JPH0332616A - Coffee extractor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To keep a temperature of dripping water uniform and to thoroughly extract a coffee element by detecting a temperature of water contained in a water container, and controlling a heating body for heating the dripping water in accordance with its information. CONSTITUTION:On the bottom part of a water container 2, a water temperature detecting means 13 such as a thermistor and a thermometer, etc., is provided, and on a water feeding passage 3, a suitable heating body 14 for heating water is provided, and this heating body 14 adjusts an input value and an energizing cycle, etc., by a heating body control means 15. Information from the water temperature detecting means 13 is processed by a water temperature detecting circuit 16, sent to the heating body control means 15 and controls the heating body 14. When cold water is put into the water container 2, the information from the water temperature detecting means 13 works so as to up the input value of the heating body 14 or to extend the electric conduction cycle, and when a water temperature is high, said information works on its reverse direction. Accordingly, irrespective of a water temperature of water contained in the water container 2, a water temperature of dripping water from a discharge port 5 is uniformly heated until a temperature at which wettability to coffee powder 6 becomes satisfactory enough, therefore, a coffee element can be extracted thoroughly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a cold brew coffee extractor for extracting coffee using cold water or the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventionally, this type of cold brew coffee extractor has generally been shown, for example, in FIG. 4, and its configuration is as follows.

That is, water is poured into the water container 21, and the regulating valve 22 is adjusted to drip the water little by little into the coffee powder 24 housed in the filtration chamber 23. The dropped water passes through the coffee grounds 24 over a long period of time, extracts the coffee extract, and then becomes coffee liquid and drops into the coffee container 25.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, this configuration has the following problems.

In other words, the important points in this kind of coffee brewer are:
The question is whether the dripped water can penetrate sufficiently evenly into the coffee grounds, that is, whether the dripping water and the coffee grounds have good wettability.

Experiments have revealed that the wettability of coffee powder with water is greatly influenced by (1) the temperature of the dripping water, (2) the temperature of the coffee powder, and (2) the flow rate (velocity) of the dripping water.

For example, as the temperature of dripping water decreases, the surface tension of the water increases, and the water itself becomes inert, resulting in extremely poor wettability. Furthermore, when using coffee powder that has been stored at a low temperature in a refrigerator or the like, the fats and oils contained in the coffee powder become inactive, resulting in poor wettability.

As described above, if the wettability between the dripping water and the coffee powder is poor, the dripping water will not penetrate sufficiently into the coffee powder, making it impossible to extract coffee components, and the coffee extractor will not be able to perform its role satisfactorily.

Furthermore, if the amount of dripping water is too large than the amount of water that can permeate into the coffee powder, the portion of the dripping water that cannot penetrate may overflow from the filtration chamber.

Conventional cold brew coffee extractors do not take into account how to improve the wettability between dripping water and coffee powder, or how to adjust the amount of dripping water, and rely on the intuition and experience of the user. It was large and extremely difficult to use.

Therefore, the present invention solves these conventional problems, and when the temperature of the water is low, the dripping water is automatically heated to the optimum temperature using a heating element for heating the dripping water. It is.

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve the above objects, the coffee extractor of the present invention comprises a water container containing water, a flow control valve for controlling the dripping flow rate of water in the water container, and this flow control valve. water temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of water in the water container; It has heating element control means for controlling the heating element.

action The effect of this technical means is as follows.

In other words, even when the water temperature in the water container is low, if the heating element automatically heats the dripping water to the optimum temperature, the wettability between the dripping water and coffee grounds will be improved, and the dripping water will fully penetrate into the coffee grounds. This makes it possible to extract all coffee components.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, a water container 2 provided above the extractor main body 1
The water inside is sent from the water supply passage 3 at the bottom to a flow rate control valve 4 that controls the dripping flow rate of water, and is throttled down to a minute amount and drips from the discharge port 5, and is passed to a filtration chamber 7 that accommodates coffee powder 6. sent to.

The water dropped into the coffee powder 6 passes through the coffee powder 6 over time, extracts coffee components, becomes coffee liquid, drops from the outlet 8, and is stored in the coffee container 9.

The flow rate control valve 4 has a shaft shape with a valve hole 10 formed therein, and the valve hole 10 is arranged so as to intersect with the water supply passage 3, and the flow rate when the crossing angle α0 is small as shown in FIG. 2(a). conversely, the larger the intersection angle α, the smaller the flow rate (FIG. 2(b)).

Numeral 11 is a seal for watertightly fitting the flow rate control valve 4 and the water supply passage 3, and 12 is a knob provided on the flow rate control valve 4, which is used when manually controlling the dripping flow rate.

A water temperature detection means 13 such as a thermistor or a thermometer is provided at the bottom of the water container 2, and an appropriate heating element 14 for heating the water is provided in the water supply passage 3. 14, input values, energization cycles, etc. can be adjusted by heating element control means 15.

FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram showing the relationship between the water temperature detection means 13 and the heating element 14. Information from the water temperature detection means 13 is processed by the water temperature detection circuit 16 and sent to the heating element control means 15. and controls the heating body 14.

In the above configuration, when cold water is poured into the water container 2, the information from the water temperature detection means 13 acts to increase the input value of the heating element 14 or lengthen the energization cycle. It works in the opposite direction.

By doing this, regardless of the temperature of the water stored in the water container 2, the temperature of the water dripping from the outlet 5 will be lower than that of the coffee powder 6.
Since the coffee is constantly heated to a temperature that provides sufficient wettability with the coffee, it is possible to extract all of the coffee components.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention detects the temperature of water and adjusts the power of the water heating element according to the detected temperature, so that the temperature of the dripping water can be kept constant. Therefore, sufficient wettability with coffee powder can be ensured, and the entire coffee grounds can be extracted.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

3 is a circuit block diagram of the same coffee extractor, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a conventional example. 2...Water container, 4...Flow rate control valve, 7
...filtration chamber, 13...water temperature detection means,
14... Heating body, 15... Heating body control means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] It includes a water container that stores water, a flow rate control valve that controls the dripping flow rate of water in the water container, a heating element that heats the dripping water from the flow rate control valve, and a filtration chamber that stores coffee powder. A coffee brewer comprising: water temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of water in the water container; and heating element control means for controlling the heating element in response to information from the water temperature detection means.