WO2019074448A2

WO2019074448A2 - Filter cleaner for coffee machine filters

Info

Publication number: WO2019074448A2
Application number: PCT/SI2018/050032
Authority: WO
Inventors: Allen ROBNIK; Jure TISELJ
Original assignee: Cafelier D.O.O.
Priority date: 2017-10-13
Filing date: 2018-10-02
Publication date: 2019-04-18
Also published as: SI25529A; WO2019074448A3

Abstract

The filter cleaner for coffee machine filters fits on all standard coffee machines and is shaped like a standard portafilter. It consists of a head and a handle, which are in the housing. The head includes an axle onto which a brush is mounted with specially shaped bristles, which ensure that the bristles are in contact with the filter and all the surfaces of the filter, which need to be cleaned are reached. An electric motor and a battery to power an electric motor are provided in the handle. When the filter cleaner is turned on, the brush with bristles starts to rotate, with the bristles reaching all the key surfaces of the filter and cleaning them thoroughly. At the same time, when the filter cleaner is turned on, a button is pressed on the coffee machine so that hot water flows through the filter, which rinses the impurities the brush cleaned from the filter, through the drainage channel.

Description

FILTER CLEANER FOR COFFEE MACHINE FILTERS

The object of the invention is a filter cleaner for coffee machine filters, especially for professional coffee machines.

All bigger coffee machines in restaurants, cafes and other sites where a high number of cups of coffee are prepared daily, have problems with regular cleaning, especially coffee filters, i.e. to remove the residues of grained coffee beans from the filter, . Regular cleaning of coffee machines is necessary because it ensures that the coffee filter is clean thus providing high quality and same taste of coffee every time. When using a professional coffee machine for making coffee, some grains of ground coffee are left on the filter and along the edges of the filter. If the residues of the ground coffee are not regularly removed from the filter's surface and from around the filter they will burn during the continuous use of the coffee machine, which will cause the coffee to taste like bitter, burned coffee. To ensure high quality coffee, the filter should be regularly cleaned at least after every fifty cup of coffee.

Coffee filters of professional coffee machines are usually comprised of a brew head, a gasket and a filter mesh. When brewing coffee, portafilter with ground coffee beans is affixed onto the brew head, by rotating, the portafilter is sealed to the coffee filter gasket by pins which are made in the upper part of the portafilter's circumference, and then hot steam/water passes through the filter mesh and through the ground coffee beans. During this operation a portion of ground coffee beans remains on and around the filter mesh where the portafilter is affixed. When used repeatedly, the residues of ground coffee beans are burnt, which causes the coffee to taste bitter. Therefore, the coffee filters should be cleaned regularly. Cleaning the coffee filter is usually carried out manually in a way that the filter is first cleaned on the inside with a sponge, a blank portafilter, which is a blank screen, is affixed onto the brew head, and then hot steam/water is passed through the filter. Not only is this kind of cleaning time-consuming and imperfect, manual cleaning can also result in injury of the worker who is cleaning the appliance. If cleaning is done during use, it can cause burns, as parts of the coffee machine and thus filter are heated to a high temperature of 80-90 °C. In order to prevent possible injuries, the cleaning is carried out when the filter is at least partially cooled down, which means that in most cases coffee machines are cleaned once a day, at the end of the operating time of the bar, as then the appliance is cooled down enough.

The aforementioned shortcomings are eliminated with a filter cleaner for cleaning coffee machine filters according to the invention.

A filter cleaner according to the invention, fits onto the brew head of each respective coffee machine filter and is shaped like a portafilter of a professional coffee machine. It consists of a head and a handle, which are placed in the housing. The filter cleaner is affixed or installed on the coffee machine in the same way the portafilters are affixed during the preparation of coffee; the filter cleaner is affixed on the brew head of the coffee filter and then with a turn it is sealed onto the brew head, i.e. to the coffee filter gasket by pins.

The head includes an axle onto which a brush is attached with specially shaped bristles, which ensure that the bristles are in contact with the filter, i.e. with the filter mesh, thus the filter mesh is completely covered and that all surfaces of the filter, that need to be cleaned, are reached. The term bristle incorporates, in the context of the patent application, one bristle or more bristles connected into the tuft. A driver for spinning the brush is mounted in the handle. In a preferred embodiment, the driver consists of an electric motor and a battery that powers the electric motor. When the filter cleaner is turned on, the brush with bristles starts to rotate, with the bristles reaching all the key surfaces of the filter and cleaning them thoroughly. At the same time, when the filter cleaner is turned on, a button is pressed on the coffee machine so that hot water flows through the filter, which rinses the impurities scrubbed from the filter by the brush, and the cleaning is done in less than a minute. The invention will be described with the embodiment and by means of figures showing:

Figure 1 shows a cross-section of the filter cleaner for cleaning coffee machine filters according to the invention, which is affixed on the head of the coffee filter;

Figure 2 shows the cross-section of the coffee filter and the brush;

Figure 3 shows a cross section of a contact when the head of the filter cleaner is affixed on the coffee filter head;

Figure 4 shows a cross section of the embodiments of the brush.

A filter cleaner according to the invention, which is presented in the figures, is comprised of a head 2 and a handle 3, both of which are located in a housing 1 . The housing 1 is, in the area of the head 2, formed as a hollow body, which has in its longitudinal cross- section the shape of a ring with an outer diameter D1 and an inner diameter D3, wherein the housing 1 with its outer diameter D1 dimensionally fits onto the brew head of each respective coffee machine filter, i.e. fits into the coffee filter opening. The outer diameter D1 of the housing 1 is thus equal to the respective diameter D2 of the coffee filter opening into which the filter cleaner is inserted.

On the outer wall of the housing 1 in the area of the head 2 pins are made (not shown in the figure), in the upper part of its circumference, for affixing the filter cleaner to the coffee machine that is, for affixing the filter cleaner on the brew head 4 of the coffee filter, in the same way as the pins in the standard portafilter are made. When the filter cleaner according to the invention is affixed on the brew head 4 of the coffee filter, the upper part of the housing 1 in the area of the head 2 is with its outer surface resting on the inner surface of the brew head 4 of the coffee machine and is with its upper rim, resting on the gasket 4.1 of the coffee filter. In the bottom part of the housing 1 in the area of the head 2, an axle 13 is fixed to the housing 1 , to which the brush 5 is centrically and rotatably mounted. In the preferred embodiment, the axle 13 is fixed to the housing 1 with a screw connection. The brush 5 is comprised of a base 6 and bristles 7 which are attached to the base 6, whereby the base 6 is connected in known ways to the driver 9 located inside the housing 1 , preferably in the area of the handle 3, so that the rotation of the brush 5 is enabled. In the preferred embodiment, the rotation of the brush 5 or the base 6 is enabled by two cogwheels 10, 1 1 and an electric motor 9 powered by the battery 20. The first cogwheel 1 1 is attached to the shaft of the electric motor 9 and the second cogwheel 10 is connected to the base 6 of the brush 5. The base 6 is fixed to the second cogwheel 10 by the pin 14, which sits in the groove made on said cogwheel 10. O-seal 16, positioned in the groove made between the base 6 and the second cogwheel 10, guarantees that the base 6 does not fall out. The teeth of cogwheels 10 and 1 1 match up thus the first cogwheel 1 1 powers the brush 5 through the second cogwheel 10. The second cogwheel 10 is vertically mounted on the sleeve 17, and rotationally with the bearing 18 on the carrier 19. The spring element 15 which is pressing on the carrier 19 provides an adequate force for pressing the base 6 with the brush 5 with the bristles 7 to the surface of the filter. The second cogwheel 10 has teeth in the axial direction of a higher altitude than the first cogwheel 1 1 thus the teeth of the two cogwheels 10, 1 1 match even when the second cogwheel 10 moves in the axial direction.

The diameter of the base 6 is smaller than the inner diameter D3 of the housing 1 in order to allow the rotation of the base 6 and the brush 5 inside the housing 1 in the area of the head 2. Thus a slot 6a is formed between the edge of the base 6 and the inner surface of the housing 1 in the area of the head 2, which additionally serves to drain the water. The water flows out the outer edge of the base 6 through the slot 6a between the base 6 and the housing 1 into at least one drainage channel 12 which is made in the housing 1 in the area of the head 2.

The brush 5 comprises at least one set of short bristles 7.1 which are attached to the base 6 in such a way, that on a given radius from the axis 13 at least one short bristle 7.1 is attached to the base 6, thereby assuring that during the rotation of the brush 5 short bristles 7.1 reach the total area of the filter mesh 4.2 and while in operation, they travel along the whole filter mesh 4.2. This means that individual short bristles 7.1 from the set can be randomly arranged on the surface of the base 6, but they have to be arranged in a way that ensures that when the brush 5 is rotating, the short bristles 7.1 reach the entire surface of the filter mesh 4.2. Since, in addition to the filter mesh 4.2, it is also necessary to clean the space 8 around the filter mesh 4.2 into which the head 2 is inserted, brush 5 additionally includes at least one long bristle 7.2 which is attached to the upper surface of base 6 on its outer circumference. When affixing the filter cleaner on the brew head 4 of the coffee filter, the long bristle 7.2 sits in the space 8 around the filter mesh 4.2. The bristles 7 of the brush 5 are facing upward, that is, in the direction of the coffee machine.

In the preferred embodiment, the long bristles 7.2 are spaced uniformly apart from each other along the entire outer circumference of base 6, and the short bristles 7.1 are arranged in concentric circles at regular intervals over the rest of surface of the base 6, that is, in the region of the surface of base 6, below the surface of the screen screen 4.2 of the filter.

Bristles 7 are in a known manner fixedly attached to the upper surface of base 6, i.e. the surface facing the coffee filter, for example in a manner such as bristles on a toothbrush. The short bristles 7.1 are preferably attached perpendicular to the plane of base 6, i.e. in the direction of the axle 13. The long bristles 7.2 are attached at an angle a so that they are inclined with respect to the axle 13 outwards, that is away from the axle 13 or inwards, that is towards the axle 13. Angle a is between 0 ° and 25 °. In the preferred embodiment, the long bristles 7.2 are attached at outwards angle, with their upper part extending 1 to 3 mm over the edge of the base 6.

In the case when the long bristles 7.2 are attached at an outwards angle, the upper part of the housing 1 in the area of the head 2 is conical. The inner diameter D3 of the housing 1 is continuously decreasing so that the inner surface of the upper part of the housing 1 in the area of the head 2 follows the inclination angle of the long bristles 7.2, and the shape of the space 8 in this case is also conical.

When the filter cleaner is affixed on the brew head 4 of the coffee filter, the short bristles

7.1 must rest against, i.e. be in contact with the filter mesh 4.2. The shift along the axle 13, which enables this, can be carried out in known ways. In one embodiment, the shift along the axle 13 is provided by a spring 15 which presses on the carrier 19. With the spring 15 the force by which the brush 5 is pressing upwards, that is, on the filter mesh

4.2 of the coffee machine, is adjusted. In one embodiment, the spring 15 may be a rubber ring.

In the interior of the housing 1 , preferably in the area of the handle 3, the driver 9 is mounted, which is, in the embodiment, an electric motor powered by a battery 20. On the upper side of the housing 1 , preferably in the area of the handle 3, a button 21 for turning the filter cleaner on and off is positioned. Optionally, the handle 3 is at its end in the cap provided with a plug 22 for charging the filter cleaner via cable, or by placing the filter cleaner in the base, that is, in the charging base. Optionally, in the rear of the handle 3 a LED light 23 indicating the battery status 20 and the status of the electric motor is provided. Optionally, inside the housing 1 , a timer may also be placed, which will automatically switch off the brush and signal with an acoustic sound that the cleaning cycle is completed. Optionally, inside the housing 1 in the area of the handle 3, a logic control circuit 24 can be placed. It records and stores data from the device, in correlation with time, for example, whether the cleaner was in use, how many times it was in use and the average time that the cleaner was used. It also enables the connection and transmission of this data, for example through a Wi-Fi network, a mobile network, into an external computing environment, for example, in an online cloud or to a mobile phone.

The filter cleaner, according to the invention, acts as follows: the filter cleaner is affixed on the coffee machine in the same way as the standard portafilter is affixed. During this, the spring pushes the base with bristles to the filter mesh, the long bristles sit in the space around the filter mesh into which the head of the filter cleaner is inserted, and the short bristles rest against or touch the surface of the filter mesh. The power button is turned on, the filter cleaner starts up, the brush starts to rotate and with its bristles rubs the surface of the filter mesh and the space around. At the same time, the coffee machine needs to be turned on, so that through the filter of the coffee machine water flows, which rinses through the drainage channel the impurities which were rubbed from the filter by the brush.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1 . A filter cleaner for coffee machine filters whereby coffee machine filters comprise a brew head (4), a gasket (4.1 ) and a filter mesh (4.2), characterized in that it consists of a head (2) and a handle (3) located in a housing (1 ), whereby the housing (1 ) in the area of the head (2) is formed as a hollow body which with its outer diameter (D1 ) dimensionally fits onto the brew head (4) of each respective coffee machine filter and whereby in the housing (1 ) in the area of the head (2) at least one drainage channel (12) is made, and whereby in the upper part of the housing (1 ) in the area of the head (2), on an axle 13 a brush (5) is mounted centrically and rotatably, whereby the brush (5) consists of a base (6) and bristles (7) which are attached to the base (6), whereby between the edge of the base (6) and the inner surface of the housing (1 ) in the area of the head (2) a slot (6a) is formed, whereby the base (6) is connected to a driver (9) located inside the housing (1 ) and whereby the brush (5) comprises at least one set of short bristles (7.1 ) which are attached to the upper surface of the base (6) in such a way, that on a given radius from the axis (13) at least one short bristle (7.1 ) is attached.

2. The filter cleaner, according to claim 1 , characterized in that the brush (5) additionally comprises at least one long bristle (7.2) which is attached to the upper surface of the base (6) along its outer circumference.

3. The filter cleaner, according to claim 1 and 2, characterized in that the long bristles (7.2), are spaced uniformly apart from each other along the entire outer circumference of the base (6), and the short bristles (7.1 ) are arranged in concentric circles at regular intervals over the rest of surface of the base (6), that is, in the region of the surface of base (6) below the surface of the screen (4.2) of the filter.

4. The filter cleaner, according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the short bristles (7.1 ) are preferably attached perpendicular to the plane of the base (6), that is in the direction of the axle (13), the long bristles (7.2) are attached at an angle a, so that, with respect to the axle (13), they are inclined outwards or inwards.

5. The filter cleaner, according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the angle a is between 0 ° and 25 °.

6. The filter cleaner, according to claims 4 and 5, characterized in that the long bristles (7.2) are attached at an outward angle, with their upper part extending 1 to 3 mm over the edge of the base (6).

7. The filter cleaner, according to claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the driver (9) is an electric motor powered by a battery (20) and the rotation of the brush (5) is carried out via two cogwheels (10, 1 1 ), the first cogwheel (1 1 ) is attached to the shaft of the electric motor and the second cogwheel (10) is connected to the base (6) of the brush (5) and the base (6) is fixed to the second cogwheel (10) by a pin

(14) , which sits in a groove made on said cogwheel (10).

8. The filter cleaner, according to claim 7, characterized in that the second cogwheel (10) is vertically mounted on a sleeve (17), and rotationally with a bearing (18) on a carrier (19) and the second cogwheel (10) has teeth in the axial direction of a higher altitude than the first cogwheel (1 1 ) thus the teeth of the two cogwheels (10, 1 1 ) match even when the second cogwheel (10) moves in an axial direction.

9. The filter cleaner, according to claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the movement of the brush (5) along the axle (13) in the axial direction is provided by a spring

(15) which presses on the carrier (19) and serves as a force adjuster with which the brush (5) presses on the filter mesh (4.2).

10. The filter cleaner, according to claims 1 to 9, characterized in that a button (21 ) for turning the filter cleaner on and off is positioned on the upper side of the housing (1 ) in the area of the handle (3).

1 1. The filter cleaner, according to claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the handle (3), a power adapter (22) and a LED light (23) indicating the battery (20) state and the operation of the electric motor is provided.

12. The filter cleaner, according to claims 1 to 1 1 , characterized in that inside the housing a logical control circuit (24) is placed which records and stores data from the device in correlation with time, and allows the connection and transfer of these data into an external computer environment.