JPH0339114A - Coffee maker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make water drips pass through a ground coffee layer in an optimum time period for extracting only a good coffee components by a method wherein the concentration of brewed coffee is detected, and the opening of a flow control valve is regulated according to the detected information. CONSTITUTION:A coffee concentration detector 13 equipped with an electrode for detecting the electroconductivity, an optical element for detecting the light transmission and others is provided inside or in the vicinity of an outlet of a filter basket 7. A flow control valve 4 is equipped with a driving device 14 such as stepping motor, etc., and the opening of the flow control valve 4 is varied with the deflection angle of the driving device 14 to regulate the water dripping rate. The information from the coffee concentration detector 13 is processed by a concentration detecting circuit 15, and transmitted to a driving device control circuit 16 which controls the driving device 14. The driving device 14 is brought in operation by the processed signals to change the opening of the flow control valve 4. When the water dripping rate is too fast, a lean concentration of coffee is detected by the concentration detector 13 and transmitted to the driving device 14 after it is processed so that the flow control valve 4 is throttle to reduce the flow rate, resulting in a reduction of the water dripping rate.

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 was generally as shown in FIG. 4, and the bottom of the tank was as follows.

That is, water is put 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 essence, and then becomes coffee liquid and drops into the coffee container 26.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, such a tank bottom has the following problems.

If the flow rate at the mixing and regulating valve 22 is too high, the time for the dripping water to pass through the coffee powder is not short enough, and the coffee extract cannot be extracted sufficiently, resulting in a weak coffee liquid.

On the other hand, if the flow rate at the regulating valve 22 is too low, the dripping water will stay in the coffee powder for a longer time than necessary, and the bad components of the coffee will also be extracted and the residue will become very thick and dry. The coffee was ready.

Therefore, the present invention solves these conventional problems and makes it possible to extract delicious coffee.

Means for Solving the Problems and a distant relative of the above object, the present invention provides a water container for containing water, a flow control valve for controlling the dripping flow rate of water in the water container, and a filtration system for containing coffee powder. A chamber, a coffee concentration detection means for detecting the concentration of coffee extracted from the filtration chamber, and a drive means for controlling the opening degree of the flow rate control valve in response to information from the coffee concentration detection means. be.

For production The effect of this technical means is as follows.

In other words, by measuring the concentration of the extracted coffee liquid and automatically changing the amount of dripping water accordingly, the dripping water takes an optimal amount of time to pass through the coffee powder, and the coffee liquid is divided. can be extracted to obtain delicious coffee liquid.

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 the flow rate control valve 4 that controls the amount of water dripping fM, and is squeezed into a fine stream and drips from the discharge port 5. Sent to room 7.

The water dropped into the coffee powder 6 passes through the coffee powder 6 over time to extract 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 1o formed therein, and the valve hole 10 is arranged so as to intersect with the water supply passage 3.The flow rate when the crossing angle α is small as shown in FIG. many,
Conversely, as α becomes larger, the flow rate decreases as shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a seal for watertightly connecting the flow rate control valve 4 and the water flow passage 3, and 12 is provided on the flow rate control valve 4 and is used when manually controlling the dripping flow rate.

Incidentally, coffee concentration detection means 13 such as an electrode for determining electrical conductivity or an optical element for detecting light transmittance is provided inside or near the outlet 8 of the filtration chamber 7. Further, the flow rate control valve 4 is provided with a driving means 14 such as a nutepping motor, and the opening degree of the flow rate control valve 4 is varied by the displacement angle of this driving means 14, thereby adjusting the water dripping speed. I can do it.

The operation of the coffee concentration detection means 13 is as follows.

It has been found that there is an almost proportional relationship between the concentration of extracted coffee and the electrical conductivity.The coffee concentration can be detected by the electrical conductivity between the electrodes, and also by the degree of light transmission. It is also possible to directly determine the coffee concentration by 1U11.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the relationship between the coffee concentration detection means 13 and the drive means 14. Information from the coffee concentration detection means 13 is processed by a concentration detection circuit 15, and the drive means controls the drive means 14. The signal is sent to the control circuit 16. The drive means 14 is rotated by the signal processed by the drive means control circuit 16, and the opening degree of the flow control valve 4 is varied.

When the above configuration is clicked and water is poured into the water container 2, the water is throttled by the flow rate control valve 4 and drips into the ground coffee 6 as dripping water. Then, it passes through the coffee container 6 and extracts the coffee preservatives, which are then dripped from the outlet 8 of the filtration chamber 7.

At this time, if the speed of the dripping water is too fast, the passing time of the coffee grounds 6 becomes too fast, and the coffee grounds are not sufficiently extracted, resulting in a thin coffee liquid. The concentration of this weak coffee is immediately detected by the coffee concentration detection means 13, processed as a signal, and sent to the drive means 14, which rotates the flow rate control valve 40 to reduce the opening degree, thereby restricting the flow rate and watering. The dropping rate of decreases.

On the other hand, if the speed of the dripping water is too slow, the residence time in the coffee powder 6 will be longer, and bad components of the coffee will also be extracted.
It drips out in the form of a cup of coffee that is too thick. At this time,
The information from the coffee concentration detection means 13 is transmitted so that the opening degree of the flow rate control valve 4 becomes wider, and the water dripping speed becomes faster.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention measures the concentration of extracted coffee liquid and automatically changes the dripping speed of dripping water accordingly. It passes through the coffee powder and extracts only good coffee components, resulting in a delicious coffee liquid.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of essential parts of a coffee extractor showing an embodiment of the present invention, Figs. 2a and b are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the flow control valve of the coffee extractor, and Fig. 3 is an illustration of the coffee extractor. FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a conventional example. 2...Water container, 4...Flow rate control valve, 7
. . . Filtration chamber, 13 . . . Coffee concentration detection means, 14 . . . Drive means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] a water container that contains water, a flow control valve that controls the rate of dripping of water in the water container, and a filtration chamber that contains coffee powder;
Coffee extraction comprising a coffee concentration detection means for detecting the concentration of coffee extracted from the filtration chamber, and a drive means for controlling the opening degree of the flow rate control valve in response to information from the coffee concentration detection means. vessel.