WO2020055358A2

WO2020055358A2 - Cleaning system and method of coffee machines

Info

Publication number: WO2020055358A2
Application number: PCT/TR2019/050574
Authority: WO
Inventors: Altuğ Ünal
Original assignee: Mastaş Maki̇na Kalip Sanayi̇ Ve Ti̇caret Anoni̇m Şi̇rketi̇
Priority date: 2018-07-25
Filing date: 2019-07-13
Publication date: 2020-03-19
Also published as: TR201810667A2; WO2020055358A3

Abstract

The invention is a cleaning system (1) for coffee machines which comprises a cleaner (20) which comprises at least a channel (22) to deliver water or cleaning liquid and at least a hole (21) to apply water or cleaning liquid into the inner surface of the chamber (30), a liquid inlet (23) connected to the liquid chamber in order to provide water or cleaning liquid to the cleaner (20), a heating element (40) in order to heat the chamber (30) and a controller (50) which activates the heating element (40) after the coffee inside the chamber (30) is poured out in order to re-heat the chamber (30).

Description

CLEANING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF COFFEE MACHINES

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention is related to a system and method of cleaning the chamber following the preparation of coffee in automatic coffee machines, particularly coffee machines for preparing Turkish Coffee.

PRIOR ART

Several different automatic device and apparatuses are being used in order to prepare coffee, especially Turkish coffee. The known devices prepare the coffee inside a coffee pot after the coffee is passed through several stages, and the coffee is filled into suitable cups or glasses and the coffee pot is cleaned by said device in order for it to be re-used for coffee preparation.

In said devices usually hot water or cleaning liquid is applied into the inner surface of the coffee pot in order to remove the coffee lumps remaining in the coffee pot. Following this process, water/liquid is discharged from the coffee pot. Small grains of Turkish coffee remain inside the coffee pot when it is being poured out due to the texture of the Turkish coffee and this causes the coffee pot to be dirty.

Another known technical problem is the difficulties faced when disinfecting bacteria. Even though cleaning liquid used for cleaning is heated up to a certain temperature said temperature values are not sufficient to eliminate some of the bacteria.

Another problem related to the cleaning devices in the art is to ensure that the cleaning liquid is applied on the surfaces of the chamber desired to be cleaned and that said liquid is applied with the appropriate pressure. High pressure water needs to be sprayed on the entire inner surface of the chamber in order to remove the lumps of coffee remains in the coffee pot. Accordingly a plurality of holes needs to be formed around the line which delivers the water in order for water to be delivered to the entire surface. However as the number of holes increase, the pressure of water decreases and water with higher flow rates is required in order to achieve the necessary effect. To meet this requirement larger and more powerful pumps are used in coffee machines. The size and power of the pump prevents a compact structure to be formed and increases energy consumption. The below mentioned documents have been determined as reference documents following the research carried out regarding the prior art.

A coffee machine where the cooking chamber is cleaned has been disclosed in the Turkish Trademark and Patent Office document with the application numbered 2015/02601. The invention is related to a coffee machine comprising a cooking chamber, a water tank, a water channel which enables for water to be transferred to the cooking chamber from the water tank, a heater which heats up the cooking chamber, and a control unit which carries out the cleaning process that enables to clean the cooking chamber following user request. The invention delivers water inside the coffee pot in order to provide cleaning and it comprises a control system which determines the number of times of water delivery.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) document with the publication number US6998376 (B1) discloses a method in order to clean the units used for preparing the coffee. In this process an aqueous alkaline solution comprising at least a peroxide compound is applied onto the components that are in contact with the coffee.

A fully automatic machine is described in the Turkish Trademark and Patent office document with the application numbered 2015/06522 where the machine cooks Turkish coffee using coffee beans. According to the invention, after the Turkish coffee is filled into the liquid container, water is sprayed via a pressure nozzle into the coffee pot and the inner surface of the coffee pot is cleaned.

In the European Patent Office (EPO) document numbered EP2725952 (B1) a cleaning system for a coffee machine or similar device is described. In said system steam provided by the heater controlled with a thermostat is applied onto the components that are in contact with the coffee.

As a result all of the problems mentioned above, have made it necessary to provide a novelty in the related field.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is related to a system and method of cleaning the chamber following the preparation of coffee in automatic coffee machines. Primarily a cleaning device in order to deliver water or a cleaning liquid into the chamber and a heating element to heat the chamber is described. When the coffee preparation process is completed, and the coffee is poured into a cup or other similar container to be presented to the user, the chamber is heated by the heating element and the lumps of remaining coffee thereon are dried and bacteria are disinfected. Following this water or cleaning liquid is sprayed by the cleaning device into the chamber and the remaining coffee lumps are removed from the chamber.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, aims to eliminate the problems mentioned above and to provide a technical novelty to the related field.

The main aim of the invention is to provide a system and method of cleaning the chamber following the preparation of coffee in automatic coffee machines.

Another aim of the invention is to dry the coffee grains remaining inside the chamber with pressurized air to ensure that they are easily cleaned with a liquid in order to increase cleaning performance in coffee machines.

Another aim of the invention is to ensure the disinfection of bacteria and other similar harmful substances that can be formed in the chamber.

Another aim of the invention is to ensure that the water or cleaning liquid applied into the chamber for cleaning, contacts the surface at a maximum level.

Another aim of the invention is to deliver minimum amount of liquid with maximum pressure into the inner surface of the chamber by modifications that can be carried out regarding the diameter of the holes and positioning thereof.

Another aim of the invention is to enable chamber cleaning with smaller and less powerful pumps.

In order to accomplish all of the aims that can be construed from the information given above from the following detailed description, the present invention is a chamber cleaning device for coffee machines. Accordingly it comprises;

a cleaner comprising, at least a channel used to deliver water or cleaning liquid, and at least one hole used to apply the water or cleaning liquid delivered from said channel into the inner surface of the chamber,

a liquid inlet connected with the liquid chamber in order to supply water or cleaning liquid to the cleaner,

a heating element in order to heat the chamber and

a controller to heat the chamber by activating the heating element after the coffee inside the chamber is poured out. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention said heating element is a resistor.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention said chamber is made of aluminum.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention said chamber is coated with polytetrafluoroethylene. Therefore heat insulation is increased and the chamber is non-stick.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the thickness of said chamber wall is between 1-7 mm. Thereby heat transfer is increased.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention said heating element is placed at the bottom section of the chamber.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention said heating element is configured such that it contacts at least a section of the side surface of the chamber. As a result equal heat distribution is provided to the surfaces.

A preferred embodiment of the invention comprises comprising a motor which provides power in order to rotate the cleaner around its own axis. As a result it is enabled to deliver liquid to a maximum area with minimum number of holes and/or minimum hole diameters.

A preferred embodiment of the invention comprises holes that have been aligned at a vertical axis.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention said holes are inclined. As a result high pressure water or cleaning liquid is applied to different points of the chamber.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention at least two of said holes are inclined at different angles relative to each other. Thereby the liquid applied from the holes can be delivered homogenously to different points.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention said holes have been aligned at equal distances around the periphery of the cleaner.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention said holes are inclined.

According to a another preferred embodiment of the invention at least two of said holes are inclined at different angles relative to each other.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a sensor is provided in order to detect the position of the cleaner. According to another preferred embodiment of the invention comprises at least a cleaner gear which is connected to a cleaner and at least a motor gear coupled to the motor which are in contact with each other in order to deliver the motion of the motor to the cleaner. Thereby more freedom has been provided regarding the positioning of the motor.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention said motor comprises a sensor in order to detect the position and/or motion of at least one of said motor or cleaner gears. As a result the cleaner can easily be brought to the zero position and it can be detected if it has reached the necessary number of cycles in order to provide cleaning.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention at least one of said motor or cleaner gears comprises a magnet and a sensor which is magnetically susceptive in order to detect said magnet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Figure 1 shows the illustrative schematic view of an embodiment of the system subject to the invention.

Figure 2 shows the isometric view of an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 3, shows the sectional left perspective view of an embodiment of the invention

Figure 4, shows the exploded isometric view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 4. A, shows the bottom isometric view of the body-cleaning shaft in order to illustrate the sensor structure of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 5, shows the detailed view of the hole sections.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMBERS IN THE FIGURES

1. System

10. Motor

11. Shaft

111. Motor plate

112. Retainer

12. Motor gear

13. Cleaner gear 131. Magnet

132. Slot

133. Bearing

14. Body

141. Sensor slot

1411. Sensor

142. Gear plate

15. Mounting plate

20. Cleaner

21. Hole

22. Channel

23. Liquid Inlet

231. Liquid inlet hole

232. Liquid inlet connection

30. Chamber

40. Heating element

41. Connection element

50. Controller

a. Hole angle

p.Hole angle

Q. Hole angle

X. Horizontal axis

Y.Vertical axis

YY. Side surface

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In this detailed description the cleaning device (1) of the coffee machines subject to the invention have been illustrated with non-limiting examples in order to further describe the subject matter of the invention.

The invention is related to a system (1) and method of cleaning the chamber (30) following the preparation of coffee in automatic coffee machines. Figure 1 shows the illustrative schematic view of an embodiment of the system subject to the invention.

The invention is a cleaning device (1) for automatic coffee machines characterized by comprising;

• a cleaner (20) comprising, at least a channel (22) used to deliver water or cleaning liquid, and at least one hole (21) used to apply the water or cleaning liquid delivered from said channel into the inner surface of the chamber (30),

• a liquid inlet (23) connected with the liquid chamber in order to supply water or cleaning liquid to the cleaner (20),

• a heating element (40) in order to heat the chamber (30) and

• a controller (50) to heat the chamber (30) by activating the heating element (40) after the coffee inside the chamber (30) is poured out.

An isometric view of the cleaning device (1) has been shown in Figure 2, a sectional view has been shown in Figure 3 and the exploded view has been shown in Figure 4.

A heating element (40) has been preferably positioned at the bottom section of the chamber (30) in order to heat the chamber (30). The heating element (40) is preferably a resistor and it has been coupled to a power supply (not shown in the figures) via a connection element (41). The heating element (40) not only heats up the coffee inside the chamber (30) but it also re heats the chamber (30) after serving the coffee and it makes it easier to dry and clean the coffee lumps. The controller (50) described in the schematic view in Figure 1 activates the heating element (40) after the coffee preparation process is completed and following this the remaining coffee lumps are dried inside the chamber (30).

The heating element (40) can be placed at the bottom of the chamber (30) and it can also enable homogenous distribution of heat by contacting at least a section of the side surface (YY) of the chamber (30) in an embodiment.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, although the chamber (30) is made of aluminum, it has been preferably coated with polytetrafluoroethylene known as Teflon®. Although the wall thickness of the chamber (30) varies between 1-7 mm in order to increase heat transfer, in the illustrated embodiment the thickness has been selected to be 2.5 mm.

The processed coffee beans are mixed inside the chamber (30) with hot water and they are heated up to suitable temperatures. The heating process is preferably carried out with a heating element (40) selected as a resistor. After the coffee is prepared and is poured out of the chamber (30) the cleaner (20) rotated by the motor (10) mentioned above applies pressurized liquid into the chamber (30) and it removes the remaining coffee lumps out of the chamber (30).

The rotation of the cleaner (20) enables the water or cleaning fluid to be delivered to the entire inner surface of the chamber (30) even when there are less number of holes (21) are if said holes are narrow; this eliminates the need for wide and/or plurality of holes (21) to be used and as a result it enables lower number of holes (21) and/or smaller holes to be formed in said structure, and therefore provides maximum amount of pressure with minimum amount of water or cleaning liquid usage. The cleaner (20) can preferably rotate 360°

In an embodiment of the invention the cleaner (20) has been placed on the chamber (30). The cleaner (20) is connected to the water or cleaning liquid tank (not shown in the figures) via a liquid inlet (23), wherein the liquid required to clean the chamber (30) is delivered from the liquid tank to the cleaner (20) by means of the liquid inlet (23). Preferably a pipe couples the liquid inlet (23) with the water or liquid tank. The liquid inlet (23) can be selected as a bush connector. The liquid received from the liquid inlet (23) is delivered from a channel (22) located inside the cleaner (20) to the hole (21) or holes (21) and are sprayed into the chamber (30). The number of said holes (21) is at least one, however in the structure shown in Figures 1-4 there are three holes.

Figure 5, shows the detailed view of the hole (21) sections.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention said holes (21) are aligned at a vertical axis (Y). The related structure is illustrated in Figure 5. Accordingly the vertically positioned holes (21) rotate such that they deliver liquid onto the entire inner surface of the chamber (30) by means of the motion created by the motor (10). If the holes (21) were not vertically aligned and if said motor (10) did not provide any kind of motion, the liquid required for the whole chamber (30) would have to be delivered from more number of holes (21) or the need for holes (21) with wider diameters would be required. According to said embodiment maximum amount of surface cleaning and liquid pressure is provided with a minimum number of holes (21). The holes (21) can also be positioned around the head section of the cleaner (20) at equal distances from each other. Besides this, said holes (21) can also be formed to have an inclined structure.

The hole angles (a, b, Q) of said inclination can be equal to each other, or at least two of the angles (a, b, Q) can be different from each other. As all of the hole angles (a, b, Q) have a different value from each other, this enables water or cleaning liquid to be applied to different points of the chamber (30). The hole angles (a, b, Q) can vary between 0-90° relative to the horizontal axis (Y).

As it can be seen in Figures 1-3 the cleaner (20) has been coupled indirectly to the motor (10). The motor (10) rotates the motor gear (11) via a shaft (11). Said motor gear (11), delivers the rotation motion it has received from the motor (10) directly or indirectly to the cleaner gear (13) which is coupled to the cleaner (20). Although said delivery is provided by means of the two gears (12, 13) in the embodiment shown in the figures, alternatively delivery can also be provided without contact between said gears (12, 13) by means of a belt. Preferably the motor (10) is positioned on the motor plate (111).

The fluid inlet (23) has been positioned on said cleaner gear (13). The fluid inlet hole (231) enables water or cleaning liquid to be delivered from the liquid chamber to the cleaner (20). Preferably the liquid inlet (23) is at a fixed state and the cleaner gear (13) does not move together with said inlet. The liquid inlet (23) which has been selected as a bush connector has been coupled to the liquid inlet connection (232) by clamping the teeth on the outer surface of said union and the teeth located in the inner surface of the bush connector. The liquid inlet connection (232) has a hollow cylindrical structure. The liquid inlet connection (232) has also been coupled to the teeth located at the channel (22) section of the cleaner (20) by means of the teeth found at the other end of the external surface. The afore-mentioned cleaner gear (13) rotates the liquid inlet connection (232) and therefore the cleaner (20). The periphery of the liquid inlet (23) has been surrounded with a retainer (112) as shown in Figures 1-3 and as a result the movement of this section is prevented. Said retainer (112) is preferably integrated with the motor plate (111).

The cleaner (20) is extended to the chamber (30) by being inserted through a hole located inside the body (14). The body (14) is connected to the mounting plate (15) and said mounting plate (15) enables the device (1) to be mounted inside the coffee machine. The cleaner (20) is positioned on the body (14) via bearings (133).

A heating element (40) has been preferably positioned at the bottom section of the chamber (30) in order to heat the chamber (30). The heating element (40) is preferably a resistor and it has been coupled to a power supply (not shown in the figures) via a connection element (41). The heating element (40) heats up the coffee inside the chamber (30).

It is crucially important for the position of said cleaner (20) to be determined. After power is cut off, in order for cleaning to be carried out correctly, the number of rounds of rotation given to the cleaner (20) by the motor (10), needs to be determined. In accordance with these objectives said device (1) comprises a sensor (1411). Said sensor (1411) is positioned into the sensor slot (141) which is preferably an extension of the body (14).

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention at least one of said motor or cleaner gears (12, 13) comprises a magnet (131) and a sensor (1411) which is magnetically susceptive in order to detect said magnet (131). In figure 1-4. A and especially in the embodiment shown in 4. A, a sensor (1411) has been positioned in the slot (132) that has been formed at the bottom surface of the cleaner gear (13). Together with this, it is obvious that the connection of the magnet (131) to the related section can also be carried out by riveting etc. In the embodiment the magnet (131) rotates together with the cleaning gear (13) and it forms a signal when the sensor (1411) that has a fixed position is aligned with the related magnet (13), thereby creating data related to the position of the cleaner gear (13) and the cleaner (20). Said structure is being shown in Figure 4. A.

Said position detection can be provided by means of several different sensor (1411) applications. For example the sensor (1411) can be selected as an approximation sensor (1411) and the sensor (1411) can be triggered by means of a slot provided on the surface of the cleaner gear (13). Similar applications can also be provided with different positioning. Besides this, the device (1) can comprise a plurality of sensors (1411). Therefore more data input is provided and location detection can be carried out more frequently.

The method subject to the invention is a chamber (30) cleaning method for automatic coffee machines, characterized in that it comprises the step of heating the chamber (30) after the coffee inside the chamber (30) has been poured out.

In said method, the chamber (30) is preferably heated with a heating element (40) selected as a resistor. The heating element (40) is activated while coffee is being prepared and coffee is heated. After the coffee is prepared the chamber (30) is rotated by a mechanism and the controller (50) re-activates the heating element (40) by means of the response it receives from the motion of the mechanism, and it enables the drying of the remaining coffee lumps inside the chamber (30) and ensures the disinfection of bacteria. Following this, water or cleaning liquid is sprayed into the heated chamber (30).

The protection scope of the invention has been mentioned in the claims that are attached and the invention cannot be limited to the embodiments described in this detailed description. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can provide similar embodiments within the scope of the above mentioned descriptions without deviating from the main theme of the invention.

Claims

1. The invention is related to a chamber (30) cleaning system (1) for coffee machines, characterized by comprising;

• a heating element (40) in order to heat the chamber (30) and

2. A chamber (30) cleaning system (1) according to claim 1 characterized by said heating element (40) is a resistor.

3. A chamber (30) cleaning system (1) according to claim 1 , characterized by said chamber (30) is made of aluminum.

4. A chamber (30) cleaning system (1) according to claim 1 or 3 characterized by said chamber (30) is coated with polytetrafluoroethylene.

5. A chamber (30) cleaning system (1) according to claim 1 , characterized by the wall thickness of the chamber (30) is between 1-7 mm.

6. A chamber (30) cleaning system (1) according to claim 1 characterized by said heating element (40) is positioned at the base of the chamber.

7. A chamber (30) cleaning system (1) according to claim 1 characterized by said heating element (40) is configured such that it contacts at least a section of the side surface (YY) of the chamber (30).

8. A chamber (30) cleaning system (1) according to claim 1 , characterized by comprising a motor (10) which provides power in order to rotate the cleaner (20) around its own axis.

9. A chamber (30) cleaning system (1) according to claim 1 or claim 8, characterized by comprising holes (21) aligned at a vertical axis (Y).

10. A chamber (30) cleaning system (1) according to claim 1 or claim 8, characterized by said holes (21) is inclined.

11. A chamber (30) cleaning system (1) according to claim 10, characterized by at least two of said holes (21) is inclined at different angles relative to each other.

12. A chamber (30) cleaning system (1) according to claim 1 , characterized by said holes (21) is formed at equal distances with each other around the periphery of the cleaner (20).

13. A chamber (30) cleaning system (1) according to claim 12, characterized by said holes (21) is inclined.

14. A chamber (30) cleaning system (1) according to claim 13, characterized by at least two of said holes (21) is inclined at different angles relative to each other.

15. A chamber (30) cleaning system (1) according to claim 1 , characterized by comprising a sensor (1411) in order to detect the position of the cleaner (20).

16. A chamber (30) cleaning device (1) according to claim 8, characterized by comprising at least a cleaner gear (13) which is connected to a cleaner (20) and at least a motor gear (12) coupled to the motor (10) which are in contact with each other in order to deliver the motion of the motor (10) to the cleaner (20).

17. A chamber (30) cleaning device (1) according to claim 16, characterized by comprising at least a sensor (1411) in order to detect the motion and/or position of at least one of said motor or cleaner gears (12, 13).

18. A chamber (30) cleaning device (1) according to claim 16, characterized in that at least one of said motor or cleaner gears (12, 13) comprises a magnet (131) and a sensor (1411) which is magnetically susceptive in order to detect said magnet (131).

19. The invention is a coffee machine comprising a chamber (30) cleaning system (1) according to any of the preceding claims.

20. The invention is related to a chamber (30) cleaning method for automatic coffee machines, characterized in that the chamber (30) is heated after the coffee inside the chamber (30) is poured out.

21. A chamber cleaning method according to claim 20, characterized by water or cleaning liquid being sprayed into the heated chamber (30).

22. A chamber cleaning method according to claim 20, characterized by said chamber (30) being heated with a heating element (40).