, 3 and 5 are actuated directly by a single mechanism, by means of connecting pieces.

elementary without stroke correction on the same side of the plane of translation of the ground coffee and used grounds.

The sleeve 13 acting as a movable chamber constitutes the walls of the infusion chamber, while the top is constituted by the upper end of the fixed guide cylinder 7 which receives a removable screen holder 9, pierced with a conduit 10, a screen 11 and a seal and that the floor of said brewing chamber is constituted by the head of the piston 14 which comprises, on a cylindrical disc 15, a removable screen holder 16, pierced with a conduit 17, a screen 18 and a seal 9.

2 sheets of drawings

Claims (6)

634214 1. Automatic machine for the rapid preparation of hot drinks, in particular express coffee, of which the brewing group, with substantially vertical median longitudinal axis comprises a fixed sole (I) horizontal plane; a screen holder (9) provided with an upper screen (II), integral with said sole (1) and traversed by a liquid flow conduit 10; a vertical cylindrical sleeve (13) coaxial with said screen holder (9) and sliding in reciprocating motion in a fixed sleeve guide (7) for respectively coming into leaktight contact with said screen holder (9) or deviating therefrom, said sleeve thus acting as a movable chamber, of which said screen (11) forms the bottom, and constituting the side wall of an infusion chamber; a piston (14) sliding alternately in said cylindrical sleeve (13) and provided with a peripheral seal (19) on its side wall and a lower screen (18) forming a hand shower for distributing hot water under pressure in its active end face communicating with a coaxial liquid flow conduit; a command for respective separate but coordinated movements of said sleeve and said piston; a device for transferring a dose of powder from a dispenser to said infusion chamber, subject to control, and a side ejection member (4) of marc grounds, horizontally movable in reciprocating motion sliding on said sole (1) entering the space between the fixed upper screen (11), on the one hand, and said sleeve (13) and piston (14), on the other hand, characterized in that the transfer device comprises a vertical cylindrical receptacle (3) open at its two opposite ends and retractable between a powder receiving position aligned with the dispenser and a powder discharging position located between the two upper (11) and lower (18) screens respectively said sleeve (13), coaxial with said piston (14); said receptacle (3) constituting, by its external side wall, said ejector member and whose internal diameter is at most equal to that of said sleeve (13); in that said sleeve guide is a vertical guide cylinder (7) fixed by an intermediate part to said sole (1) and closed at its upper end by the fixed or upper screen holder (9) provided with a peripheral seal sealing (12); said guide cylinder (7) having its side wall traversed by at least two opposite windows (0 ,, 02) located on the path of said receptacle (3) in a position and with an opening size allowing the passage of said receptacle ( 3); in that said sleeve (13) is movable between a low position where its upper edge is flush with said horizontal sole plane (1) by revealing said windows (0l5 02) and a high position where it closes said windows and fits onto said upper screen holder (9) by enclosing said upper screen (11) and said peripheral seal (12) thereof, and in that said piston has its active upper face formed by the lower screen (18) carried by a disc (15) forming a head (16) of said piston, which is provided with said peripheral seal (19), said piston being movable, in said sleeve (13), between a low position where said lower screen (18) is below the horizontal sole plane, an intermediate position where said lower screen (18) is flush with said horizontal plane and an upper position where said lower screen (18) forms the lower bottom of the brewing chamber. 2. Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the aforementioned receptacle (3) is fixed to the end of an arm (5) oscillating around an axis (6) fixed perpendicular to the aforementioned sole (1) of so as to impart to said receptacle the above-mentioned retractable movement. 2 3. Machine according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the powder distributor (2) is capable of feeding directly, from below, the aforementioned transfer receptacle (3) in powder in its filling position , and in that an auxiliary piston (23) is provided for packing the powder into a cake in said transfer receptacle. 4. Machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the front external side wall of the aforementioned transfer receptacle (3), in the direction of entry into the aforementioned infuser group, comprises a projection (4) for expelling and eject the above-mentioned marc (8). 5. Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the head (16) of the aforementioned piston (14) constitutes a lower screen holder (16), pierced with a liquid flow conduit communicating with a conduit (17) passing through the disc (15) of said piston (14) and extending axially in the rod (21) of said piston to open into a lateral opening (03) passing through the respective walls of the movable sleeve (13) and of the guide cylinder (7 ) above. 6. Machine according to claim 1, the aforementioned control comprising two individual cams integral with a common drive shaft located on the same side of the horizontal plane of the aforementioned sole, characterized in that the aforementioned oscillating arm (5) is actuated by a third individual cam secured to said common drive shaft (22), the three cams respectively actuating an eccentric rod (20) secured to the aforementioned movable sleeve (13), the rod (21) of the aforementioned piston (14) and a deflection transmission ( R) connected to said oscillating arm (5), all of this control being located below the aforementioned sole (1) or the horizontal plane of translation of the aforementioned receptacle (3).