Coffee capsule release mechanism and corresponding capsule storage and release assembly

Abstract

The present invention discloses a coffee capsule releasing mechanism and a corresponding capsule storage and releasing component. The coffee capsule releasing mechanism includes: an electromagnet; a driving block installed below the electromagnet and capable of performing a linear motion under the drive of the electromagnet; a capsule stopping rod installed below the driving block, including a rod portion and a stopping plate. The rod portion can be driven by the driving block to rotate around an axis, and when rotating, the stopping plate can rotate to a blocking position or a releasing position. The blocking position and the releasing position are respectively positions that hinder or allow the coffee capsule at the bottommost of the storage groove to fall; a capsule releasing plate installed beside the driving block and capable of being triggered by the driving block to rotate, and can rotate to a blocking position or a releasing position. The blocking position and the releasing position are respectively positions that hinder or allow the second-to-bottom coffee capsule in the storage groove to fall; and when the stopping plate and the capsule releasing plate are in a blocking position, the other is in a releasing position. The present invention has been well optimized compared with the original structure, and the volume has been greatly reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of capsule coffee machines, and particularly to a coffee capsule releasing mechanism and a corresponding capsule storage and releasing component equipped in the capsule storage mechanism of a capsule coffee machine. Background Art

[0002] The so-called capsule coffee machine (hereinafter simply referred to as coffee machine) is that the manufacturer pre-loads coffee powder into a plastic capsule similar to the shape of jelly, and then fills it with nitrogen to keep fresh, forming a coffee capsule (or simply referred to as a capsule). When coffee is needed, the capsule is put into the coffee machine, and the coffee machine can brew coffee simply, conveniently and quickly. Its usage process is roughly as follows: first, open the lid of the capsule inlet of the coffee machine, put the capsule into the coffee machine, cover the lid, and then press the switch to start brewing coffee. During the brewing process, the outer membrane of the capsule will first be penetrated by a puncture needle, and then the heated hot water will quickly enter the capsule under a certain pressure, and the coffee powder will be extracted through the filter screen inside the capsule and flow into the coffee cup below, thus completing the brewing of coffee. After brewing coffee once, if you want to brew again, you can open the lid, put a new capsule and start the brewing step again.

[0003] In order to improve the existing capsule coffee machine, the applicant applied for several patents related to capsule coffee machines in September 2019, such as the Chinese patent document with the application number CN201910900280.4. The release mechanism is involved in this patent document, and its function is to control the coffee capsules in the storage tank so that they can fall one by one from the outlet. However, in this patent document, the structure of the release mechanism is not well optimized, and its volume is relatively large, resulting in a relatively large distance between each storage tank (which can be seen from the attached drawings of this patent document), and then resulting in a low space utilization rate of the capsule storage mechanism. That is, to store enough coffee capsules, the volume of the capsule storage mechanism will be very large. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the structure of the release mechanism to make its volume smaller to improve the space utilization rate of the capsule storage mechanism. Figure 5 It can be seen that, thus resulting in a low space utilization rate of the capsule storage mechanism. That is, to store enough coffee capsules, the volume of the capsule storage mechanism will be very large. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the structure of the release mechanism to make its volume smaller to improve the space utilization rate of the capsule storage mechanism. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a coffee capsule releasing mechanism with a smaller volume than the original mechanism to improve the space utilization rate of the capsule storage mechanism, and also provide a corresponding capsule storage and releasing component.

[0005] To solve the above technical problem, the present invention provides a coffee capsule releasing mechanism, which is installed as a component of the capsule coffee machine at the lower part of the storage tank in the capsule storage mechanism, and specifically includes:

[0006] An electromagnet, fixed on the outer wall of the lower part of the storage tank;

[0007] The driving block is installed below the electromagnet on the outer wall of the storage slot and can be driven by the electromagnet to move linearly;

[0008] The capsule stop rod is installed below the driving block on the outer wall of the storage slot; the capsule stop rod includes a rod portion and a stop plate connected to the bottom of the rod portion. Among them, the rod portion can be driven by the driving block to rotate around the axis. When rotating, the stop plate can rotate to the blocking position or the release position. The blocking position is the position that hinders the coffee capsule at the bottom of the storage slot from falling, and the release position is the position that allows the coffee capsule at the bottom of the storage slot to fall;

[0009] The capsule release plate is installed beside the driving block on the outer wall of the storage slot. It can be triggered by the driving block to rotate. During the rotation process, the capsule release plate can rotate to the blocking position or the release position. The blocking position is the position that hinders the second-to-last coffee capsule at the bottom of the storage slot from falling, and the release position is the position that allows the second-to-last coffee capsule at the bottom of the storage slot to fall;

[0010] Among them, when one of the stop plate and the capsule release plate is in the blocking position, the other is in the release position.

[0011] The working principle of the present invention is: by controlling the on and off of the electromagnet, the up and down movement of the driving block can be controlled. The up and down movement of the driving block can, on the one hand, drive the rotation of the rod portion of the capsule stop rod, and on the other hand, can also drive the rotation of the capsule release plate; the rotation of the rod portion of the capsule stop rod can drive the stop plate to switch between the blocking position and the release position, and the rotation of the capsule release plate can make itself switch between the blocking position and the release position; and because the stop plate and the capsule release plate rotate alternately between the blocking position and the release position, when releasing the coffee capsule (that is, when the stop plate is in the release position), the capsule release plate will be in the blocking position, so as to ensure that only one coffee capsule can fall, and the coffee capsule above the capsule release plate will not fall.

[0012] The beneficial effect of the present invention is: in the present invention, on the one hand, because the capsule stop rod rotates around the axis during operation, and on the other hand, because the capsule release plate and the driving block are arranged side by side, the thickness of the entire mechanism is well controlled. Compared with the previous release mechanism (the release mechanism disclosed in the patent document with the application number CN201910900280.4), the coffee capsule release mechanism of the present invention has been well optimized on the original basis, and the volume is greatly reduced, so that the distance between each storage slot can be reduced to improve the space utilization rate, enabling the capsule storage mechanism of the same volume to store more coffee capsules.

[0013] Further, a spiral groove that spirally rotates around the outer wall of the rod portion is provided on the rod portion, and a pin shaft is provided on the driving block. The pin shaft is inserted into the spiral groove of the rod portion so that the linear motion of the driving block can drive the rod portion to rotate around the axis.

[0014] The above structure achieves the purpose of converting linear motion into rotational motion. That is, when the driving block makes a linear motion, the pin shaft will move down or up in the spiral groove of the rod portion, thereby forcing the rod portion to rotate, so as to achieve the purpose of controlling the stop plate to switch between the blocking position and the release position.

[0015] Further, the capsule release plate is rotatably mounted on the outer wall of the storage tank. The capsule release plate includes a handle portion and an arm portion. The handle portion is provided with a slotted opening. The arm portion is a bent structure and is connected to the bottom of the handle portion, and the bending direction of the arm portion is bent toward the storage tank side;

[0016] On the side of the driving block adjacent to the capsule release plate, a first toggle rod and a second toggle rod are provided. Among them, the first toggle rod is inserted into the slotted opening of the handle portion of the capsule release plate, and the second toggle rod is located inside the bending portion of the arm portion of the capsule release plate; the up and down movement of the first toggle rod and the second toggle rod can control the rotation of the capsule release plate to switch it between the blocking position and the release position.

[0017] The above structure also achieves the purpose of converting linear motion into rotational motion. That is, when the driving block makes a linear motion, the first toggle rod will move in the slotted opening of the capsule release plate, and the second toggle rod will move inside the arm portion of the capsule release plate, thereby forcing the capsule release plate to rotate through the slotted opening or contact with the arm portion, so as to achieve the purpose of controlling the capsule release plate to switch between the blocking position and the release position.

[0018] Further, when the electromagnet is in the power-off state, the stop plate is in the blocking position, and the capsule release plate is in the release position; when the electromagnet is switched from the power-off state to the power-on state, the capsule release plate first rotates to the blocking position, and then the stop plate rotates to the release position; when the electromagnet is switched from the power-on state to the power-off state, the stop plate first rotates to the blocking position, and then the capsule release plate rotates to the release position.

[0019] The purpose of the above design is as follows: (1) When it is necessary to release the coffee capsule, the electromagnet will switch from the power-off state to the power-on state. During this process, since the capsule release plate will first rotate to the blocking position and then the stop plate will rotate to the release position, only the lowermost coffee capsule will fall, and the other coffee capsules will successively drop one grid and stack above the capsule release plate; (2) After the coffee capsule is released, the electromagnet will switch from the power-on state to the power-off state. During this process, since the stop plate will first rotate to the blocking position and then the capsule release plate will rotate to the release position, there will be no mistake in dropping the coffee capsule, and all the coffee capsules will successively drop one grid and stack above the stop plate.

[0020] In addition, the present invention also provides a capsule storage and release component of a capsule coffee machine, including a storage tank for storing coffee capsules. The storage tank is used for storing coffee capsules in a single row, and an outlet is provided at the bottom thereof. Near the outlet, a coffee capsule release mechanism is attached to the outer wall of the storage tank, and the coffee capsule release mechanism adopts the above-mentioned coffee capsule release mechanism. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 It is a perspective view of the capsule storage and release component, including the storage tank and the coffee capsule release mechanism in this figure;

[0022] Figure 2 It is a front view of the capsule storage and release component, and the coffee capsule release mechanism in this figure is in the power-off state;

[0023] Figure 3 For Figure 2 left view;

[0024] Figure 4 For Figure 2 left side perspective view;

[0025] Figure 5 It is a front view of the capsule storage and release component, and the coffee capsule release mechanism in this figure is in the power-on state;

[0026] Figure 6 For Figure 5 left view;

[0027] Figure 7 For Figure 5 left side perspective view;

[0028] Figure 8 For Figure 1 view in the direction of A-A;

[0029] Figure 9 It is a front view of the capsule stop rod;

[0030] Figure 10 For Figure 9 left view;

[0031] Figure 11 is the front view of the driving block;

[0032] Figure 12 is Figure 11 the left view of;

[0033] Figure 13 is Figure 11 the top view of;

[0034] In the figure, the markings are: 40 - capsule storage mechanism, 401 - storage tank, 402 - coffee capsule release mechanism, 4011 - outlet, a - coffee capsule storage;

[0035] 4021 - electromagnet, 4022 - driving block, 4023 - capsule stop lever, 4024 - capsule release plate;

[0036] 40221 - pin shaft, 40222 - first toggle lever, 40223 - second toggle lever, 40231 - rod part, 40232 - stop plate, 40241 - handle part, 40242 - arm part;

[0037] 40231a - spiral groove, 40241a - slotted opening. Specific embodiments

[0038] In order to more clearly understand the above - mentioned objects, features, and advantages of the present invention, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments of the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0039] In the following description, many specific details are set forth in order to fully understand the present invention. However, the present invention can also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0040] Embodiment 1:

[0041] Refer to Figures 1 - 13 , this embodiment provides a coffee capsule release mechanism, which is installed as a component of a capsule coffee machine in the lower part of the storage tank 401 of the capsule storage mechanism 40, and specifically includes an electromagnet 4021, a driving block 4022, a capsule stop lever 4023, and a capsule release plate 4024.

[0042] The electromagnet 4021 is fixed on the outer wall of the lower part of the storage tank 401. The electromagnet 4021 has an armature, and the armature is arranged vertically and located at the lower part. When the electromagnet 4021 is powered on, the armature will move upward.

[0043] The described driving block 4022 is installed below the electromagnet 4021 on the outer wall of the storage tank 401 and can be driven by the electromagnet 4021 to move linearly, that is, the driving block 4022 is connected to the armature of the electromagnet 4021.

[0044] The described capsule stop lever 4023 is installed below the driving block 4022 on the outer wall of the storage tank 401. The capsule stop lever 4023 includes a rod portion 40231 and a stop plate 40232 connected to the bottom of the rod portion 40231. Among them, the rod portion 40231 can be driven by the driving block 4022 to rotate around the axis. When rotating, the stop plate 40232 can rotate to the blocking position or the release position. The blocking position is the position that hinders the coffee capsule at the bottom of the storage tank 401 from falling, and the release position is the position that allows the coffee capsule at the bottom of the storage tank 401 to fall.

[0045] The described capsule release plate 4024 is installed beside the driving block 4022 on the outer wall of the storage tank 401 and can be triggered by the driving block 4022 to rotate. During the rotation process, the capsule release plate 4024 can rotate to the blocking position or the release position. The blocking position is the position that hinders the second-to-last coffee capsule at the bottom of the storage tank 401 from falling, and the release position is the position that allows the second-to-last coffee capsule at the bottom of the storage tank 401 to fall.

[0046] Among them, when one of the stop plate 40232 and the capsule release plate 4024 is in the blocking position, the other is in the release position.

[0047] More specifically, as Figure 9 and Figure 10 shown, a spiral groove 40231a that spirally rotates around the outer wall of the rod portion 40231 is provided on the rod portion 40231. As Figure 13 shown, the driving block 4022 is provided with a pin shaft 40221, and the pin shaft 40221 is inserted into the spiral groove 40231a of the rod portion 40231, as Figure 8 shown. When the driving block 4022 moves linearly, the pin shaft 40221 will move down or up in the spiral groove 40231a of the rod portion, thereby forcing the rod portion 40231 to rotate to achieve the purpose of controlling the stop plate 40232 to switch between the blocking position and the release position. Among them, in order to reduce the movement resistance, the pitch of the spiral groove 40231a is designed maximally according to the maximum stroke of the electromagnet 4021 and the rotation angle of the stop lever 4023.

[0048] Furthermore, as Figure 1As shown, the capsule release plate 4024 is rotatably mounted on the outer wall of the storage tank 401. The capsule release plate 4024 includes a handle 40241 and an arm 40242. The handle 40241 is provided with a slot 40241a. The arm 40242 is a bent structure and connected to the bottom of the handle 40241. The bending direction of the arm 40242 is toward the storage tank 401. Figure 2 、 Figure 3 as well as Figure 5 、 Figure 6 The driving block 4022 is provided with a first toggle rod 40222 and a second toggle rod 40223 on one side adjacent to the capsule release plate 4024, wherein the first toggle rod 40222 is inserted into the slot 40241a of the handle 40241 of the capsule release plate 4024, and the second toggle rod 40223 is located inside the bend of the arm 40242 of the capsule release plate 4024. Moreover, when the first toggle rod 40222 and the second toggle rod 40223 move up and down, the capsule release plate 4024 can be controlled to rotate and switch between the blocking position and the release position. For details, please compare Figures 2 - 4 as well as Figures 5 - 7 Understand.

[0049] With the above structure, when the driving block 4022 makes a linear motion, the first toggle rod 40222 moves in the slot 40241a of the handle 40241 of the capsule release plate 4024, and the second toggle rod 40223 moves inside the arm 40242 of the capsule release plate 4024, thereby forcing the capsule release plate 4024 to rotate through the slot 40241a or contact with the arm 40242, thereby achieving the purpose of controlling the capsule release plate 4024 to switch between the blocking position and the release position. Figure 3 and Figure 6 When the driving block 4022 moves upward, the first toggle rod 40222 drives the capsule release plate 4024 to rotate clockwise by contacting the slot 40241a. When the driving block 4022 moves downward, the second toggle rod 40223 drives the capsule release plate 4024 to rotate counterclockwise by contacting the inner side of the bend of the arm 40242, thereby controlling the capsule release plate 4024 to switch between the blocking position and the release position.

[0050] Preferably, when the electromagnet 4021 is in the de-energized state (i.e., the reset state), the stop plate 40232 is in the blocking position, and the capsule release plate 4024 is in the releasing position. When the electromagnet 4021 is switched from the de-energized state to the energized state, the capsule release plate 4024 rotates to the blocking position first, followed by the stop plate 40232 rotating to the releasing position. When the electromagnet 4021 is switched from the energized state to the de-energized state, the stop plate 40232 rotates to the blocking position first, followed by the capsule release plate 4024 rotating to the releasing position.

[0051] The purpose of the above design is: (1) when the coffee capsule a needs to be released, the electromagnet 4021 will switch from the power-off state to the power-on state, that is, Figures 2 - 4 The status switches to Figures 5 - 7 During this process, since the capsule release plate 4024 rotates to the blocking position first and then the stop plate 40232 rotates to the releasing position, only the bottom coffee capsule a will fall (see Figure 7 ), the other coffee capsules a will fall down one grid at a time and stack on the capsule release plate; (2) After the coffee capsule a is released, the electromagnet 4021 will switch from the power-on state to the power-off state, i.e. Figures 5 - 7 The status switches to Figures 2 - 4 During this process, since the stop plate 40232 rotates to the blocking position first and then the capsule release plate 4024 rotates to the releasing position, there will be no accidental drop of the coffee capsule a. All coffee capsules a will fall down one grid at a time and stack above the stop plate 40232.

[0052] In the above description, the method adopted for controlling the movement timing of the stop plate 40232 and the capsule release plate 4024 is: respectively controlling the contact time of the stop plate 40232, and the two toggle rods 40222 / 40223 with the slot 40241a of the capsule release plate 4024 and the inner side of the bend of the arm 40242 during movement, thereby achieving the purpose of controlling the movement timing of the capsule stop rod 4023 and the capsule release plate 4024.

[0053] The working principle of this embodiment is as follows: by controlling the on and off of the electromagnet 4021, the up and down movement of the driving block 4022 is controlled. The up and down movement of the driving block 4022 can drive the rod portion 40231 of the capsule stop rod 4023 to rotate, and can also drive the capsule release plate 4024 to rotate. The rotation of the rod portion 40231 of the capsule stop rod 4023 can drive the stop plate 40232 to switch between the blocking position and the release position, and the rotation of the capsule release plate 4024 can switch itself between the blocking position and the release position. Moreover, since the stop plate 40232 and the capsule release plate 4024 switch between the blocking position and the release position in rotation, when the coffee capsule is released (i.e., when the stop plate 40232 is in the release position), the capsule release plate 4024 will first move to the blocking position, thereby ensuring that only one coffee capsule a is dropped, and the coffee capsule a above the capsule release plate 4024 will not drop.

[0054] Example 2:

[0055] See also Figures 1 - 8, this embodiment provides a capsule storage and release component of a capsule coffee machine, which includes a storage tank 401 for storing coffee capsules. The storage tank 401 is used for storing coffee capsules a in a single row, and an outlet 4011 is provided at its bottom. A coffee capsule release mechanism 402 is disposed near the outlet 4011 and attached to the outer wall of the storage tank 401. Among them, the coffee capsule release mechanism 402 adopts the coffee capsule release mechanism 402 described in Embodiment 1.

[0056] The foregoing are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A coffee capsule release mechanism, as a component of a capsule coffee machine, is installed at the lower part of a storage tank (401) in a capsule storage mechanism (40), characterized in that: include: An electromagnet (4021) is fixed on the outer wall of the lower portion of the storage tank (401); A driving block (4022) is installed below the electromagnet (4021) on the outer wall of the storage tank (401) and can be driven by the electromagnet (4021) to perform linear motion; The capsule stopping rod (4023) is installed below the driving block (4022) on the outer wall of the storage tank (401); the capsule stopping rod (4023) includes a rod portion (40231) and a stopping plate (40232) connected to the bottom of the rod portion (40231), wherein the rod portion (40231) can be driven by the driving block (4022) to rotate around the axis. When rotating, the stopping plate (40232) can be rotated to a blocking position or a releasing position. The blocking position is for preventing the coffee capsule at the bottom of the storage tank (401) from falling. The release position is a position for allowing the coffee capsule at the bottom of the storage tank (401) to fall; the rod (40231) is provided with a spiral groove (40231a) that spirally rotates around the outer wall of the rod (40231); the driving block (4022) is provided with a pin (40221) that is inserted into the spiral groove (40231a) of the rod (40231), so that the linear motion of the driving block (4022) can drive the rod (40231) to rotate around the axis; a capsule release plate (4024) mounted on the side of the drive block (4022) on the outer wall of the storage tank (401), which can be triggered by the drive block (4022) to rotate; during the rotation process, the capsule release plate (4024) can be rotated to a blocking position or a releasing position, wherein the blocking position is a position that blocks the second-to-last coffee capsule at the bottom of the storage tank (401) from falling, and the releasing position is a position that allows the second-to-last coffee capsule at the bottom of the storage tank (401) to fall; Wherein, when one of the stop plate (40232) and the capsule release plate (4024) is in the blocking position, the other is in the releasing position.

2. The coffee capsule release mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The capsule release plate (4024) can be rotatably mounted on the outer wall of the storage tank (401). The capsule release plate (4024) includes a handle (40241) and an arm (40242). The handle (40241) is provided with a slot (40241a). The arm (40242) is a bent structure and is connected to the bottom of the handle (40241). The bending direction of the arm (40242) is toward one side of the storage tank (401). A first toggle rod (40222) and a second toggle rod (40223) are provided on one side of the driving block (4022) adjacent to the capsule release plate (4024), wherein the first toggle rod (40222) is inserted into the slot (40241a) of the handle (40241) of the capsule release plate (4024), and the second toggle rod (40223) is located inside the bend of the arm (40242) of the capsule release plate (4024); the up and down movement of the first toggle rod (40222) and the second toggle rod (40223) can control the rotation of the capsule release plate (4024), so that the capsule release plate (4024) switches between a blocking position and a release position.

3. The coffee capsule release mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the electromagnet (4021) is in a power-off state, the stop plate (40232) is in a blocking position, and the capsule release plate (4024) is in a releasing position; when the electromagnet (4021) is switched from a power-off state to a power-on state, the capsule release plate (4024) first rotates to the blocking position, and then the stop plate (40232) rotates to the releasing position; when the electromagnet (4021) is switched from a power-on state to a power-off state, the stop plate (40232) first rotates to the blocking position, and then the capsule release plate (4024) rotates to the releasing position.

4. A capsule storage and release assembly for a capsule coffee machine, comprising a storage tank (401) for storing coffee capsules, wherein the storage tank (401) is used to store coffee capsules (a) in a single row, an outlet (4011) is provided at the bottom thereof, and a coffee capsule release mechanism (402) is provided near the outlet (4011) and attached to the outer wall of the storage tank (401), wherein the coffee capsule release mechanism (402) is provided. The coffee capsule releasing mechanism (402) adopts the coffee capsule releasing mechanism (402) described in any one of claims 1 to 3.

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