KR100920237B1 - apparatus for extracting coffee - Google Patents

Abstract

A coffee extraction device for extracting espresso coffee using cold water includes a main body, a cold water supply unit provided inside the main body to provide cold water, and a detachably provided to the cold water supply unit to accommodate crushed coffee beans, It includes a filter unit for extracting coffee from the coffee beans and a pressure holding unit provided on one side of the filter unit, to maintain the pressure inside the filter unit. Therefore, it is possible to produce espresso coffee using cold water, and in addition, it is possible to extract the espresso coffee at the same speed as when extracting the espresso coffee using hot water.

Coffee, brewing, shutoff valve, supply line,

Description

Coffee extraction device {apparatus for extracting coffee}

The present invention relates to a coffee extraction device, and more particularly to a coffee extraction device for extracting espresso coffee.

Coffee drinks made using coffee beans are largely divided into instant coffee and coffee beans. In addition, the coffee beans include drip and espresso according to the extraction method from the coffee beans.

In particular, the espresso refers to a method of extracting coffee in a short time by providing high pressure hot water to the ground coffee beans and coffee extracted through such a method.

The apparatus for extracting the espresso coffee includes a filter unit (porta filter) for accommodating the ground coffee beans to extract coffee, a boiler for providing hot water, and the hot water in the coffee beans. It includes a pump to supply.

The espresso coffee extraction device is known in various forms, such as coffee shops, industrial and corporate, home use.

의 압력을 가하여 에스프레소 커피를 추출하고 있다. 그런데 종래의 온수를 사용하여 추출된 에스프레소 커피는, 상기 커피 내에 포함된 성분이 산화 또는 변질되거나, 휘발성 성분이 휘발됨으로 인해 추출된 에스프레소 커피의 향미가 저하되는 문제가 있다.On the other hand, the factors that determine the flavor of the espresso coffee include the type of coffee beans, the degree of roasting the coffee beans, the size of the grains and the like. In addition to the above factors, the temperature and pressure of hot water when the espresso coffee is extracted by the coffee extracting device are also important factors. For example, the conventional coffee extraction device is a hot water having a temperature of about 90 ℃ and 8 ~ 10

Espresso coffee is being extracted by applying pressure. However, the conventional espresso coffee extracted by using hot water has a problem in that the flavor of the extracted espresso coffee is lowered due to oxidation or deterioration of components contained in the coffee or volatilization of volatile components.

As part of the method to solve the above problems, a method of extracting espresso coffee using cold water has been proposed. Espresso coffee extracted using cold water does not deteriorate in flavor by oxidation and volatilization of the components contained in the coffee. In addition, since the caffeine component contained in the coffee bean is hardly dissolved in cold water, it is possible to extract decaffeinated coffee.

However, not only the caffeine but also components representing the flavor of the coffee are not easily dissolved in cold water, and thus the coffee extracted by providing the cold water in the same manner as the hot water does not have the inherent flavor of coffee, which is difficult to drink. there was. Therefore, a method of extracting a small amount of coffee over a long time has been proposed to extract coffee with cold water, but such a method takes too long to extract the coffee, which makes it practical for commercial use as well as at home. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a coffee extraction apparatus suitable for extracting espresso coffee in a short time using cold water.

Coffee extraction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the cold water supply unit provided in the main body, the cold water supply unit provided in the main body, detachably provided in the cold water supply unit, accommodates the ground coffee beans, the coffee It includes a filter unit for extracting coffee from the beans and a pressure holding unit provided on one side of the filter unit, to maintain the pressure inside the filter unit.

According to an embodiment, the filter unit is formed through a filter housing accommodating the coffee beans, a filter accommodated in the filter housing and filtering the coffee from the coffee beans and the filter housing, and discharging the coffee. It may include a outlet to make. Here, the filter may be provided detachably from the filter housing.

According to an embodiment, the pressure holding unit includes a housing detachably coupled to an outlet of the filter unit, an ejection member communicating with the housing for discharging the coffee, accommodated in the housing, and selectively opening and closing the outlet. And an elastic support member accommodated in the opening and closing member and the housing and applying elasticity in a direction in which the opening and closing member is in close contact with the outlet.

Here, the opening and closing member may have a conical shape that gradually increases in diameter along the flow direction of the coffee. In addition, the opening and closing member may further include a groove formed on the surface of the opening and closing member so that the minimum flow rate of the coffee passes when the close contact with the outlet. In addition, the pressure holding unit may further include a stopper for limiting the movement of the opening and closing member. Here, the stopper may include a rod integrally extending from the opening and closing member to selectively contact the housing to limit the movement of the opening and closing member. In addition, the elastic support member may include a compression spring.

In one embodiment, the cold water supply unit, a cold water supply source for supplying the cold water, a supply nozzle for providing the cold water to the filter unit, a supply line connecting the cold water supply source and the supply nozzle, provided on the supply line And an on / off valve for selectively opening and closing the supply line and a pump provided on the supply line to pressurize and supply the cold water to the supply nozzle. Here, the on-off valve may be a solenoid valve. In addition, it may further include a filter unit holder for selectively fixing the filter unit.

According to the present invention described above, the espresso coffee can be extracted using cold water, and the espresso coffee can be extracted with improved flavor compared to the espresso coffee extracted using hot water. In addition, decaffeinated coffee with low caffeine content can be extracted. In addition, the coffee extraction efficiency is high, productivity is improved, and easy to use to extract the espresso coffee in a short time similar to the use of the hot water.

As described above, according to the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to extract espresso coffee having excellent flavor and rich crema by using cold water. In addition, decaffeinated coffee with low caffeine content can be extracted without adding a caffeine removal device and process.

In addition, since the espresso coffee can be extracted in about the same short time as using hot water, there is an advantage in that it is easy to use. In addition, the structure of the coffee extraction device can be simply implemented, and the coffee extraction device can be easily installed and operated, thereby ensuring efficiency and economy.

With reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail with respect to the coffee extraction device according to the embodiments of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a coffee extraction device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a plan view illustrating a filter unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the filter unit, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the filter unit. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the opening and closing member of FIG. 4. 6A and 6B are cross-sectional views illustrating the operation of the filter unit.

Hereinafter, a coffee extracting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6B.

As shown in FIG. 1, the coffee extraction device 1 includes a main body 10 forming an external appearance, a cold water supply unit provided inside the main body 10 to supply cold water W, and ground coffee. It may include a filter unit 20 for receiving the coffee beans (C) to extract the espresso coffee from the coffee beans (C).

For example, a control panel (not shown) provided with a plurality of buttons and a display panel may be provided at one side of the main body 10 so that a user may operate and control the coffee extraction device 1. .

The cold water supply unit includes a cold water source 11 for supplying the cold water W, a supply nozzle 15, a pump 12, an open / close valve 13, the cold water source 11, and the supply nozzle ( 15 may include a supply line 14 for connecting.

The cold water source 11 is a portion for storing and supplying the cold water W, and may be, for example, a storage tank having a predetermined volume provided in the main body 10. Alternatively, the cold water supply source 11 may include a separate water supply source, such as a water purifier provided outside the main body 10.

The pump 12 is provided on the supply line 14 to pressurize the cold water W to a predetermined pressure and supply it to the supply nozzle 15. In addition, the pump 12 may supply a predetermined volume of cold water to the filter unit 20.

The on-off valve 13 is provided between the pump 12 and the supply nozzle 15 to selectively block the cold water W provided to the supply nozzle 15. For example, the open / close valve 13 may include a solenoid valve.

The supply nozzle 15 is connected to the supply line 14 and provides the cold water W to the filter unit 20. For example, the supply nozzle 15 is preferably formed to be exposed to the outside of the main body 10 so that the user can easily access. In addition, an opening and closing part (not shown) may be provided to open or close the supply nozzle 15 manually or automatically.

On the other hand, since the filter unit 20 is coupled to the supply nozzle 15 and the cold water W is provided to extract coffee, the supply nozzle 15 and / or the lower portion of the supply nozzle 15 The cold water W falling from the filter unit 20 to the coffee extraction device 1 or the drainage water (not shown) for draining the coffee may be formed. In addition, a container for storing coffee extracted through the filter unit 20, for example, a cup 5, may be disposed below the supply nozzle 15.

The supply nozzle 15 may be provided with a filter unit holder 16 for coupling the filter unit 20 to the supply nozzle 15. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the filter unit holder 16 may include a groove formed around the supply nozzle 15 and to which a portion of the filter unit 20 may be inserted and fixed. Can be. In addition, when the filter unit 20 is fixed, the supply nozzle 15 may be provided inside the filter unit holder 16 so that the cold water W may be provided into the filter unit 20. Can be.

The filter unit holder 16 is provided with a screen 17 having a plurality of holes for uniformly supplying the cold water W to the filter unit 20 and sealing the inside of the filter unit 20. Can be. That is, the screen 17 seals the open upper portion of the filter housing 21 and distributes the cold water (W) so that the cold water (W) can be uniformly provided to the coffee beans (C). Do it.

On the other hand, since the predetermined amount of pressure is applied to the filter unit 20 when the coffee is extracted, a sealing member (not shown) for maintaining the airtightness of the filter unit 20 and the filter unit 20 and It may be interposed between the filter unit holder 16. For example, the sealing member (not shown) may be an O-ring formed of an elastic material such as rubber.

The filter unit 20 accommodates the coffee beans C and extracts espresso coffee by passing the cold water W through the coffee beans C under pressure.

Hereinafter, the filter unit 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.

The filter unit 20 includes a filter housing 21 accommodating the coffee beans C, a filter 22 accommodated in the filter housing 21, and a filter 22 for filtering the coffee beans C. It may include a pressure holding unit 200 for maintaining the pressure in the housing 21.

2 to 4, the filter housing 21 is selectively coupleable to the filter unit holder 16 and has a bowl open at the top to accommodate the coffee beans C. ) May have a shape. For example, the filter housing 21 may have a volume to accommodate the amount of coffee beans (C) that can extract 1 to 2 cups of espresso coffee.

In addition, a first outlet 23 for discharging the coffee to be extracted is formed in the lower portion of the filter housing 21. For example, the first outlet 23 may be a hole passing through the center of the bottom surface of the filter housing 21. Here, the bottom surface of the filter housing 21 may be formed to be inclined downward toward the first outlet 23 so that the coffee can be well collected into the first outlet 23.

However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the shape and size of the filter housing 21 may have various shapes and sizes substantially depending on the use of the coffee extraction device 1.

A handle 25 may be provided at one side of the filter housing 21. For example, the handle 25 may have a rod shape extending to one side from the filter housing 21. In addition, the handle 25 allows a user to easily move the filter unit 20 and serves as a lever for fixing the filter unit 20 to the filter unit holder 16.

The lower portion of the filter housing 21 is provided with a discharge member 220 having a second discharge port 221 through which the coffee is discharged. For example, the cup 5 is communicated with the first outlet 23, and the cup 5 is disposed below by changing the flow direction of the coffee in one direction of the first outlet 23. The second cup outlet 221 may be formed to guide the coffee. In addition, the dispensing member 220 may be a branch pipe branched in two directions from the first dispensing opening 23 so that two cups of coffee can be simultaneously extracted, and the second dispensing opening 221 is formed at each end thereof. . Here, the take-out member 220 may have a '∩' shape in order to prevent scattering of the coffee discharged to the cup (5).

The filter 22 is provided inside the filter housing 21. Here, the filter 22 includes a plurality of holes having a size sufficiently smaller than the coffee beans (C) powder so that the coffee beans (C) powder is not mixed with the coffee, and the filter 22 is the filter It may be provided detachably to the housing 21. For example, the filter 22 corresponds to the filter housing 21 and has a bowl shape with an upper portion open to be in close contact with the inside of the filter housing 21, and an upper end of the filter 22 has the filter It may have a stepped portion coupled to the upper end of the housing 21. In particular, the filter 22 is preferably formed to be spaced apart from the bottom surface of the filter housing 21 so that the coffee can be extracted into the filter housing 21. In addition, the filter 22 is a member for substantially receiving the coffee beans (C), is formed so as to counter the pressure applied to the coffee beans (C), for example, the filter 22 is It may be formed of stainless steel.

The pressure maintaining unit 200 may be coupled to the first outlet 23, and may connect the first outlet 23 and the second outlet 221. In particular, the pressure holding unit 200 selectively opens and closes the first outlet 23, thereby forming and maintaining a predetermined size of pressure in the filter housing 21.

As shown in FIG. 4, the pressure maintaining unit 200 is coupled to the first outlet 23 and is in communication with the opening and closing member 230, and accommodated in the housing 210. And an opening and closing member 230 for selectively opening and closing the first outlet 23, and an elastic support member 240 for applying elasticity in a direction in which the opening and closing member 230 is in close contact with the first outlet 23. In addition, it may include a stopper (232) for limiting the movement of the opening and closing member 230.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the opening / closing member 230 corresponds to the first outlet 23 and has a conical head 231 which gradually increases in diameter along the flow direction of the coffee. Can have Here, the head 231 may have an upper diameter smaller than the first outlet 23, and the lower portion may have a larger diameter than the first outlet 23. That is, a part of the head 231 may be inserted into the first outlet 23 so that the opening and closing member 230 may be stably seated in the first outlet 23, and the first outlet 23 may be The airtightness can be improved. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the opening / closing member 230 may have substantially various shapes capable of opening and closing the first outlet 23.

For example, the stopper 232 may have a rod shape integrally extending from the head 231. Here, the stopper 232 may have a length corresponding to the space between the head 231 and the housing 210 to allow the opening and closing member 230 to move. That is, the stopper 232 is in contact with the housing 210 when the opening and closing member 230 opens the first outlet 23 to the maximum, and the opening and closing member 230 is connected to the first outlet 23. ) May be spaced apart from the housing 210 by a predetermined distance. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the stopper 232 may have substantially various shapes capable of controlling the opening of the first outlet 23 by limiting the movement of the opening and closing member 230. will be.

On the other hand, the head 231 may be formed with at least one groove (233) for passing the minimum flow rate of the coffee when the opening and closing member 230 is in close contact with the first outlet (23). . For example, a plurality of grooves 233 may be formed at equal intervals formed along the inclined surface of the head 231. In addition, the groove 233 may be formed to be wider toward the lower end of the head 231.

The elastic support member 240 closes the first outlet 23 by applying an elastic force to the opening and closing member 230, thereby increasing the internal pressure of the filter unit 20. For example, the elastic support member 240 may include a compression spring interposed between the opening and closing member 230 and the housing 210. Here, the elastic force applied by the elastic support member 240 to the opening and closing member 230 may be determined by the pressure formed inside the filter housing 21 when the espresso coffee is extracted.

Hereinafter, the operation of the pressure holding unit 200 and the coffee extraction device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6B.

First, the appropriate amount of ground coffee beans (C) is contained in the filter housing 21, and then the filter unit 20 is coupled to the filter unit holder 16. For example, the coffee beans (C) may be an amount capable of extracting two cups of espresso. For example, about 7 g of the coffee beans C is used.

Here, the filter 22 is installed inside the filter housing 21, the coffee beans C are accommodated on the filter 22, and the user uses the handle 25 to filter the filter unit. 20 may be fixed to the filter unit holder 16.

When the filter unit 20 is fixed to the filter unit holder 16, the pump 12 is operated to supply the cold water W from the supply nozzle 15 to the filter unit 20.

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 6a, the first outlet 23 in the filter unit 20 is closed by the opening and closing member 230, the filter housing 21 is the filter unit holder 16 Since it is sealed by), the pressure inside the filter housing 21 is increased as the cold water (W) is supplied to the filter unit (20).

In addition, the cold water (W) is rapidly passed through the coffee beans (C) in a pressurized state while dissolving the components of the coffee beans (C) to extract the espresso coffee, filtered through the filter 22 is filtered through the filter housing (21) It is collected in the lower part.

As shown in FIG. 6B, when the pressure inside the filter housing 21 is greater than the elastic force exerted by the elastic support member 240, the opening / closing member 230 is retracted by the pressure and the first ejection opening ( 23) is opened. Therefore, the espresso coffee extracted from the filter unit 20 flows from the first outlet 23 to the outlet member 220 and is discharged into the cup 5 through the second outlet 221.

On the other hand, since the opening and closing member 230 is gradually retracted and has a conical head 231, the opening degree of the first outlet 23 is gradually changed, thus, the filter until the extraction of the coffee is completed The pressure inside the housing 21 can be kept constant.

According to the present invention, by applying a predetermined size of pressure to the coffee beans (C) to dissolve the components of the coffee beans (C) more effectively, as well as to shorten the coffee extraction time, excellent flavor and lowered the content of caffeine It is possible to brew an espresso coffee.

For reference, the espresso coffee has a brown foam layer crema on the surface, the crema contains the flavor and oil of the coffee and a relatively small amount of coffee beans powder. In particular, the crema is one of the important factors for determining the flavor of the espresso coffee, it can be said that the more the crema is formed, the more the brown color of the crema is an espresso coffee having a good flavor.

Here, the amount of crema is proportional to the pressure applied to the coffee beans. Therefore, the espresso coffee extracted from the coffee extraction device 1 according to the present invention has a large amount of crema produced and has a rich and excellent flavor.

In general, it is known that coffee contains caffeine, which is an ingredient harmful to the human body. Decaffeinated coffee with reduced or eliminated caffeine has been developed. However, conventional decaffeinated coffee has not been able to stimulate people's taste because the flavor is less than caffeine coffee. In addition, the process of removing the caffeine is complicated, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost is increased due to the addition of the process and the removal device.

Here, the caffeine has a property that does not dissolve well in cold water. In addition, the shorter the coffee extraction time can reduce the amount of caffeine dissolved. Therefore, according to the present invention, by extracting coffee in cold water (W) for a short time, it is possible to extract espresso coffee having a very low caffeine content and excellent flavor.

The results of analyzing the caffeine content of the extracted espresso coffee using the coffee extraction device 1 according to the present invention are shown in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1

The present invention Coffee beans Espresso Decaffeinated Coffee Caffeine Content [mg / g] 1.62 35.42 96 1.25

In the above Table 1, 'the present invention' is an espresso coffee extracted using the coffee extraction device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the present invention is an analysis result tested on January 18, 2007 by the Korea Food Research Institute. On the other hand, the caffeine content in Table 1 described what is known in the Internet, etc. 'Coffee coffee' is a coffee extracted using a general drip coffee extraction device, 'Espresso' is extracted using hot water in a normal espresso machine Espresso coffee, and 'decaffeinated coffee' refers to coffee sold as decaffeinated coffee that is chemically or physically decaffeated.

As shown in Table 1, the coffee extracted by the present invention is low in caffeine content compared to espresso coffee or coffee beans, it can be seen that contains a similar amount of caffeine as decaffeinated coffee.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a coffee extraction device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a plan view illustrating a filter unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the filter unit of FIG. 2.

4 is a side cross-sectional view of the filter unit of FIG. 2.

5 is a side view illustrating an example of the opening and closing member of FIG. 4.

6A and 6B are partial cross-sectional views illustrating the operation of the filter unit of FIG. 2.

<Description of Symbols for Major Parts of Drawings>

1: coffee brewing device 5: cup

10: main body 11: cold water source

12 pump 13 closing valve

14: supply line 15: supply nozzle

16: filter unit holder 17: screen

20: filter unit 21: filter housing

22 filter 23 first outlet

25: handle 200: pressure holding unit

210: housing 220: extraction member

221: second outlet 230: opening and closing member

231 head 232 stopper

233 groove 240 elastic support member

C: coffee beans W: cold water

Claims (12)

main body; A cold water supply unit provided in the main body to provide cold water; A filter unit detachably provided to the cold water supply unit, for receiving crushed coffee beans, for extracting coffee from the coffee beans; And a pressure holding unit provided at one side of the filter unit to maintain the pressure inside the filter unit. The pressure holding unit, A housing detachably coupled to the outlet of the filter unit; A takeout member in communication with the housing for discharging the coffee; It is accommodated in the housing, and selectively open and close the outlet, a plurality of grooves are formed on the surface so that the minimum flow rate of the coffee passes when in close contact with the outlet, the groove is gradually along the flow direction of the coffee Opening and closing member formed to increase the diameter; And And an elastic support member accommodated in the housing and applying elasticity in a direction in which the opening and closing member is in close contact with the outlet. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete

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