Brewing module and cleaning method thereof, food processor and storage medium

Abstract

The invention discloses a brewing module and a cleaning method thereof, a food processor and a storage medium, the brewing module comprises a brewing cylinder, two piston pieces, a driving mechanism and a water supply assembly, and the brewing cylinder is provided with a channel in a penetrating manner; at least one piston piece can move along the channel and has a flushing state when a gap between the two piston pieces meets a preset condition; the driving mechanism is in driving connection with the movably arranged piston piece; the water supply assembly is used for feeding liquid into the gap when the two piston pieces are in the flushing state. The preset condition comprises that the width of the gap is not greater than a preset threshold. When the two piston pieces are in a flushing state, a gap exists between the two piston pieces, but the two piston pieces are fully close to each other, at the moment, liquid is fed into the gap between the two piston pieces through the water supply assembly, and the two piston pieces can be flushed through the liquid; therefore, it is ensured that at least the residues left on the piston heads of the two piston pieces are cleaned up timely and thoroughly, and the cleaning effect on the piston pieces is optimized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of food processors, and in particular to a brewing module and a cleaning method thereof, a food processor, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] Existing food processors, such as coffee machines, are generally provided with a brewing cylinder and a piston disposed in the brewing cylinder. The form of the piston may include vertically arranged upper and lower pistons or horizontally arranged left and right pistons according to the arrangement of the brewing cylinder. Among them, the brewing cylinder is penetrated by a channel, and the upper and lower piston members can move up and down in the channel. When it is necessary to perform a beverage preparation operation, the upper and lower piston members approach each other in the channel and jointly press the powder to obtain a powder cake. After such long-term use, residue may remain in the piston cylinder and on the piston surfaces of the upper piston member and the lower piston member. The prior art generally scrapes off the residue at the piston head by a scraping plate disposed outside the brewing cylinder, but it is easy to have an incomplete scraping, which reduces the cleaning effect of the upper and lower piston members. Summary of the invention

[0003] The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a brewing module and a cleaning method thereof, a food processor, and a storage medium, aiming to solve the problem of poor cleaning effect of upper and lower pistons in traditional food processors.

[0004] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a brewing module, comprising:

[0005] A brewing cylinder having a passage therethrough;

[0006] Two pistons are movably arranged relative to the brewing cylinder and have a flushing state when a gap between the two pistons meets a preset condition;

[0007] a driving mechanism, drivingly connected to the movably arranged piston member; and

[0008] A water supply assembly, the water supply assembly being used to supply liquid into the gap after the two piston members are in the flushing state;

[0009] The preset condition includes that the width of the gap is not greater than a preset threshold.

[0010] Optionally, the preset threshold is 10 mm.

[0011] Optionally, the preset condition also includes that the gap remains connected to the outside of the channel.

[0012] Optionally, in the flushing state, at least one of the piston members is located outside the channel, so that the gap is at least partially exposed outside the channel.

[0013] Optionally, in the flushing state, one of the piston members is flush with an end of the channel, the other of the piston members is located outside the channel, and the two piston members are arranged opposite to each other.

[0014] Optionally, the channel is extended in the vertical direction and has a first port and a second port which are arranged opposite to each other from bottom to top;

[0015] In the flushing state, one of the piston members is flush with the second port, and the other piston member is located vertically above the second port; or,

[0016] In the flushing state, one of the piston members is flush with the first port, and the other of the piston members is located vertically below the first port.

[0017] Optionally, after the driving mechanism drives one of the pistons to move to a preset position, it drives another of the pistons to move closer to the flushing state;

[0018] The preset position is located inside the channel or outside the channel.

[0019] Optionally, after the driving mechanism drives the two piston members to move close to each other until they are in the flushing state, the driving mechanism drives the two piston members to move synchronously until the gap is connected to the outside of the channel.

[0020] Optionally, a water supply hole is provided through the piston head of the piston member, and the water supply assembly is connected to the water supply hole; and / or,

[0021] The piston member is provided with a suction hole through its piston head, and the brewing module also includes a suction component, which is communicated with the suction hole.

[0022] Optionally, the two piston members are respectively a first piston member and a second piston member arranged sequentially from bottom to top;

[0023] The brewing module is provided with a water supply hole, the water supply assembly is connected to the water supply hole, and the opening of the water supply hole is arranged upward so that the liquid can flow toward the second piston member against the direction of gravity and then fall to the first piston member along the direction of gravity.

[0024] Optionally, one port of the channel is a slag discharge port, and the two piston members are respectively a proximal piston member disposed close to the slag discharge port, and a distal piston member disposed far from the slag discharge port;

[0025] Driven by the driving mechanism, the proximal piston member can be disengaged from the channel through the slag discharge port, and the distal piston member can move toward the slag discharge port until it is exposed outside the slag discharge port, so as to scrape the slag in the channel outward through the slag discharge port.

[0026] Optionally, the brewing module further comprises a scraper, which is arranged outside the channel and adjacent to the slag discharge port;

[0027] When the distal piston member is exposed outside the residue discharge port, at least one of the residue scraping member and the brewing cylinder is movably arranged relative to the other to drive the residue scraping member to scrape off the residue at the distal piston member.

[0028] In addition, to achieve the above object, the present invention also provides a method for cleaning the brewing module as described above, comprising:

[0029] When a cleaning instruction is received, the control driving mechanism drives the two pistons to move closer together;

[0030] When it is determined that the two piston members move to the flushing state, the water supply component is controlled to introduce liquid into the gap.

[0031] Optionally, the water pressure provided by the water supply component when the brewing module runs a brewing mode is a first water pressure, and the water pressure provided when the cleaning instruction is executed is a second water pressure, and the second water pressure is less than the first water pressure.

[0032] Optionally, a water supply hole is provided through the piston head of the piston member, and the water supply assembly is connected to the water supply hole;

[0033] In the step of controlling the water supply component to introduce liquid into the gap, the ejection height of the water supply component is not less than the width of the gap, and / or the water supply volume of the water supply component is not less than the volume of the gap.

[0034] Optionally, the cleaning instruction is manually triggered by a user; or,

[0035] The cleaning instruction is generated in association with a preset mode, wherein the preset mode includes at least one of a brewing mode, a debugging mode, a power-on mode, and a power-off mode.

[0036] Optionally, the cleaning instruction includes:

[0037] A first cleaning instruction is generated after each brewing mode is executed; or,

[0038] The second cleaning instruction is generated after each brewing mode is executed a set number of times.

[0039] Optionally, the brewing module forms a first cleaning intensity when executing the first cleaning instruction, and forms a second cleaning intensity when executing the second cleaning instruction, and the second cleaning intensity is greater than the first cleaning intensity.

[0040] Optionally, the set number of times is determined by manual input by a user.

[0041] In addition, to achieve the above object, the present invention also provides a method for cleaning the brewing module as described above, comprising:

[0042] When receiving a cleaning instruction, the control driving mechanism drives the proximal piston member to disengage from the channel through the slag discharge port, and drives the distal piston member to move toward the slag discharge port until it is exposed outside the slag discharge port;

[0043] removing the slag received by the distal piston member;

[0044] Controlling the driving mechanism to drive the two piston members to move closer together;

[0045] When it is determined that the two piston members move to the flushing state, the water supply component is controlled to introduce liquid into the channel.

[0046] Optionally, the brewing module further includes a scraper;

[0047] The step of removing the slag received by the distal piston member comprises:

[0048] The scraper and / or the brewing cylinder are controlled to move relative to each other, so as to drive the scraper to scrape off the residue received by the distal piston.

[0049] Optionally, the step of clearing the residue received by the distal piston member is performed once or repeated at least twice.

[0050] Optionally, before and / or after the step of removing the slag received by the distal piston member, the method further comprises:

[0051] Controlling the driving mechanism to drive the distal piston member to move into the channel;

[0052] Controlling the water supply component to introduce liquid into the gap;

[0053] Controlling the driving mechanism to drive the distal piston member to translate in the channel;

[0054] The waste water in the channel is discharged outwardly.

[0055] In addition, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention further provides a food processor, comprising:

[0056] The brewing module as described above; and

[0057] The control device comprises a memory, a processor and a cleaning program of the brewing module stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the cleaning program of the brewing module is configured to implement the steps of the cleaning method of the brewing module as described above.

[0058] In addition, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention further provides a storage medium, on which a cleaning program of the brewing module is stored, and when the cleaning program of the brewing module is executed by the processor, the steps of the cleaning method of the brewing module as described above are implemented.

[0059] In the technical solution provided by the present invention, when the driving mechanism drives the two piston parts to be in a flushing state, there is a gap between the two piston parts but they are sufficiently close. At this time, liquid is introduced into the gap between the two piston parts through the water supply component, and the liquid can be used to flush at least the piston heads of the two piston parts, thereby ensuring that the residue remaining at at least the piston heads of the two piston parts is cleaned up in time and thoroughly, thereby optimizing the cleaning effect of the piston parts. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0060] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without paying creative work.

[0061] Figure 1 A three-dimensional schematic diagram of an embodiment of a brewing module provided by the present invention;

[0062] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A longitudinal sectional view of the first embodiment of the middle brewing cylinder and two piston members in a flushing state;

[0063] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A longitudinal sectional view of a second embodiment of the middle brewing cylinder and two piston members in a flushing state;

[0064] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a control device for a hardware operating environment involved in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0065] Figure 5 A schematic flow chart of an embodiment of a method for cleaning a brewing module provided by the present invention.

[0066] Description of Figure Numbers:

[0067] 100 brewing cylinder; 110 channel; 111 first port; 112 second port; 210 first piston member; 211 water supply hole; 220 second piston member; 221 suction hole; 310 first driving mechanism; 320 second driving mechanism; 400 control device; 410 processor; 420 communication bus; 430 user interface; 440 network interface; 450 memory.

[0068] The realization of the purpose, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained in conjunction with embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0069] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0070] It should be noted that if the embodiments of the present invention involve directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.), the directional indications are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the components under a certain specific posture (as shown in the accompanying drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0071] In addition, if there are descriptions involving "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present invention, the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In addition, the meaning of "and / or" appearing in the full text includes three parallel schemes. Taking "A and / or B" as an example, it includes scheme A, or scheme B, or a scheme that satisfies both A and B. In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but it must be based on the ability of ordinary technicians in the field to implement. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be deemed that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by the present invention.

[0072] See also Figures 1 to 4 The present invention provides a brewing module and a food processor used therein. The food processor may further include a control device 400.

[0073] In actual application, the specific form of the food processor is not limited. Take the food processor for coffee drinks as an example: in actual application, the food processor can be directly set as a brewing machine, that is, a device that basically only has a brewing function, which can compress and brew the existing coffee powder. Alternatively, the food processor can be set as a fully automatic or semi-automatic coffee machine. According to actual needs, the coffee machine also includes a grinding mechanism, which can grind coffee beans to obtain coffee powder, and then transfer the coffee powder to the brewing module for compacting and brewing.

[0074] The brewing module includes a brewing cylinder 100, two pistons, a driving mechanism and a water supply assembly. The brewing cylinder 100 is provided with a channel 110; at least one of the two pistons is movably arranged along the channel 110, so that the two pistons can move close to each other and form a gap between them. When the gap meets a preset condition, the two pistons are in a flushing state; the driving mechanism is drivingly connected to the movably arranged piston; the water supply assembly is used to connect liquid to the gap while or after the two pistons are in the flushing state; the preset condition includes that the width of the gap is not greater than a preset threshold.

[0075] In the technical solution provided by the present invention, when the driving mechanism drives the two piston parts to be in a flushing state, there is a gap between the two piston parts but they are sufficiently close. At this time, liquid is introduced into the gap between the two piston parts through the water supply component, and the liquid can be used to flush at least the piston heads of the two piston parts, thereby ensuring that the residue remaining at at least the piston heads of the two piston parts is cleaned up in time and thoroughly, thereby optimizing the cleaning effect of the piston parts.

[0076] It should be noted that the present design does not limit the specific installation orientation of the brewing module, but for ease of understanding, in the following embodiments, the brewing cylinder 100 is generally cylindrical, and its channel 110 extends generally in the vertical direction. The channel 110 has a first port 111 and a second port 112 that are arranged opposite to each other. The relative directions of the first port 111 and the second port 112 are not limited. For example, Figures 1 to 3 In the illustrated structure, the first port 111 may be located vertically below the second port 112 .

[0077] The two pistons may be a first piston 210 and a second piston 220 . The first piston 210 may be a piston extending from the first port 111 into the channel 110 . The second piston 220 may be a piston extending from the second port 112 into the channel 110 .

[0078] Among them, one of the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 can be fixed relative to the brewing cylinder 100, and the other can reciprocate along the channel 110. For example, the first piston member 210 extends from the first port 111 into the channel 110, or is maintained at the same level as the first port 111, so that the bottom of the brewing cylinder 100 is blocked by the first piston member 210. The second piston member 220 can move to the outside of the channel 110, so that the second port 112 is open, and coffee powder can be introduced into the channel 110 through the second port 112; then the second piston member 220 can extend from the second port 112 into the channel 110, and can move toward the first port 111, and move close to the first piston member 210, so as to press the coffee powder into a cake, and finally achieve brewing and extraction of the powder cake.

[0079] Alternatively, both the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 are movably arranged relative to the brewing cylinder 100. For example, the first piston member 210 can be movably extended from the outside of the channel 110 through the first port 111 into the channel 110, and can move toward the second port 112; the second piston member 220 can be movably extended from the outside of the channel 110 through the second port 112 into the channel 110, and can move toward the first port 111.

[0080] In order to realize the movement driving of the first piston member 210 and / or the second piston member 220, the brewing module also includes a driving mechanism, and the corresponding mechanism may be a first driving mechanism 310 for driving the movement of the first piston member 210 and / or a second driving mechanism 320 for driving the movement of the second piston member 220. The specific manifestation of the first driving mechanism 310 and / or the second driving mechanism 320 is not limited, and may be a driver such as a linear cylinder, or a combination of a driver such as a linear cylinder, a motor, and a transmission component. The transmission component may be set as a reversing transmission component according to actual needs, such as a gear rack mechanism, a screw nut mechanism, etc.; it may also be set as a speed regulating and position regulating transmission component, such as a gear set, etc.

[0081] In the above embodiment, a piston member is provided with a water supply hole 211 through its piston head, and the water supply assembly is connected to the water supply hole 211. For example, the first piston member 210 is formed with a water supply hole 211 through its piston head from bottom to top. The water supply assembly includes, for example, a water tank, a pump body and a connecting pipe, and the connecting pipe connects the water supply hole 211 and the water tank. Driven by the pump body, the liquid stored in the water tank will enter the water supply hole 211 through the connecting pipe and finally enter the gap. It should be noted that in this process, the liquid can be directly at room temperature, such as tap water; it can also be hot water obtained after heating by the heating module, steam obtained after heating and pressurizing the heating module, cleaning liquid obtained after adding a medicine or a cleaning agent, etc. Specifically, it can be the above-mentioned first piston member 210 that is provided with a water supply hole 211.

[0082] In practical applications, when the two pistons are respectively the first piston 210 and the second piston 220 arranged sequentially from bottom to top as described above, the end face of the piston head of the first piston 210 faces upward, and the end face of the piston head of the second piston 220 faces downward. Specifically, the brewing module is provided with a water supply hole 211, and the water supply assembly is connected to the water supply hole 211. The orifice of the water supply hole 211 is arranged upward, so that after the liquid provided by the water supply assembly is connected to the channel 110 through the water supply hole 211, it will first be ejected toward the second piston 220 against the direction of gravity to clean the end face of the piston head of the second piston 220. Then the liquid falls to the first piston 210 along the direction of gravity, and cleans the end face of the piston head of the second piston 210, which is more conducive to the efficient cleaning of the first piston 210 and the second piston 220. The water supply hole 211 can be directly opened at the first piston 210, and is arranged to penetrate the end face of the piston head of the first piston 210. Alternatively, the water supply hole 211 may be specifically provided at the brewing cylinder 100 , penetrating through the side wall of the brewing cylinder 100 .

[0083] And / or a piston member is provided with a suction hole 221 through its piston head, and the brewing module also includes a suction assembly, and the suction assembly is connected to the suction hole 221. For example, the second piston member 220 is provided with a suction hole 221 through its piston head from top to bottom. The suction assembly, for example, includes another pump body and another connecting pipeline, and the connecting pipeline is connected to the suction hole 221. Driven by the pump body, the liquid in the gap can be sucked into the suction hole 221 through the connecting pipeline, and finally discharged into, for example, a water receiving tank in front of the food processor, or a slag box built into the food processor. Specifically, the above-mentioned second piston member 220 can be provided with a suction hole 221.

[0084] In view of the above, the brewing module is preset with a brewing mode. When the control device 400 controls the operation of the brewing mode, the second piston member 220 is first controlled to extend into the channel 110, and the first piston member 210 is extended out of the channel 110. The brewing cylinder 100 and the second piston member 220 move together to the powder receiving position to access the powder discharged outwardly through, for example, the grinding module or the powder supply module of the powder bin. Then the brewing cylinder 100 and the second piston member 220 move together to the brewing position (wherein, the powder receiving position and the brewing position can be two positions independently spaced apart, or can be the same position). The first piston member 210 extends into the channel 110 and approaches the second piston member 220 to press the powder received by the second piston member 220 into a powder cake. Then the water supply component connects the liquid to the gap between the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 through the water supply hole 211, and the powder cake is brewed and extracted to finally obtain a beverage. The suction assembly draws out the beverage through the suction hole 221 .

[0085] The brewing module is also preset with a slag discharge mode. It can be understood that the slag discharge mode is generally run after each brewing mode is completed. Based on this, one port of the channel 110 is a slag discharge port. The two piston members are a proximal piston member arranged close to the slag discharge port, and a distal piston member arranged away from the slag discharge port. Driven by the driving mechanism, the proximal piston member can be detached from the channel 110 through the slag discharge port, and the distal piston member can move toward the slag discharge port until it is exposed outside the slag discharge port, so as to scrape the slag in the channel 110 outward through the slag discharge port.

[0086] The brewing module is also preset with a scraping mode. It can be understood that the scraping mode is generally run after each operation of the slag discharge mode. Based on this, the brewing module also includes a scraping member, which is arranged outside the channel 110 and adjacent to the slag discharge port; when the distal piston member is exposed outside the slag discharge port, at least one of the scraping member and the brewing cylinder 100 is movably arranged relative to the other, so as to drive the scraping member to scrape off the slag at the distal piston member.

[0087] Specifically, when the first port 111 is a slag discharge port, the first piston member 210 constitutes a proximal piston member, and the second piston member 220 constitutes a distal piston member. The first driving mechanism 310 drives the first piston member 210 to move upward until it is outwardly disengaged from the channel 110 through the first port 111. The second driving mechanism 320 drives the second piston member 220 to move upward until it is flush with the first port 111 or extends upward to the outside of the first port 111. In this process, the second piston member 220 scrapes the slag remaining on the inner wall of the channel 110 upward to achieve upper slag discharge. For ease of understanding, the current position of the second piston member 220 is defined as the upper slag discharge position below.

[0088] Then, the scraper is arranged above the first port 111, and when the second piston 220 is in the upper slag discharge position, the scraper just contacts the second piston 220. Specifically, the brewing cylinder 100 / the second piston 220 can be fixed in position and the scraper can be translated laterally, or the scraper can be fixed in position and the brewing cylinder 100 / the second piston 220 can be translated laterally, or both the brewing cylinder 100 / the second piston 220 and the scraper can be translated laterally, so that a relative movable stroke in the lateral direction is formed between the brewing cylinder 100 / the second piston 220 and the scraper. Under this relative movable stroke, the scraper can scrape off the residue remaining at the second piston 220.

[0089] When the second port 112 is a slag discharge port, the second piston member 220 constitutes a proximal piston member, and the first piston member 210 constitutes a distal piston member. The second driving mechanism 320 drives the second piston member 220 to move downward until it is out of the channel 110 through the second port 112. The first driving mechanism 310 drives the first piston member 210 to move downward until it is flush with the second port 112 or extends downward to the outside of the second port 112. In this process, the first piston member 210 scrapes the slag remaining on the inner wall of the channel 110 downward to achieve lower slag discharge. For ease of understanding, the current position of the first piston member 210 is defined as the lower slag discharge position below.

[0090] Then, the scraper is arranged below the second port 112, and when the first piston 210 is in the lower slag discharge position, the scraper just contacts the first piston 210. Specifically, the brewing cylinder 100 / the second piston 220 can be fixed in position and the scraper can be translated laterally, or the scraper can be fixed in position and the brewing cylinder 100 / the second piston 220 can be translated laterally, or both the brewing cylinder 100 / the second piston 220 and the scraper can be translated laterally, so that a relative movable stroke in the lateral direction is formed between the brewing cylinder 100 / the second piston 220 and the scraper. Under this relative movable stroke, the scraper can scrape off the residue remaining at the first piston 210.

[0091] Of course, the brewing module can also be preset with a cleaning mode in response to the cleaning instruction:

[0092] Specifically, when the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 move to form a gap therebetween, and the gap meets a preset condition, the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 are in a flushing state.

[0093] Among them, the preset conditions include that the width of the gap is not greater than a preset threshold. The width of the gap refers to the distance between the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220. In order to be able to clean the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220, the width of the gap is at least greater than zero and not greater than the preset threshold. The preset threshold can be specifically set according to actual needs. For example, the preset threshold can be automatically set by the food processor before leaving the factory; it can be manually entered by the user based on the input module such as the touch panel installed in the food processor. In one specific application, the preset threshold can be set to 10mm, that is, when the distance between the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 is not greater than 10mm, the two are in a flushing state.

[0094] And / or, the preset condition may also include that the gap is connected to the outside of the channel 110. That is, the gap formed between the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 will not continue to be a closed gap. When the gap is connected to the outside of the channel 110, on the one hand, the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 can be cleaned and discharged from the gap to avoid dirty liquid remaining in the gap; on the other hand, the structure outside the brewing cylinder 100 can be cleaned with the help of the liquid discharged to the outside, which will be explained in conjunction with specific embodiments below.

[0095] In order to achieve the gap being connected to the outside of the channel 110:

[0096] In one embodiment, a connecting hole may be provided on the cylinder body of the brewing cylinder 100, the first piston member 210 and / or the second piston member 220. At this time, the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 may both extend into the channel 110, and a gap may be formed in the channel 110. The connecting hole may be controlled by, for example, a valve body structure to be openable and closed. When the connecting hole is closed, the gap is sealed by the inner wall of the channel 110 to form a closed space. The water supply component connects liquid to the gap, and at least the piston heads of the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 may be cleaned by flushing with liquid, soaking, etc. After the cleaning operation is completed, the connecting hole may be controlled to open the gap and the external environment of the channel 110, and the liquid in the gap may be discharged outward.

[0097] Or in one embodiment, it can be arranged that in the flushing state, at least one piston member is located outside the channel 110, so that the gap is at least partially exposed outside the channel 110. Specifically:

[0098] For example, the first piston member 210 may extend into the channel 110 through the first port 111, and the second piston member 220 may be located outside the channel 110. In this case, part of the gap defined by the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 is located inside the channel 110, and part of the gap is located outside the channel 110.

[0099] Alternatively, for example, the second piston member 220 may extend into the channel 110 through the second port 112, and the first piston member 210 may be located outside the channel 110. In this case, part of the gap defined by the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 is located inside the channel 110, and part of the gap is located outside the channel 110.

[0100] Or Figure 2As shown, taking the first port 111 being located vertically below the second port 112 as an example, the first piston member 210 can be operated to move downward from the first port 111 out of the channel 110, and the second piston member 220 can be operated to move along the channel 110 from the second port 112 toward the first port 111 until it is flush with the first port 111. In this process, the second piston member 220 can also realize the bottom slag discharge of the brewing cylinder 100, that is, to scrape the slag remaining on the inner wall of the brewing cylinder 100 downward. When the second piston member 220 is flush with the first port 111, and the distance between the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 meets the above conditions, the water supply assembly can be operated to receive water in the gap.

[0101] Or Figure 3 As shown, taking the first port 111 being located vertically below the second port 112 as an example, the first piston member 210 can be operated to move from the first port 111 along the channel 110 to the second port 112 until it is flush with the second port 112. In this process, the first piston member 210 can also realize the upper slag discharge of the brewing cylinder 100, that is, to scrape the slag remaining on the inner wall of the brewing cylinder 100 upward. Then operate the second piston member 220 to move to the outside of the second port 112, and to be arranged opposite to the first piston member 210. When the spacing between the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 meets the above conditions, the water supply component can be operated to receive water in the gap. In this embodiment, the liquid connected to the gap by the water supply component can, on the one hand, rinse at least the piston heads of the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220, and on the other hand, the liquid discharged outward through the gap can rinse the outer wall of the brewing cylinder 100 under the action of gravity.

[0102] It should be noted that in the above embodiment, the first piston member 210 may be first operated to move to be flush with the second port 112, and then the second piston member 220 may be operated to move close to the first piston member 210 to form a gap between the two that meets the preset conditions; or the second piston member 220 may be first operated to move to be flush with the first port 111, and then the first piston member 210 may be operated to move close to the second piston member 220 to form a gap between the two that meets the preset conditions. In this process, the upper slag discharge or the lower slag discharge is completed before the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 are cleaned.

[0103] Or in one application, the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 can be driven to form a gap that meets the preset conditions in the channel 110. The water supply component introduces liquid into the gap to clean the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220. At the same time or thereafter, the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 can be driven to move synchronously toward the first port 111 or the second port 112 until the gap is connected to the external environment of the channel 110, and can further move until the first piston member 210 is flush with the second port 112, or until the second piston member 220 is flush with the first port 111. During this synchronous movement, the distance between the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 remains unchanged, that is, it basically does not affect the cleaning of the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 by the liquid; in addition, the first piston member 210 and / or the second piston member 220 can also scrape off the residue remaining in the channel 110, and use the liquid in the gap to clean the inner wall of the channel 110, so as to complete the slag removal and cleaning of the brewing cylinder 100.

[0104] Reference Figure 4 , Figure 4 It is a structural diagram of a control device 400 of a hardware operating environment involved in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0105] like Figure 4 As shown, the control device 400 may include: a processor 410, such as a central processing unit 410 (CPU), a communication bus 420, a user interface 430, a network interface 440, and a memory 450. Among them, the communication bus 420 is used to realize the connection and communication between these components. The user interface 430 may include a display screen (Display), an input unit such as a keyboard (Keyboard), and the optional user interface 430 may also include a standard wired interface and a wireless interface. The network interface 440 may optionally include a standard wired interface and a wireless interface (such as a wireless fidelity (WIreless-FIdelity, WI-FI) interface). The memory 450 may be a high-speed random access memory 450 (Random Access Memory, RAM) memory 450, or a stable non-volatile memory 450 (Non-Volatile Memory, NVM), such as a disk memory 450. The memory 450 may also be a storage device independent of the aforementioned processor 410.

[0106] Those skilled in the art will understand that Figure 4 The structure shown in the figure does not constitute a limitation on the control device 400, and may include more or less components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0107] like Figure 4 As shown, the memory 450 as a storage medium may include an operating system, a network communication module, a user interface 430 module, and a cleaning program of the brewing module.

[0108] exist Figure 4 In the control device 400 shown, the network interface 440 is mainly used for data communication with the network server; the user interface 430 is mainly used for data interaction with the user; the processor 410 and the memory 450 in the control device 400 of the present invention can be set in the food processor, and the control device 400 calls the cleaning program of the brewing module stored in the memory 450 through the processor 410, and executes the cleaning method of the brewing module provided by the embodiment of the present invention.

[0109] Please refer to Figure 5 The present invention provides a first embodiment of a method for cleaning a brewing module. Specifically, the method for cleaning a brewing module comprises:

[0110] Step S100: upon receiving a cleaning instruction, controlling the driving mechanism to drive the two pistons to move closer together;

[0111] Step S200: When it is determined that the two piston members move to the flushing state, the water supply component is controlled to introduce liquid into the gap.

[0112] In this embodiment, the generation method of the cleaning instruction is not limited: specifically, the cleaning instruction can be directly generated by manual triggering by the user. Among them, the brewing module / food processor can be preset with an input module. The input module can be electrically connected to the control device 400 and directly fixed on the food processor. The input module can also be a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, a tablet, etc. that is wirelessly connected to the control device 400 and is separated from the food processor. The input module can be specifically expressed as, for example, a virtual button, a physical button, a voice recognition module, a motion recognition module, etc.

[0113] Of course, the cleaning instruction can also be generated by associating one or more preset modes in the brewing module. The preset mode includes at least one of a brewing mode, a debugging mode, a power-on mode, and a power-off mode. Of course, the preset mode can also be other working modes besides the above modes. In actual application, when a preset mode is completed or when a preset mode is in operation, one or several cleaning instructions can be generated in association, so that the cleaning mode can be operated under the control of the control device 400.

[0114] The generation of the cleaning instruction associated with the brewing mode is taken as an example. Specifically, the cleaning instruction can be set to include the first cleaning instruction and / or the second cleaning instruction according to actual needs. The first cleaning instruction is generated after each execution of the brewing mode. That is, the cleaning mode is run once each time a beverage is prepared by brewing. The second cleaning instruction is generated after each execution of the brewing mode for a set number of times. That is, the cleaning mode is run once after a set number of cups of beverage are prepared by brewing.

[0115] If the brewing module is defined to form a first cleaning intensity when executing the first cleaning instruction, and to form a second cleaning intensity when executing the second cleaning instruction. Then, when a food processor is only preset with the first cleaning instruction or the second cleaning instruction, the magnitude relationship between the first cleaning intensity and the second cleaning intensity can be set arbitrarily according to actual needs, for example, the first cleaning intensity is set to be equal to, greater than, or less than the second cleaning intensity. However, when a food processor is preset with both the first cleaning instruction and the second cleaning instruction, generally, the first cleaning intensity and the second cleaning intensity can be set differently, for example, the second cleaning intensity is greater than the first cleaning intensity. Perform shallow cleaning after each brewing mode, and perform deep cleaning after a set number of brewing modes.

[0116] It should be noted that the cleaning intensity can be specifically reflected in multiple aspects, such as the water supply volume, water pressure, and spray height of the liquid provided by the water supply component; the type of liquid; the cleaning performance of the liquid; the temperature of the liquid; the water supply frequency of the water supply component; the number of operations of step S100 to step S200, etc. Similar to the above-mentioned cleaning instructions, the set number of times can be determined by the user's manual input based on the above-mentioned input module, or can be generated by default by a pre-set program, or can be generated in association with a set mode, etc.

[0117] If the water pressure provided by the water supply component when the brewing module runs the brewing mode is defined as the first water pressure, and the water pressure provided when executing the cleaning instruction is defined as the second water pressure. Then in actual application, the second water pressure can be set to be smaller than the first water pressure. It can be understood that when the brewing mode is running, the water supply component needs to brew and extract the pressed powder, and the size of the first water pressure affects the final brewing quality. When the cleaning mode is running, its purpose is to rinse the inner wall of the channel 110, the piston heads of the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220, then it only needs to meet the target cleaning requirements, and can be combined with, for example, the type of liquid, the temperature of the liquid, the number of cleaning times, etc., and does not limit the second water pressure to be too high, which helps to achieve the purpose of energy saving and consumption reduction.

[0118] Specifically, when a piston member (e.g., the second piston member 220) is provided with a water supply hole 211 through its piston head as described above, and the water supply assembly is connected to the water supply hole 211, in the step of controlling the water supply assembly to introduce liquid into the gap, the ejection height of the water supply assembly is not less than the width of the gap, and / or the water supply volume of the water supply assembly is not less than the volume of the gap. The ejection height can ensure that the ejected water column can effectively flush the other piston member (e.g., the first piston member 210); the water supply volume can ensure that the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220 are both immersed in the liquid, thereby facilitating the full and thorough cleaning of the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220.

[0119] In addition, the present invention also provides a second embodiment of a method for cleaning a brewing module. The second embodiment can be provided on the basis of the first embodiment, or can be provided separately from the first embodiment. The brewing module used in the second embodiment can be preset with a slag discharge mode (upper slag discharge and / or lower slag discharge) as described above, and can further be preset with a slag scraping mode.

[0120] Specifically, the cleaning method of the brewing module includes:

[0121] Step A100: upon receiving a cleaning instruction, controlling the driving mechanism to drive the proximal piston to disengage from the channel 110 through the slag discharge port, and driving the distal piston to move toward the slag discharge port until it is exposed outside the slag discharge port;

[0122] Step A200: removing the slag received by the distal piston member;

[0123] Step A300: controlling the driving mechanism to drive the two piston members to move closer together;

[0124] Step A400: When it is determined that the two piston members move to the flushing state, control the water supply component to introduce liquid into the gap.

[0125] It is understandable that the cleaning mode, the slag discharge mode and the slag scraping mode of the brewing module can be operated in association. Among them, steps A300 to A400 in the cleaning mode can refer to the first embodiment above, and will not be described in detail.

[0126] When the generation of the cleaning instruction is triggered as described above, the slag discharge mode may be run first, specifically the upper slag discharge or the lower slag discharge as described above.

[0127] After the slag removal mode is completed, the slag scraping mode may be operated next. Specifically, step A200 may include:

[0128] Step A210: Control the scraper and / or the brewing cylinder 100 to move relative to each other, so as to drive the scraper to scrape off the residue received by the distal piston.

[0129] The residues remaining at the distal piston member are removed by the relative movement stroke generated between the scraper member and the brewing cylinder 100 / distal piston member.

[0130] It should be noted that the above-mentioned slag discharge mode and slag scraping mode can be performed once or at least twice, respectively. For example, the single slag discharge mode is operated in conjunction with the single slag scraping mode, or the single slag discharge mode is operated in conjunction with the multiple slag scraping mode, or the multiple slag discharge mode is operated in conjunction with the single slag scraping mode, or the multiple slag discharge mode is operated in conjunction with the multiple slag scraping mode, so as to achieve the purpose of completely removing the slag on the inner wall of the channel 110, the first piston member 210 and the second piston member 220.

[0131] Before or after one or more scraping modes, or between multiple scraping modes, the following steps may be performed:

[0132] Step A510: controlling the driving mechanism to drive the distal piston to move into the channel 110;

[0133] Step A520: controlling the water supply component to introduce liquid into the channel 110;

[0134] Step A530: controlling the driving mechanism to drive the distal piston to translate in the channel 110;

[0135] Step A540: Discharge the waste water in the channel 110 to the outside.

[0136] Specifically, for example, after the upper slag discharge is completed, the first piston member 210 is separated from the outside of the channel 110, and the second piston member 220 moves to the first port 111. At this time, the second piston member 220 needs to be first translated downward to a certain distance. And at least the second piston member 220 needs to be translated to a position sufficient to expose the channel 110 section where slag may remain in the channel 110. For example, when the cleaning mode is associated with the brewing mode, the second piston member 220 is translated downward to a position not higher than the lowest position in the brewing mode. Alternatively, the second piston member 220 is directly translated downward to a position sufficiently close to the first port 111.

[0137] Then, operate the water supply assembly to introduce liquid into the channel 110. This step may refer to the above step S200 for details. However, it can be understood that since the first port 111 of the brewing cylinder 100 is currently open, and the second piston member 220 is spaced a certain distance from the first port 111, an empty channel 110 section is formed. Therefore, the amount of water introduced into the channel 110 by the water supply assembly may just fill up the empty channel 110 section, or may only be poured into a part of the empty channel 110 section.

[0138] Then, the second piston member 220 is operated to translate toward the first port 111. In this process, the second piston member 220 can translate directly to the first port 111 and then stop, and push the slag-liquid mixture remaining in the channel 110 outward through the first port 111. Or the second piston member 220 can return to the original position after translating to a certain stroke (it can be to the first port 111, or it can not reach the first port 111), and do this reciprocating once or several times. During the reciprocating process, the amount of water in the channel 110 may be partially or completely pushed out. At this time, further, a water supply component can be set to replenish liquid into the channel 110 once or multiple times, until the second piston member 220 finally translates to the first port 111 and stops, and the slag-liquid mixture in the channel 110 is completely pushed out.

[0139] It should be noted that step A200 may be performed before step A510 or after step A540. When step A510 to step A540 are cycled at least twice, step A200 may be performed after each step A540, after several steps of step A540, or after the last step A540.

[0140] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. All equivalent structural changes made by using the contents of the present invention specification and drawings under the inventive concept of the present invention, or directly / indirectly applied in other related technical fields are included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A brewing module, characterized in that: include: A brewing cylinder having a passage therethrough; Two pistons are movably arranged relative to the brewing cylinder and have a flushing state when a gap between the two pistons meets a preset condition; A driving mechanism, drivingly connected to the movably arranged piston member; as well as, A water supply assembly, the water supply assembly being used to supply liquid into the gap after the two piston members are in the flushing state; The preset condition includes that the width of the gap is not greater than a preset threshold.

2. The brewing module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The preset threshold is 10 mm.

3. The brewing module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The preset condition also includes that the gap is connected to the outside of the channel.

4. The brewing module according to claim 3, characterized in that: In the flushing state, at least one of the piston members is located outside the passage, so that the gap is at least partially exposed outside the passage.

5. The brewing module according to claim 3, characterized in that: When in the flushing state, one of the piston members is flush with an end of the channel, the other piston member is located outside the channel, and the two piston members are arranged opposite to each other.

6. The brewing module according to claim 5, characterized in that: The channel is extended in the vertical direction and has a first port and a second port which are arranged opposite to each other from bottom to top; When in the flushing state, one of the piston members is flush with the second port, and the other of the piston members is located vertically above the second port; or, In the flushing state, one of the piston members is flush with the first port, and the other of the piston members is located vertically below the first port.

7. The brewing module according to claim 1, characterized in that: After the driving mechanism drives one of the pistons to move to a preset position, it drives another of the pistons to move closer to the flushing state; The preset position is located inside the channel or outside the channel.

8. The brewing module according to claim 1, characterized in that: After the driving mechanism drives the two piston members to move close to each other until they are in the flushing state, the driving mechanism drives the two piston members to move synchronously until the gap is connected to the outside of the channel.

9. The brewing module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The piston member is provided with a water supply hole through its piston head, and the water supply assembly is connected to the water supply hole; and / or, The piston member is provided with a suction hole through its piston head, and the brewing module also includes a suction component, which is communicated with the suction hole.

10. The brewing module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two piston members are respectively a first piston member and a second piston member arranged sequentially from bottom to top; The brewing module is provided with a water supply hole, the water supply assembly is connected to the water supply hole, and the opening of the water supply hole is arranged upward so that the liquid can flow toward the second piston member against the direction of gravity and then fall to the first piston member along the direction of gravity.

11. The brewing module according to claim 1, characterized in that: One end of the channel is a slag discharge port, and the two piston members are respectively a proximal piston member arranged close to the slag discharge port, and a distal piston member arranged far from the slag discharge port; Driven by the driving mechanism, the proximal piston member can be disengaged from the channel through the slag discharge port, and the distal piston member can move toward the slag discharge port until it is exposed outside the slag discharge port, so as to scrape the slag in the channel outward through the slag discharge port.

12. The brewing module according to claim 11, characterized in that: The brewing module further includes a scraper, which is arranged outside the channel and adjacent to the slag discharge port; When the distal piston member is exposed outside the residue discharge port, at least one of the residue scraping member and the brewing cylinder is movably arranged relative to the other to drive the residue scraping member to scrape off the residue at the distal piston member.

13. A method for cleaning a brewing module, characterized in that: The brewing module is the brewing module according to any one of claims 1 to 12, and the cleaning method of the brewing module comprises: When a cleaning instruction is received, the control driving mechanism drives the two pistons to move closer together; When it is determined that the two piston members move to the flushing state, the water supply component is controlled to introduce liquid into the gap.

14. The method for cleaning the brewing module according to claim 13, characterized in that: The water pressure provided by the water supply component when the brewing module runs a brewing mode is a first water pressure, and the water pressure provided when the cleaning instruction is executed is a second water pressure, and the second water pressure is less than the first water pressure.

15. The method for cleaning the brewing module according to claim 13, characterized in that: The piston member is provided with a water supply hole through its piston head, and the water supply assembly is connected to the water supply hole; In the step of controlling the water supply component to introduce liquid into the gap, the ejection height of the water supply component is not less than the width of the gap, and / or the water supply volume of the water supply component is not less than the volume of the gap.

16. The method for cleaning the brewing module according to claim 13, characterized in that: The cleaning instruction is manually triggered by the user; or, The cleaning instruction is generated in association with a preset mode, wherein the preset mode includes at least one of a brewing mode, a debugging mode, a power-on mode, and a power-off mode.

17. The method for cleaning the brewing module according to claim 13, characterized in that: The cleaning instructions include: A first cleaning instruction is generated after each brewing mode is executed; or, The second cleaning instruction is generated after each brewing mode is executed a set number of times.

18. The method for cleaning the brewing module according to claim 17, characterized in that: The brewing module forms a first cleaning intensity when executing the first cleaning instruction, and forms a second cleaning intensity when executing the second cleaning instruction, and the second cleaning intensity is greater than the first cleaning intensity.

19. The method for cleaning the brewing module according to claim 17, characterized in that: The set number of times is determined by manual input by the user.

20. A method for cleaning a brewing module, characterized in that: The brewing module is the brewing module according to claim 10, and the cleaning method of the brewing module comprises: When receiving a cleaning instruction, the control driving mechanism drives the proximal piston member to disengage from the channel through the slag discharge port, and drives the distal piston member to move toward the slag discharge port until it is exposed outside the slag discharge port; removing the slag received by the distal piston member; Controlling the driving mechanism to drive the two piston members to move closer together; When it is determined that the two piston members move to the flushing state, the water supply component is controlled to introduce liquid into the gap.

21. The method for cleaning the brewing module according to claim 20, characterized in that: The brewing module also includes a scraper; The step of removing the slag received by the distal piston member comprises: The scraper and / or the brewing cylinder are controlled to move relative to each other, so as to drive the scraper to scrape off the residue received by the distal piston.

22. The method for cleaning the brewing module according to claim 20, characterized in that: The step of removing the slag received by the distal piston member is performed once or repeated at least twice.

23. The method for cleaning the brewing module according to claim 20, characterized in that: Before and / or after the step of removing the slag received by the distal piston member, the method further comprises: Controlling the driving mechanism to drive the distal piston member to move into the channel; Controlling the water supply component to introduce liquid into the channel; Controlling the driving mechanism to drive the distal piston member to translate in the channel; The waste water in the channel is discharged outwardly.

24. A food processor, characterized in that: include: The brewing module according to any one of claims 1 to 12; as well as, A control device comprises a memory, a processor and a cleaning program of a brewing module stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the cleaning program of the brewing module is configured to implement the steps of a cleaning method of the brewing module as described in any one of claims 13 to 23.

25. A storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a cleaning program of the brewing module, and when the cleaning program of the brewing module is executed by the processor, the steps of the cleaning method of the brewing module according to any one of claims 13 to 23 are implemented.

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