Coffee brewing method for coffee machine and coffee machine

Abstract

The invention relates to a coffee brewing method for a coffee machine and the coffee machine, the flatness of coffee powder in a cup cylinder of a brewing cup is judged before coffee is brewed, then the coffee powder is spun and flattened through rotation of a brewing plug, and the coffee is brewed after the coffee powder is flattened. According to the coffee powder brewing device, coffee powder is flattened before brewing, brewing is conducted after the coffee powder is flattened, compared with an existing mode that brewing is conducted directly after powder receiving, resistance of hot water can be evenly distributed in the coffee powder, the balance and sufficiency of coffee powder extraction can be guaranteed, and therefore the taste of coffee extraction liquid is improved. Meanwhile, as the water flow resistance borne by the brewing piece of the brewing plug is uniform, the situation of blockage is not prone to occurring. Besides, the coffee powder is spun and trowelled by using the original brewing plug of the coffee machine and the original action (the same as the powder pressing action of the brewing plug in the prior art) of the brewing plug, a new component does not need to be additionally arranged, and the operation is convenient.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of coffee machines, and in particular to a coffee brewing method for a coffee machine and the coffee machine. Background Art

[0002] A coffee machine is a machine that automatically makes coffee. After coffee beans are ground into coffee powder in the grinding unit, they enter the brewing unit for brewing and extraction. During the brewing process, the piston rotates up and down to achieve the pressed powder brewing. For example, in the Chinese invention patent application number CN200910174566.5 (publication number CN 102028408 A), "Brewing Unit of Coffee Machine," a brewing plug assembly includes a brewing plug and a brewing plug holder. The brewing plug is disposed within the brewing plug holder so as to be movable up and down along the axis of the brewing plug. A brewing seat is located below the brewing plug holder and includes a brewer that is rotatably disposed to connect and disconnect with the brewing plug holder. A snap-fit ​​assembly is connected between the brewing plug holder and the brewer. When the brewer is connected to the brewing plug holder, coffee can be brewed and the brewer can be fastened to the brewing plug holder via the snap-fit ​​assembly. When the brewer is disconnected from the brewing plug holder, the brewer can be removed from the brewing seat. The brewing plug is movable up and down within the brewing plug holder under the action of a brewing plug motor assembly. Specifically, the brewing plug motor assembly includes a brewing plug motor, a transmission member and a transmission nut. The transmission nut is arranged in the brewing plug bracket, and the brewing plug can be connected to the transmission nut. The brewing plug motor drives the transmission nut to rotate through the transmission member, thereby driving the brewing plug to move up and down.

[0003] However, in existing coffee machines, the ground coffee powder falls freely into the brewing cup barrel below. Since the falling position and the position of the brewing cup barrel are relatively fixed, the thickness of the fallen coffee powder is uneven in the brewing cup barrel, which will cause the thickness of the pressed powder to be uneven during the subsequent coffee brewing process, and then cause the extracted coffee to be insufficiently extracted and the taste to be not strong enough. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The first technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a coffee brewing method for a coffee machine with good coffee extraction effect in view of the existing technology.

[0005] The second technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a coffee machine using the above-mentioned coffee brewing method in view of the existing technology.

[0006] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the first technical problem mentioned above is: a coffee brewing method for a coffee machine, characterized in that before brewing coffee, the flatness of the coffee powder in the cup barrel of the brewing cup is first judged, and then the coffee powder is rotated and smoothed by rotating the brewing plug, and coffee is brewed after the coffee powder is flat.

[0007] Furthermore, a sensor is installed on the coffee machine, and the coffee brewing method includes the following steps:

[0008] (1) The above-mentioned sensor is used to obtain the height H1 of the coffee powder on the left side and the height H2 of the coffee powder on the right side of the brewing cup, and the height difference P1 between the two is obtained, P1 = H2 - H1; thereby judging the flatness of the coffee powder, that is, |P1|>0 means it is uneven, |P1|=0 means it is flat, and the larger the |P1| value, the more uneven it is;

[0009] (2) The brewing plug is driven by the driving structure to rotate and perform the first spinning and smoothing operation of the coffee powder;

[0010] (3) After the operation is completed, the above-mentioned sensor is used to detect the height of the coffee powder on the left and right sides of the brewing cup barrel again, and the height difference P2 between the two is obtained. If |P2|>0, the operation of step (2) is repeated until the height difference P2 between the left and right sides of the brewing cup barrel is greater than 0. n =0, n≥2, then the coffee powder smoothing process is completed;

[0011] (4) After smoothing, pour appropriate amount of hot water into the brewing cup to brew coffee.

[0012] Furthermore, the number of the sensors is m, m ≥ 2, and the sensors are evenly spaced along the height direction of the brewing cup barrel, the spacing between adjacent sensors is h, and the height of the sensor at the uppermost end is greater than or equal to the highest height of the coffee powder, while the height of the sensor at the lowermost end is less than or equal to the lowest height of the coffee powder.

[0013] Furthermore, each sensor is an infrared sensor and includes a transmitter and a receiver respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the brewing cup barrel. The transmitter and receiver of each sensor are respectively arranged to face each other from bottom to top. The transmitters of each sensor work in sequence from bottom to top, and only one of the transmitters of the sensor works at the same time, while the receivers of all sensors receive the signal sent by the transmitter at the same time.

[0014] H1=N 左 ×h, where N 左 is the number of transmitters on the left whose signals are not received by all receivers on the right;

[0015] H2=N 右 ×h, where N 右 The above method can effectively obtain the height H1 of the coffee powder on the left side of the brewing cup barrel and the height H2 of the coffee powder on the right side, and then obtain the height difference P1 between the left and right sides, thereby effectively judging the flatness of the coffee powder in the brewing cup barrel.

[0016] Furthermore, the total number of rotations of the driving motor in the driving structure in step (2) is M1=M 11 +M0, where M 11 M is the number of revolutions of the driving motor to drive the brewing plug to spin and smooth the coffee powder. 11 M0 is the number of rotations required for the brewing plug to move from its initial position to the mouth of the brewing cup, which is positively correlated with the absolute value of P1. The total number of rotations of the drive motor is related to the smoothness of the coffee grounds. By controlling the total number of rotations of the drive motor, the spinning and smoothing of the brewing plug can be controlled, which helps improve the controllability of the smoothing operation and ensure the smoothing effect.

[0017] Furthermore, the driving structure includes a transmission assembly with a transmission ratio of X, and the transmission assembly includes a screw with a lead of S. The height of the coffee powder after compaction is approximately 2 / 3 of that before compaction. Then, the depth of the brewing plug rotating into the coffee powder in step (2) is: 2|P1| / 3=S×M 11 / X, then, M 11 =2|P1|×X / 3S, M1=2|P1|×X / 3S+M0. This helps improve the accuracy of controlling the total number of rotations of the drive motor, thereby facilitating precise control of the smoothing operation and ensuring a smoother effect on the coffee powder. The shape of the coffee powder pile before compaction is approximately conical, while after compaction it becomes cylindrical. Therefore, the height of the compacted coffee powder is approximately 2 / 3 of that before compaction.

[0018] Furthermore, the P in step (3) n At least after the brewing plug (n-1) times of spinning and smoothing operation is completed and the driving motor is reversed M (n-1)(n-1) Retest to obtain, where M (n-1)(n-1) =2|P (n-1) Since coffee powder has a certain degree of expansion, when the brewing plug is screwed out of the brewing cup, the drive motor rotates in the opposite direction. At this time, the uneven areas of coffee powder in the brewing cup can be reversely smoothed, which helps to improve the smoothness.

[0019] Furthermore, in step (3), during the nth smoothing operation, the total number of rotations of the driving motor is M n =M 11 +…M (n-1)(n-1) +M nn +M0, where M (n-1)(n-1) =2|P (n-1) |×X / 3S,M nn =2|P n |×X / 3S.

[0020] The technical solution adopted to further solve the second technical problem is: a coffee machine, characterized in that the coffee brewing method for the coffee machine as described above is applied.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the present invention are as follows: the present invention smoothes the coffee powder before brewing, and brews after the coffee powder is smoothed. Compared with the existing method of brewing directly after collecting the powder, the present invention can evenly distribute the resistance of the hot water in the coffee powder, which helps to ensure the balance and sufficiency of the coffee powder extraction, thereby improving the taste of the coffee extract. At the same time, because the brewing piece of the brewing plug is subjected to uniform water flow resistance, it is not easy to get clogged. In addition, the present invention utilizes the original brewing plug of the coffee machine and the original action of the brewing plug (the same as the powder pressing action of the brewing plug in the prior art) to spin and smooth the coffee powder, without the need for adding new parts, and is easy to operate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the extraction unit in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the partial structure of the extraction unit in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of an extraction unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 This is a schematic structural diagram of a brewing cup according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure in another direction;

[0027] Figure 6 This is a partial structural exploded view of the brewing cup according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 7 for Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure in another direction;

[0029] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the arrangement of the transmitter and receiver on the cup barrel of the brewing cup in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0031] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Since the embodiments disclosed in the present invention can be set in different directions, these terms indicating directions are only for illustration and should not be regarded as limitations. For example, "up" and "down" are not necessarily limited to directions opposite to or consistent with the direction of gravity. In addition, features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features.

[0032] A coffee machine, comprising Figures 1 to 7 The extraction unit shown in FIG. 1 includes a brewing cup 1, a brewing plug 2, and a driving structure 3 for driving the brewing plug 2. A piston 11 is provided in the brewing cup 1, and a brewing sheet 21 (such as a brewing sheet 21) is provided on the lower end surface of the brewing plug 2. Figure 3 As shown). The drive structure 3 includes a drive motor 31, a transmission assembly 32 and a screw 33, wherein the transmission assembly 32 includes a first transmission gear 321 and a second transmission gear 322. The lower end of the screw 33 is fixed to the brewing plug 2 (the two are an integral part in this embodiment), and a nut 4 is threadedly connected to the screw 33, and the nut 4 is limited along the axial direction of the brewing plug 2. An external thread 311 is provided on the outer surface of the output shaft of the drive motor 31 along the length direction. The second transmission gear 322 is coaxially arranged with the above-mentioned screw 33, and the second end of the screw 33 is fixed to the hub of the second transmission gear 322. The first transmission gear 321 is a double gear and includes a first gear 3211 and a second gear 3212, wherein the first gear 3211 is meshed with the above-mentioned external thread 311 and the second gear 3212 is meshed with the above-mentioned second transmission gear 322. In this way, when the driving motor 31 is working, it drives the first transmission gear 321 to rotate through the external thread 311, thereby transmitting the power to the second transmission gear 322, and the second transmission gear 322 drives the screw 33 to rotate, thereby realizing the rotation of the brewing plug 2.

[0033] Furthermore, a coffee brewing method applied to the above-mentioned coffee machine is provided, that is, before brewing coffee, the flatness of the coffee powder in the cup tube of the brewing cup 1 is first determined, and then the coffee powder is pressed and smoothed by rotating the brewing plug 1, and the coffee is brewed after the coffee powder is flat.

[0034] It can be seen that the present invention smoothes the coffee powder before brewing, and then brews after the coffee powder is smoothed. Compared with the existing method of brewing directly after collecting the powder, the present invention can evenly distribute the resistance of hot water in the coffee powder, which helps to ensure the balance and sufficiency of the coffee powder extraction, thereby improving the taste of the coffee extract. At the same time, because the brewing piece 11 of the brewing plug 1 is subjected to uniform water flow resistance, it is not easy to get clogged. In addition, the present invention utilizes the original brewing plug 1 of the coffee machine and the original action of the brewing plug 1 (the same as the powder pressing action of the brewing plug 1 in the prior art) to spin and smooth the coffee powder, without the need for adding new components, and is easy to operate.

[0035] In this embodiment, specifically, a sensor is installed on the coffee machine, and the coffee brewing method includes the following steps:

[0036] (1) The above-mentioned sensor is used to obtain the height H1 of the coffee powder on the left side and the height H2 of the coffee powder on the right side of the cup barrel of the brewing cup 1, and the height difference P1 between the two is obtained, P1 = H2 - H1; thereby judging the flatness of the coffee powder, that is, |P1|>0 means it is uneven, |P1|=0 means it is flat, and the larger the |P1| value, the more uneven it is;

[0037] (2) The brewing plug 1 is driven by the driving structure 3 to rotate and perform the first spinning and smoothing operation of the coffee powder;

[0038] (3) After the operation is completed, the above-mentioned sensor is used to detect the height of the coffee powder on the left and right sides of the cup barrel of the brewing cup 1 again, and the height difference P2 between the two is obtained. If |P2|>0, the operation of step (2) is repeated until the height difference P2 between the left and right sides of the cup barrel of the brewing cup 1 is greater than 0. n =0, n≥2, then the coffee powder smoothing process is completed;

[0039] (4) After smoothing, pour appropriate amount of hot water into the cup tube of brewing cup 1 to brew coffee.

[0040] Furthermore, the number of the above-mentioned sensors is m, m≥2, and they are spaced apart along the height direction of the cup barrel of the brewing cup 1, the spacing between adjacent sensors is h, and the height of the sensor at the uppermost end is greater than or equal to the highest height of the coffee powder, while the height of the sensor at the lowermost end is less than or equal to the lowest height of the coffee powder. In addition, each sensor is an infrared sensor, and includes a transmitter 51 and a receiver 52 respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the cup barrel of the brewing cup 1, and the transmitter 51 and receiver 52 of each sensor are respectively arranged opposite to each other on the left and right, and a transparent window (sealed with a transparent material) corresponding to each transmitter 51 and each receiver 52 is provided on the cup barrel of the brewing cup 1. In this embodiment, each transmitter 51 is mounted on a first mounting seat 61, and each receiver 52 is mounted on a second mounting seat 62. Among them, the transmitter 51 of each sensor works in sequence from bottom to top, and only the transmitter 51 of one of the sensors works at the same time, and the receivers 52 of all sensors receive the signal sent by the transmitter 51 at the same time, such as Figure 8 As shown in Table 1, the receivers 52 are respectively denoted as A1, A2, A3...A m , each transmitter 51 is B1, B2, B3...B m .

[0041] Table 1 Signal transmission and reception of each sensor

[0042] A1 A2 A3 …… An B1 × × × × × B2 × × × × × B3 × √ √ √ √ …… × √ √ √ √ Bn × √ √ √ √

[0043] So:

[0044] H1=N 左 ×h, where N 左 H2 is the number of left transmitters 51 whose signals are not received by all receivers 52 on the right side; H2 = N 右 ×h, where N 右 The above method can effectively obtain the height H1 of the coffee powder on the left side and the height H2 of the coffee powder on the right side of the cup barrel of the brewing cup 1, and then obtain the height difference P1 between the left and right sides, thereby effectively determining the flatness of the coffee powder in the cup barrel of the brewing cup 1.

[0045] Furthermore, in the above step (2), the total number of rotations of the driving motor 31 in the driving structure 3 is M1=M 11 +M0, where M 11 M is the number of rotations of the driving motor 31 to drive the brewing plug 1 to spin and smooth the coffee powder. 11M0 is positively correlated with the absolute value of P1, and is the number of rotations required for the brewing plug 1 to move from its initial position to the mouth of the brewing cup 1. Thus, the total number of rotations of the drive motor 31 is related to the smoothness of the coffee powder. By controlling the total number of rotations of the drive motor 31, the spinning and smoothing operation of the brewing plug 1 can be controlled, which helps to improve the controllability of the smoothing operation and ensure the smoothing effect.

[0046] Furthermore, the driving structure 3 includes a transmission assembly 32 with a transmission ratio of X, and the transmission assembly 32 includes the screw 33 with a lead of S. The height of the coffee powder after compaction is approximately 2 / 3 of that before compaction. Therefore, the depth of the coffee powder that the brewing plug 1 rotates into in step (2) is: 2|P1| / 3=S×M 11 / X, then, M 11 =2|P1|×X / 3S, M1=2|P1|×X / 3S+M0. This helps improve the accuracy of controlling the total number of rotations of the drive motor 31, which in turn helps achieve precise control of the smoothing operation, better ensuring the smoothing effect of the coffee powder. The shape of the coffee powder pile before compaction is approximately conical, while after compaction it becomes cylindrical. Therefore, the height of the coffee powder after compaction is approximately 2 / 3 of that before compaction.

[0047] Preferably, P in the above step (3) n At least when the brewing plug is 1(n-1) times of spinning and smoothing operation is completed and the driving motor 31 is reversed M (n-1)(n-1) Retest to obtain, where M (n-1)(n-1) =2|P (n-1) Since coffee powder has a certain degree of expansion, when the brewing plug 1 is rotated out of the brewing cup 1, the drive motor 31 rotates in the reverse direction. At this time, the uneven coffee powder area in the brewing cup 1 can be reversely smoothed, which is conducive to improving the flatness.

[0048] Furthermore, in the above step (3), during the nth smoothing operation, the total number of rotations of the driving motor 31 is M n =M 11 +…M (n-1)(n-1) +M nn +M0, where M (n-1)(n-1) =2|P (n-1) |×X / 3S,M nn =2|P n |×X / 3S. This allows for more precise control of the total number of rotations of the drive motor 31, thereby ensuring a better smoothing effect on the coffee powder.

Claims

1. A coffee brewing method for a coffee machine, characterized in that: Before brewing coffee, first determine the flatness of the coffee powder in the brewing cup, then rotate the brewing plug to spin and smooth the coffee powder, and brew the coffee after the coffee powder is flat.

2. The coffee brewing method for a coffee machine according to claim 1, wherein: The coffee machine is equipped with a sensor, and the coffee brewing method includes the following steps: (1) The above-mentioned sensors are used to obtain the coffee powder height H1 on the left side and H2 on the right side of the brewing cup barrel, respectively, and the height difference P1 between the two is obtained, P1 = H2 - H1; (2) The brewing plug is driven by the driving structure to rotate and perform the first spinning and smoothing operation of the coffee powder; (3) After the operation is completed, the above-mentioned sensor is used to detect the height of the coffee powder on the left and right sides of the brewing cup barrel again, and the height difference P2 between the two is obtained. If |P2|>0, the operation of step (2) is repeated until the height difference P2 between the left and right sides of the brewing cup barrel is greater than 0. n =0, n≥2, then the coffee powder smoothing process is completed; (4) After smoothing, pour appropriate amount of hot water into the brewing cup to brew coffee.

3. The coffee brewing method for a coffee machine according to claim 2, wherein: The number of the sensors is m, m ≥ 2, and the sensors are evenly spaced along the height direction of the brewing cup barrel, the spacing between adjacent sensors is h, and the height of the sensor at the uppermost end is greater than or equal to the highest height of the coffee powder, while the height of the sensor at the lowermost end is less than or equal to the lowest height of the coffee powder. Moreover, each sensor is an infrared sensor, and includes a transmitter and a receiver respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the brewing cup barrel. The transmitter and receiver of each sensor are respectively arranged on the left and right sides. Among them, the transmitters of each sensor work in sequence from bottom to top, and only one of the transmitters of the sensor works at the same time, while the receivers of all sensors receive the signal sent by the transmitter at the same time. Then, H1=N 左 ×h, where N 左 is the number of transmitters on the left whose signals are not received by all receivers on the right; H2=N 右 ×h, where N 右 The number of receivers on the right side that do not receive any signals from the transmitters on the left side.

4. The coffee brewing method for a coffee machine according to claim 2, wherein: The total number of rotations of the driving motor in the driving structure in step (2) is M1=M 11 +M0, where M 11 M is the number of revolutions of the driving motor to drive the brewing plug to spin and smooth the coffee powder. 11 Positively correlated with the absolute value of P1, M0 is the number of rotations required for the brewing plug to move from its initial position to the mouth of the brewing cup.

5. The coffee brewing method for a coffee machine according to claim 4, characterized in that: The driving structure includes a transmission assembly with a transmission ratio of X, and the transmission assembly includes a screw with a lead of S. The height of the coffee powder after compaction is approximately 2 / 3 of that before compaction. Therefore, the depth of the brewing plug rotating into the coffee powder in step (2) is: 2|P1| / 3=S×M 11 / X, then, M 11 =2|P1|×X / 3S, M1=2|P1|×X / 3S+M0.

6. The coffee brewing method for a coffee machine according to claim 5, wherein: P in step (3) n At least after the brewing plug (n-1) times of spinning and smoothing operation is completed and the driving motor is reversed M (n-1)(n-1) Retest to obtain, where M (n-1)(n-1) =2|P (n-1) |×X / 3S.

7. The coffee brewing method for a coffee machine according to claim 5, wherein: In the step (3), during the nth smoothing operation, the total number of rotations of the driving motor is M n =M 11 +…M (n-1)(n-1) +M nn +M0, where M (n-1)(n-1) =2|P (n-1) |×X / 3S,M nn =2|P n |×X / 3S.

8. A coffee machine, characterized in that: The invention is applied to the coffee brewing method for a coffee machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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