EP0736279A1

EP0736279A1 - Coffee distributor

Info

Publication number: EP0736279A1
Application number: EP96830182A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Pier Cesare Porzi Camerini
Original assignee: COMARK Srl
Current assignee: GALVEZ HOLDINGS LIMITED
Priority date: 1995-04-03
Filing date: 1996-03-29
Publication date: 1996-10-09
Also published as: ITBO950146A1; ITBO950146A0; IT1282481B1

Abstract

A coffee distributor (2) provided a plurality of containers (1) for the contain- ment of coffee in beans (2), each equipped, at its own extremity, with a relative dosing means (5) defining a relative coffee dosing outlet (2) to a hopper (6) shaped and disposed in such a way to collect coffee (2) falling from any outlet and to feed it to a coffee (2) in beans grinding group (10) at least, composed at least from one chamber (11) for the coffee (2) processing and from a relative exit duct (12) of said ground coffee outside the distributor (4), and of the first selecting means (13) able to define both a selection sufficient quantities of coffee (2) from each containers (1) in order to define a ponderal total quantity of coffee (2) blending in beans, and a percentual selection of coffee (2) quantity from each containers (1) in function of a total selected quantity blend of coffee (2) in beans; both selections constitute the final product blend.

Description

The present invention concerns a coffee distributor, utilizable in particular at commercial centres or however in centres with a large foodstuffs distribution.
In the ambit of the over mentioned large distribution centres it is even more frequent the utilization of structures permitting to the customer to make use, in an indipendent way, of product in bulk (for example fruit, vegetables etc).
These solutions are realized through the arrangement of sale points, inside the centre, equipped with a complex of elements (a bench for the drawing of the product, a bench for the weighing of the same product, a bench for the drawing of bags to place the product etc.), permitting to the customer to select the kind, quality and quantity of product, to be bought always in a direct way.
Not all the products present anyway, such characteristics to be sold through a sale point, as those ones over mentioned.
One of these products is coffee, that is sold already ground or in beans to grind, in standard packages already closed, or in bulk packages realized at the moment by attendants of the commercial centre and under specific request of the customer. This last solution do not allow to compose particular blends of different kinds of coffee, or however, to have the possibility to rightly control the quantity and the wished percentages.
At the present condition however, there are not known solutions able to realize an automatic coffee distribution centre, controllable both from an attendant or directly from the customer in all its phases, see the choice of the kind of coffee, blending of different kinds of coffee, grinding of the same, packaging of the product etc., so that would allow to the attendant or to the customer to have, always under control, all the parameters concerning the choice of the product until its final packaging.
The object of the present invention is therefore to realize an automatic coffee distributor, featured in such a way to define a completely independent sale point, utilizable both from an attendant and directly from a customer, practical, safe and precise about dosing of the product, even if this is staying in beans or ground.
The technical features of the invention, in conformity with the over mentioned objects, can be clearly checked from the content of the claims here under mentioned and the advantages of the same will result much more evident in the following detailed description, made with reference to the annexed drawings, that are representing a realization shape purely exemplifying and not restrictive, where:

the figure 1 illustrates a coffee distributor subject of the present invention, in a schematic view with blocks with some removed parts in order to better point out other parts;
the figure 2 illustrates the coffee distributor as per the figure 1 in a possible practical realization of an independent sale point for big centres, in a schematic perspective view.

In conformity with the figures of the annexed drawings and with particular reference to figure 1, said coffee distributor, which is indicated in its complex with 4, essentially includes: a plurality of containers 1 of coffee 2 in beans, a hopper 6 to collect coffee 2 in exit from containers 1, a coffee 2 selection device 7 to the outlet of the distributor 4 or to a grinding group 10 of the same coffee, and of the first and second means of selection 13 and 15, which functions will be better described in the continuation of the treatment.
The whole is supported, see figure 2, from a carrying structure 3 including a base 3b supporting the central body 4a of the distributor 4, and of a plurality of vertical column 3c supporting the over mentioned containers 1.
Said containers result with a number of four, in order to maintain the over mentioned arrangement, with a purely exemplifying title, and are constituted from empty cylinders containing coffee 2 in beans, vertically disposed above the over mentioned hopper 6. At the extremities of each containers 1, are foreseen an upper closing 27 cover, from which the coffee 2 in beans is brought in, and respectively a dosing means 5, motorized, of the coffee 2, to said hopper 6. In every container 1 is preferably brought in a different quality of coffee, in order to realize different blends according to customer liking.
More precisely on every dosing means 5 are working control means 14 that are, themselves slaved, to the over mentioned first selection means 13, of a quantity or of a coffee 2 in beans percentage, coming out from each of the over mentioned containers 1.
In particular, in order to give more detailed indications able to let explain, in a correct way, the principle of selection of the several coffee 2 quantities, different between eachothers, to make a final blending, we want to precise the following.
The selection of the coffee 2 quantity coming from the container, made through the first means 13, can happen in the following operative and logical ways: a selection able to recall from each container I a sufficient coffee 2 quantity, of a certain quality, in order to obtain a blend which total weight result to be the sum of weights everytime predeterminated from such selection; a selection based, on the contrary, of a predeterminated choice of the total weight of the blend where, the various coffee 2 different percentages, composing the same final blend, are precised and choosed.
As visible at figure 1, every dosing means 5 of every container 1 includes a screw 16 equipped, at one of its extremities, with means 17 that motorize said screw 16 and that are connected to control means 14, which can be materialized from a simple activator of the motorizing means, disposed inside the distributor 4.
Every screw 16 is developping itself perpendicularly, in respect to the development of container 1, and is rotationally housed inside an empty cable 18, which cylinder 18 results open at one extremity, opposite to that one where are foreseen the motorizing means 17, in order to obtain the coffee 2 falling inside the hopper 6.
Every empty cylinder 18 is furthermore supported from the lower extremity of the container 1, which is shaped as a hopper inferiorly opened and flow into radially inside the empty cylinder 18 in order to permit the supply of coffee 2 inside the said empty cylinder 18.
In the now illustrated case, the first selection means 13 are part of a microprocessor unit 25 inserted in the distributor 4 and they are registrable from outside the distributor through relative control handles 26. The variation of the handles 26 position allows the user, as previously specified, to change the quantities or the percentages of coffee coming out from the various containers 1, and eventually decide the total quantity of coffee 2 blend to draw through a relative handle 40: or the first means 13 calculate, as a theoretics line, how much coffee 2 has to come out from each dosing means 5, according to the position where the handles 26 and 40 are fitted, and send a relative signal to every means 14, controlling the correspondent motorizations 17.
These last ones activate the relative screw 16 for a time corresponding to the signal sent from the first selection means 13 in order to allow to said screw, to transport to the outlet of the enpty cylinder 18 a coffee 2 quantity equal to the imparted order to the first selection means 13, in such a way to reach also the coffee 2 total volume decided from the user.
The over mentioned coffee 2 collecting hopper 6 is positioned under all the extremities of the over mentioned dosing means 5 of the coffee in order to be able to receive the different blend percentages coming from each of them.
In correspondance with the lower hopper 6 outlet, it is foreseen said selection 7 device, that practically defines two distinct ducts 8 and 9 respectively one for the exit of coffee 2 in beans from the distributor 4, and the other for the coffee 2 supply to said grinding 10 group.
More in details, the selection 7 device is constituted from a dosed coffee 2 housing chamber 19, which defines a flanked opening couples 20 and 21 presenting, at least, a closing element 22 of the port defined from the same openings debouching in the over mentioned supplying ducts 8 and 9.
The closing element 22 is controlled from the relative motion means 24, that can be constituted from an electrovalve EV, in order to allow a relative opening and closing motions of the passage ports 20 and 21, alternatively one after the other.
In practice this closing element 22 can be materialized from a single horizontal wall 23 disposed inside the over mentioned chamber 19, which is hinged, centrally in A to obtain a "scales" configuration of the same, inside the same chamber 19 and can rotate in two senses, indicated with the arrows F and F1 in figure 1, to obtain the direct inlet from the hopper 6 to one of the two ducts 8 and 9: practically the means 24 act on the wall 23 in order to bring it in two inclined configurations (visible with a dashed line in figure 1) to define a chute for blended coffee chute present in the hopper 6 to one or to the other of the ducts 8 and 9.
On the control means 24 act the said second selection means 15 working on the same means to obtain the opening of the wall 23 over one or the other of the ducts 8 and 9.
Also the second selection means 15 are part of the over mentioned unit with microprocessor 25 and are actuable from outside the distributor 4 through a relative handle 28 (see always figure 1) that allows the user to choose between the possibility to have the coffee 2 mixed directly in beans or to grind it directly inside the grinding group 10. Grinding group 10 of coffee in beans, of a well-known type, is constituted from a coffee 2 processing chamber f1, equipped with a coffee trituration means 29 and with a relative outlet duct 12 of the ground coffee outside the distributor 4, through the opening of a relative door 30.
The microprocessor unit 25 can also control the coffee 2 grinding degree according to predeterminable parameters, as the kind of blend to grind, humidity and temperature degree present at that moment, ets to obtain an exact product grinding.
As visible in the figures 1 and 2, in correspondance of the duct 8 and of the duct 12 of the coffee 2 in beans exit and respectively ground can be foreseen a relative support 31 and 32 for some bags 33 to collect coffee 2 coming out from the same ducts, which bags 33 are both ready or taken from the user. In practice the distributor 4 featured by this way, works as follows. The user can select the coffee total quantity that he wants to draw through the handle 40, or the separated quantities, with percentage, of coffee blends present in the containers 1 to obtain the total through the regulation of the correspondent handles 26 on a consolle 34 of the distributor 4: in substance the user can dicide to draw a kilogram of coffee in which is contained the 25% of the first quality of coffee, the 50% of a second coffee quality and a further 25% of a third coffee quality; in alternative you can already decide to have half kilogram of one quality, 250 grams of a second quality and 250 grams of a third quality without previously decide the final weight. Furthermore the user can decide to have the coffee 2 in beans or already ground through the positioning of the handle 28 (for example setting it on position C for beans, or position M for ground).
At this point the user activates the distributor 4, through a push-button 35 placed even on the consolle 34, that activates the unit with microprocessor 25 and therefore, in sequence, there are at first the actvation of the dosers 5 allowing the coffee 2 in beans falling inside the hopper 6 accordingly the selection decided from the user, and subsequently the opening of the wall 23 in correspondance of the duct 8, in the case of coffee 2 in beans choice, or the opening to the duct 9 in the case it has been choosed to grind the blend of the selectioned coffee.
In the first case the user draws coffee directly at the outlet of the duct 8, whilst in the second case, he will wait for the exit of ground coffee 2 in correspondance of the duct 12.
Such distributor reaches, therefore, the prefixed subject through a structuration of the same distributor of a simple reading for the user thanks to the simple driving of push-buttons on a consolle, in the case the user should be the customer of a large distribution centre, but at the same time results precise and safe in coffee blending, thanks to the dosers controlled by the selection means, and with the possibility to obtain the same coffee both in beans or ground according to optimal parameters decided from the microprocessor.

Claims

Coffee distributor, characterized in that comprises, supported from a relative loading structure (3):
- a plurality of containers (1) for the containment of coffee in beans (2), each container being equipped, at one of its extremities, with a relative dosing means (5) defining a relative coffee dosing (2) outlet to

- a hopper (6) shaped and disposed in order to collect coffee (2) falling from any of said coffee dosing outlets and to supply the coffee at least to

- a grinding group (10) of said coffee (2) in beans, comprising at least a grinding chamber (11) of said coffee (2), and a relative outlet duct (12) of the same ground coffee, outside said distributor (4);

- first selection means (13) able to define a selection of discrete quantities of coffee (2) from each of said containers (1) to realize a consequent ponderal quantity of coffee (2) blending in beans, or able to define a percentual selection of coffee (2) quantities from each of said containers according to a defined total selected quantity of coffee (2) in beans; said first selection means (13) being connected and acting on relative control means (14) of each said dosing means (5).
Coffee distributor according to the claim 1, characterized in that between said hopper (6) and said grinding group (10), is provided a selection device (7), placed in correspondance of the exit of said hopper (6) and able to define two different ducts (8, 9) respectively for the outlet from said distributor (4) of coffee (2) in beans, and of supplying of said coffee (2) to said grinding group (10); on said selection device (7) acting second selection means (15), in order to allow, through control, the exit of said coffee (2) in beans or the inlet of said coffee in said grinding group (10).
Coffee distributor according to claim 1, where in each container (1) is provided a different quality of said coffee (2) in beans, characterized in that said first selection means (13) act on said control means (14) of each dosing means (5), according to the discrete quantity or to the percentage of said coffee (2) of different required quality from the kind of product final blend selected obtainable or preset.
Coffee distributor according to the claim 1, characterized in that each dosing means (5) of each container (1) includes a screw (16) equipped, at one of its extremities, with means (17) motorizing the same and connected to said control means (14); said screw (16) is developping perpendicularly to the development of said container (1) rotatively housed inside an empty cylinder (18) and open at an extremity, opposite to that one where are foreseen said motorizing means(17), placed over said hopper (6) in order to allow the exit of said coffee (2) to the same hopper; said empty cylinder (18) being supported from the lower part of said container (1), shaped as hopper, and radially debouching inside said empty cylinder (18), in order to allow the supply of said coffee (2) inside said empty cylinder (18).
Coffee distributor according the claim 2, characterized in that said selection device (7) comprises a housing chamber (19) of said dosed coffee (2), placed in correspondance of the lower extremity of said hopper (6), and equipped with a couple of flanked openings (20, 21) presenting at least a closing (22) element for said flanked openings (20, 21) which flow into said supplying ducts (8, 9); said closing (22) element being controlled by relative movement means (24) in order to allow relative alternative opening and closing movement of said flanked openings (20, 21).
Coffee distributor according to the claim 1, characterized in that said first selection means (13) are part of a microprocessor unit (25) provided in said distributor (4) and controllable by means (26) of relative control handles.
Coffee distributor according to the claim 2, characterized in that said second selection means (15) are part of a microprocessor unit (25) placed inside said distributor (4) and actuable from outside of the distributor in order to obtain the passage of said coffee (2) in beans outside of said distributor (4) or respectively inside of said grinding group (10).