RU198656U1 - COFFEE MAKER WITH SIMPLIFIED FILTER MOUNTING SYSTEM - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to a coffee maker equipped with a simplified filter holder attachment system. The coffee maker includes a filter holder (7) with a container (70), which is connected to the attachment point (2) of the dispensing module exclusively by sliding insertion without rotation. The dispensing module (1) comprises supply channels (11), a piston (4) mounted in the cylinder (3) with the possibility of sliding in the vertical direction, and an actuation means (A) suitable for actuating said piston; a cylinder (3) having a supply channel (31) communicating with a supply channel (11) of the dispensing module; a piston (4) having a seal (6) suitable for tight connection with the upper border of the container (70) of the filter holder, a distribution head (5) with a plurality of outlet channels (51, 52) and a supply channel (42) communicating with the supply channel (31) of the cylinder and with the mentioned distribution head (5). The technical result is the creation of a coffee maker equipped with a filter holder attachment system, which is simple and reliable. 9 p.p. f-crystals, 9 ill.

Description

The utility model relates to a coffee maker equipped with a simplified filter holder attachment system.

As you know, a coffee maker includes a dispensing module equipped with dispensing nozzles suitable for dispensing hot water under pressure. The aforementioned dispensing pipes are located in attachment points suitable for receiving filter holders. The filter holder typically comprises a cylindrical container suitable for receiving coffee powder, an actuation lever extending radially from the container, and one or two outlets located below the container.

When the filter holder is connected to the dispensing unit attachment, the coffee powder is wetted with hot pressurized water to extract the liquid coffee extract through the filter holder outlet spout.

Inserting the filter holder into the dispensing unit attachment requires physical effort by the bartender each time he prepares a cup of coffee.

Typically, bayonet or screw mount systems are available on the market in which the mount is provided by a seal and an internal thread, and the filter holder has tabs or external threads suitable for engaging with the internal thread of the mount. When the filter holder is rotated in the attachment, the threads of the filter holder are screwed into the threads of the attachment, thereby pressing the filter holder against the seal of the attachment and creating a waterproof chamber that prevents water seepage when pressurized water is dispensed.

With this mounting system, the operator is forced to rotate and act on the filter holder in such a way that screwing the filter holder threads into the threads of the dispensing module mounting determines the upward rotational movement of the filter holder until the seal of the dispensing module mounting is compressed.

This mounting system causes stress and fatigue for the operator to rotate the filter holder clockwise to connect the filter holder to the dispense holder and rotate the filter holder counterclockwise to disconnect the filter holder from the dispensing module holder. Moreover, such a fastening system is not stable because the fastening force of the filter holder depends on the rotational force applied by the operator, and the efficiency and wear are also dependent on the operator.

EP 0838185 discloses a coffee maker with a bayonet mounting system for a filter holder.

The aim of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art by publishing a coffee maker equipped with a filter holder attachment system that is simple, practical, efficient, versatile and reliable.

In accordance with the utility model, the aforementioned objectives are achieved using the distinctive features set forth in the independent claim 1 of the utility model claims.

Preferred embodiments of the utility model are obvious from the dependent claims of the utility model.

The coffee machine proposed in this utility model with a filter holder attachment system is defined in clause 1 of the utility model claims.

Additional features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, given with reference to purely illustrative, non-limiting embodiments, illustrated by the accompanying drawings, which show:

in fig. 1 is a perspective view of the attachment point for the dispensing module and filter holder for a coffee maker of the present utility model with the attachment system in an inoperative position;

in fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the attachment unit in the plane II-II indicated in FIG. 1;

in fig. 2A is an exploded sectional view of some of the elements shown in FIG. 2;

in fig. 3 is a sectional view in the plane III-III indicated in FIG. 1;

in fig. 3A is an exploded sectional view of some of the elements shown in FIG. 3;

in fig. 4, 5 and 6 are the same views as in FIG. 1, 2 and 3, which show the coffee maker according to the present invention with the fastening system in the working position;

in fig. 7 is a block diagram schematically showing the water system of the coffee maker of the present invention.

The coffee maker proposed in this invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the coffee maker comprises a dispensing module (1) including a plurality of attachment assemblies (2) supported by consoles (10). The console (10) is part of the dispensing module, which is installed on the coffee maker and receives a stream of hot water; therefore, the console (10) is part of the dispensing module that maintains the water temperature. Each attachment point (2) of the dispensing module is suitable for receiving the filter holder (7).

The dispensing unit (1) is of a known type, and therefore a detailed description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 2 and 7, the dispensing module includes a control valve (V1) connected to the water system (9). The distribution valve (V1) communicates with the supply channel (11), made in the console (10) of the dispensing module.

The water system (9) includes a feed pump (P1) suitable for supplying water at a pressure of approximately 9-11 bar, which usually comes from a reservoir (not shown in the drawings).

The heater (H) is located in the water system (9) between the supply pump (P1) and the supply port (11) of the dispensing module. The heater (H) is suitable for heating water to a temperature of about 88-96 ° C, that is, to a temperature suitable for extracting a beverage.

The dispensing valve (V1) is located in the dispensing module (1) to enable or disable the flow of water from the water system (9) to the supply port (11) of the dispensing module. The directional valve (V1) is a three-way electric valve and is connected to three pipes:

- inlet pipe (90) communicating with the water system (9),

- outlet tube (91) communicating with the supply channel (11), and

- a drain tube (92) communicating with the drain (93).

During the extraction of the beverage, the control valve (V1) permits communication between the inlet pipe (90) and the outlet pipe (91) and interrupts communication with the drain pipe (92). When the extraction operation is completed, the control valve (V1) allows communication between the outlet pipe (91) and the drain pipe (92) and interrupts communication with the inlet pipe (90). In view of the above, when the extraction is finished, the water that remains between the coffee dose and the dispensing module (1) is drained in order to relieve the pressure in this area of the dispensing module and remove the filter holder (7), preventing the high pressure water supplied by the water system (9).

A cylinder (3) is located between the console (10) and the attachment point (2). The bolts (B) pass through the attachment assembly (2) and the cylinder (3) to press the attachment assembly (2) against the cylinder and the cylinder (3) against the console (10) of the transfer case.

A piston (4) is mounted in the cylinder (3) with the possibility of sliding in the vertical direction. The piston (4) is moved by the actuation means (A) (see FIG. 7).

As shown in FIG. 2A, the cylinder (3) has a cylindrical chamber (30) with a vertical axis. The annular wall (35) is located coaxially in the chamber (30), thus delimiting the cylindrical inner chamber (30a) and the peripheral annular chamber (30b).

The cylinder (3) has a supply channel (31) communicating with the inner chamber (30a) and suitable for communication with the supply channel (11) of the dispensing module console. The feed channel (31) of the cylinder runs vertically and is located near the axis of the cylinder.

The piston (4) has an annular seat (45) open upwards and suitable for receiving the annular wall (35) from the cylinder. The piston (4) has an outer O-ring (40) located on the lateral edge of the piston and inner O-rings (41) located in the annular seat (45) of the piston, in order to tightly separate the inner chamber (30a) and the peripheral chamber ( 30b).

The piston (4) has a feed channel (42) located coaxially with the feed channel (31) of the cylinder. The feed channel (42) of the piston runs vertically.

The piston (4) has a distribution head (5), which includes a manifold chamber (50) communicating with the feed channel (42) of the piston, and outlet channels (51, 52) communicating with the manifold chamber (50). For illustrative purposes, the outlet ports of the dispensing head include a central outlet port (51) and a plurality of peripheral outlet ports (52).

The seal (6) is located on the periphery of the piston distribution head (5).

At least one rod (8) protrudes from the top of the piston (4). FIG. 3 and 3A show two stems. Each rod (8) slides through the cylinder (3) and the console (10) of the dispensing module so as to protrude from the top of the console (10) of the dispensing module. In view of the above, the cylinder (3) and the console (10) have holes (38, 18), in which the piston rods (8) are mounted with the possibility of sliding.

A spring (M) is installed on each rod (8) above the console (10). The spring (M) is located between the console (10) and the nut (80), installed in the upper part of the rod (8), in order to thus push the piston (4) upwards together with the cylinder (3), as shown in Fig. 2 and 3.

The filter holder (7) contains a container (70) which is generally cylindrical cup-shaped, suitable for holding coffee powder. The container (70) has a bottom with an outlet (71) associated with an outlet spout (72) for pouring liquid coffee. The handle (73) projects radially from the container (70).

As shown in FIG. 3, the filter holder container (70) has lateral protrusions (74) that extend radially outward in an orthogonal direction with respect to the handle (73).

The attachment unit (2) has a seat (20) suitable for receiving the filter holder container (70). The seat (20) is open at the top for the insertion of the piston (4), open at the bottom for the insertion of the outlet spout (72) of the filter holder and open at the front for inserting the filter holder (7) solely by successive movement without any rotation.

The seat (20) of the attachment unit has two linear guides (21) with a C-shaped section, in which the lateral protrusions (74) of the filter holder slide. Position detection means (not shown in the drawings) may be disposed in the attachment seat (20) to detect when the filter holder reaches the stop position where the piston (4) is above the filter holder container (70). The position detector is optional.

In a preferred embodiment, the actuation means (A) may be a hydraulic or pneumatic overpressure maintenance system (100). Obviously, the driving means (A) can also be an electric or electromagnetic drive.

If the actuation means (A) is a system (100) for maintaining an overpressure, then the cylinder (3) contains injection channels (32), located vertically and peripherally relative to the supply channel (31). The injection channels (32) communicate with the peripheral chamber (30b).

The cylinder (3) has a ventilation duct (36) that runs vertically in the annular wall (35).

As shown in FIG. 3 and 3A, at least one fitting element (C1, C2) is installed on the console (10) for the liquid inlet / outlet, which communicates with the injection channels (32) through a system of channels made in the console (10) and in the cylinder.

As shown in the drawings, there are two fitting elements (C1, C2) communicating with two channels (13, 14) made in the console (10), and with an annular channel (34) of the cylinder, which communicates with the discharge channels (32) of the cylinder ...

The fitting elements (C1, C2) are associated with a hydraulic or pneumatic type overpressure system (100) to pressurize the peripheral chamber (30b) of the cylinder.

As shown in FIG. 7, the overpressure maintenance system (100) may include a charge pump (P2) and a charge valve (V2).

The discharge valve (V2) is a three-way electric valve and is connected to three pipes:

- an inlet tube (94) communicating with the system (100) for maintaining an overpressure;

- an outlet tube (95) communicating with the fitting elements (C1, C2), and

- a drain tube (92) communicating with the drain (93).

When it is necessary to pressurize the peripheral chamber (30b), communication between the inlet pipe (94) and the outlet pipe (95) of the delivery valve is allowed. When it is necessary to depressurize the peripheral chamber (30b), communication between the outlet pipe (95) and the discharge valve drain pipe (96) is allowed.

In a preferred embodiment, a pressure pump (P2) is connected to the reservoir of the coffee machine and supplies cold water at a pressure of approximately 10-11 bar.

The coffee maker program can be designed in such a way that when the operator presses the coffee dispensing button, the pressure pump (P2) starts to work before the supply pump (P1). In view of the above, the piston (4) moves downward and hot water is dispensed under pressure.

Obviously, the coffee maker can be equipped with two separate buttons: the first button to activate the charge pump (P2) and the second button to activate the feed pump (P1). In this case, the operator sequentially presses the first and second buttons.

In an alternative embodiment, the pressurization system (100) may use a feed pump (P1). In such a case, the inlet pipe (94) of the discharge valve (V2) is connected downstream to the feed pump (P1) and upstream to the heater (H). Thus, when the user presses the coffee dispensing button, the feed pump (P1) supplies water under pressure to the delivery valve (V2) and to the dispensing valve (V1). However, the water directed to the dispensing valve (V1) is held back by passing through the heater (H). Therefore, first, pressurized water flows through the discharge valve (V2), moving the piston (4) downward, and then flows through the control valve (V1), dispensing hot water under pressure from the piston distribution head (5). In view of the above, the operator only uses one button, which is the coffee dispensing button.

The operation of the coffee maker proposed in this invention is described below.

Initially, the piston (4) is in an inoperative, retracted position, as shown in FIG. 1, 2, and 3. The operator inserts the filter holder (7) into the seat (20) of the attachment unit solely by moving it sequentially forward without any rotation. As shown in FIG. 1, 2, and 3, the piston seal (6) is spaced from the top of the filter holder container (70).

Then the operator presses the coffee dispensing button. If the position sensor detects that the filter holder has reached the stop position, the position sensor sends a confirmation command to the pressurization system (100) to pressurize the peripheral cylinder chamber (30b).

The pressurized fluid then flows through the discharge valve (V2), enters the fittings (C1, C2) and reaches the peripheral chamber (30b) of the cylinder, pushing the piston (4) downward so that the piston seal (6) is tightly connected to the upper boundary of the container (70) of the filter holder, creating a watertight chamber between the filter holder container and the piston dispensing head (5), as shown in FIG. 4, 5, and 6. Springs (M) are compressed and loaded during the downward stroke of piston (4).

Then hot water is dispensed under pressure to extract the coffee. Pressurized hot water flows through the control valve (V1), the supply channels (11, 31) of the console (10) and the cylinder (3) and reaches the inner chamber (30a) between the piston and the cylinder.

From the inner chamber (30a) hot water under pressure enters the feed channel (42) of the piston, reaches the distribution head (5) of the piston and flows out of the channels (51, 52) of the distribution head, in order to wet the coffee powder in the container (70) of the holder filter. The liquid coffee then flows out of the outlet spout (72) of the filter holder.

When coffee extraction is finished, the control valve (V1) closes the inlet tube and opens the drain tube to relieve the pressure in the chamber between the filter holder container and the piston.

The delivery valve (V2) closes the inlet tube and opens the drain tube to relieve pressure in the peripheral chamber (30b) of the cylinder. In view of the above, the filter holder (7) can be removed from the seat (20) of the attachment unit.

The springs (M) are relieved by lifting the piston (4) so that the piston (4) returns to the inoperative, retracted position shown in FIG. 1, 2, and 3.

The coffee maker proposed in this utility model can also be operated without a position sensor. The container (70) of the filter holder is inserted into the seat (20) of the attachment unit. Then, by depressing the coffee dispensing button, the pressure in the peripheral chamber (30b) of the cylinder starts to rise and the piston (4) moves downward. If the filter holder is not inserted, or if it is not inserted correctly, the overpressure system moves the piston (4) downward without damaging the manifold or operator. If there is no filter holder, water flows out of the dispensing head (5) of the piston and drains into the drain pan under the dispensing module. If the filter holder (7) is not correctly inserted into the attachment (2), water flows out of the piston seal (6) and drains into the drain pan.

Numerous equivalent embodiments may be added to the disclosed embodiment of the utility model and modifications obvious to a person skilled in the art may be made, which in any case fall within the scope of the utility model defined by the appended claims.

Claims (22)

1. A coffee maker containing a filter holder (7) including a container (70) for coffee powder, a dispensing module (1) equipped with an attachment point (2) suitable for receiving the container (70) of the filter holder, said dispensing module being provided with feeding channels (11) suitable for supplying a stream of hot water under pressure to the coffee powder contained in the filter holder , a water system (9) equipped with a feed pump (P1), designed to supply water under pressure to the said feed channels (11) of the dispensing module, a heater (H) included in said water system (9) to heat the water supplied to the feed channels (11), a control valve (V1) located in said water system (9) between the heater (H) and the feed ducts (11) to enable / disable the supply of hot water to said feed ducts (11), wherein said filter holder container (70) is connected to the dispensing unit attachment (2) solely by sliding insertion without rotation, and said dispensing module also comprises a piston (4) which is vertically slidable in the cylinder (3) and an actuation means (A) suitable for actuating said piston; said cylinder (3) is provided with a feed channel (31) communicating with said feed channel (11) of the dispensing module; said piston (4) is provided with a seal (6) suitable for tight connection with the upper boundary of said container (70) of the filter holder, and the distributor head (5) is provided with a plurality of outlet channels (51, 52) and a supply channel (42) communicating with with said supply channel (31) of the cylinder and with said distributor head (5). 2. A coffee maker according to claim 1, wherein the actuation means (A) is a hydraulic or pneumatic overpressure system (100). 3. Coffee machine according to claim. 2, in which the cylinder (3) has a cylindrical chamber (30) with a vertical axis, an annular wall (35), which is coaxially located in the chamber (30), in order to delimit the inner chamber (30a) of the cylindrical shape and a peripheral chamber (30b) of annular shape; moreover, the said annular wall (35) of the cylinder is suitable for insertion into the annular seat (45) of the piston; a supply channel (31) communicating with the inner chamber (30a) and with a supply channel (11) of the dispensing module; pressure channels (32) communicating with the peripheral chamber (30b) and with the above-mentioned system (100) for maintaining an overpressure. 4. A coffee maker according to claim 3, wherein the cylinder (3) has a ventilation duct (36) extending vertically in the annular wall (35). 5. The coffee maker according to any one of paragraphs. 2-4, in which the overpressure maintenance system (100) includes a charge pump (P2) and a charge valve (V2). 6. The coffee maker according to any one of paragraphs. 2-4, in which the overpressure maintenance system (100) includes said hydraulic supply pump (P1) and a pressure valve (V2). 7. The coffee maker according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the delivery valve (V2) is a three-way electric valve and is connected to three pipes: an inlet tube (94) communicating with the system (100) for maintaining an overpressure, an outlet pipe (95) communicating with the fitting elements (C1, C2) connected to the said discharge ports (32) of the cylinder, and a drain tube (96) communicating with the drain (93). 8. The coffee maker according to any one of paragraphs. 3-7, in which said cylinder has a plurality of injection passages (32) connected to an annular passage (34). 9. Coffee maker to any one of paragraphs. 3-8, in which the piston distributor head (5) has a manifold chamber (50) communicating with said piston feed channel (42) and with said distributor head outlet channels (51, 52). 10. A coffee machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the piston (4) includes at least one rod (8) slidingly extending through said cylinder (3) and said dispensing module, and a spring (M) located outside the dispensing module between the dispensing module (1) and the nut (80) located at one end of the stem.

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