A milk frothing system for a semi-automatic coffee machine

Abstract

The present application relates to a kind of automatic milk frothing system of semi-automatic coffee machine, it is less to adopt lifting deflection component for solving the technical problems that similar product's automatic milk frothing structure of steam pipe is less combined with the lifting movement of milk cup to promote the effect of layered milk frothing.The system is the automatic milk frothing mechanism of steam pipe at the one side of main support of machine body;Its gist is that the steam port of one end of the steam pipe extends into the milk cup of milk cup movable seat below steam pipe, the other end of steam pipe is equipped with the lifting deflection component of automatic milk frothing mechanism, steam pipe is driven steam pipe to do vertical lifting and fixed angle deflection linkage action by lifting deflection component;Lifting deflection component includes steam pipe support, rotating support, lifting support, stepper motor, steam pipe and vertical center axis are set with 35 degrees angle at steam pipe support, and corresponding double microswitch, cylindrical boss outside steam support is slidably embedded in the guide rail groove of main support, guide rail groove is heteromorphic sliding hole.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a milk frothing mechanism for coffee machines, specifically a milk frothing system for semi-automatic coffee machines. Background Technology

[0002] A coffee machine is an electrical appliance used for making coffee. They are generally divided into semi-automatic and fully automatic types. Semi-automatic coffee machines are a traditional Italian style, where the grinding, tamping, filling, brewing, and cleaning of coffee grounds are done manually. These machines typically include a steam wand (or steam rod) for frothing milk, heating, or cleaning. Currently, the steam wands used for frothing milk in most semi-automatic coffee machines on the market are either fixed or simply manually operated, which have several technical limitations. Firstly, fixed steam pipes cannot be adapted to different sizes of milk cups, making manual alignment difficult and leading to uneven milk foam size, defoaming, and insufficient frothing during the frothing process, resulting in poor consistency in the final product. Secondly, some simple automatic milk frothing structures only have vertical lifting capabilities and lack angle adaptive offset ability. The fixed position of the steam pipe inside the milk cup prevents the formation of a uniform milk vortex, resulting in poor frothing performance. Thirdly, existing automatic milk frothing mechanisms are complex in structure and redundant in transmission, often employing multi-motor linkage control, which is costly, has a high failure rate, and lacks a precise position limit detection structure, making it prone to overtravel, mechanism jamming, and positional misalignment, resulting in poor equipment stability and lifespan. In summary, the existing coffee machine milk frothing technologies mentioned above suffer from defects such as low alignment accuracy, poor frothing performance, complex structure, high cost, and insufficient operational stability. There is an urgent need for an automatic milk frothing system with single-motor drive, adaptive trajectory, and precise limit detection. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To overcome the above shortcomings, the purpose of this invention is to provide a semi-automatic coffee machine milk frothing system that solves the technical problems of existing similar products, such as low alignment accuracy, poor frothing effect, complex structure, high cost, insufficient operational stability, and the fact that the automatic milk frothing structure of the steam pipe rarely uses lifting and deflection components and rarely combines with the forward and reverse lifting motion of the milk cup to improve the layered milk frothing effect. This objective is achieved through the following technical solution.

[0004] A semi-automatic coffee machine has an automatic milk frothing system. The system is an automatic milk frothing mechanism located on the steam pipe on one side of the main support of the machine body. The key structural design features are that one end of the steam pipe has a steam port that extends into the milk cup of the milk cup's movable seat below the steam pipe, and the other end of the steam pipe is equipped with a lifting and deflecting component of the automatic milk frothing mechanism. The steam pipe is driven by the lifting and deflecting component to perform a linkage action of vertical lifting and fixed angle deflection.

[0005] The lifting and deflection assembly includes a steam pipe support, a rotating support, a lifting support, and a stepper motor. The stepper motor is fixedly mounted on the main support of the machine body. One end of the rotating support is hinged to one side of the lifting support via a bearing and pin assembly. The other side of the lifting support is threadedly matched with the motor lead screw of the stepper motor. The end of the steam pipe is fixedly mounted on the steam pipe support outside the rotating support. The cylindrical boss on the outside of the steam support is slidably embedded in the guide rail groove of the main support. The composite trajectory structure of the guide rail groove includes a descending deflection trajectory and a reset trajectory. The cylindrical boss of the steam pipe support slides in the guide rail groove of the main support and performs a lifting and lowering motion trajectory and an opening angle of 35°.

[0006] The steam pipe at the steam pipe support is set at a 35-degree angle to the vertical central axis. The guide rail groove of the main support is set at a 5-degree angle to the vertical central axis between its initial position at one end and its lowest point at the other. The guide rail groove is a non-circular sliding hole. The guide rail groove curves slightly to the other end of the long sliding hole after a 90-degree rounded bend at the short sliding hole end at the lowest point of one end. A section of the guide rail groove of the main support has a slightly arched shape. This, combined with the rotating support's movement trajectory during lifting and opening at a 35-degree angle, ensures that the cylindrical boss of the steam pipe support will not disengage from the guide rail groove, thus preventing breakage and guaranteeing normal use and service life.

[0007] The limiting post at the other end of the rotating bracket is inserted into the limiting hole of the lifting bracket and slides, and the limiting hole of the lifting bracket is arc-shaped.

[0008] The rotating bracket is equipped with a minimum point micro switch and an initial position micro switch at both ends of its motion trajectory of lifting and opening at a 35° angle. The minimum point micro switch and the initial position micro switch are fixedly installed on the main bracket of the machine body.

[0009] The movable milk cup holder is located on the drain platform below the steam pipe on the machine body. The movable milk cup holder is driven by a lifting screw at its bottom to raise and lower the milk cup, completing the layered milk frothing process. The lifting screw at the bottom of the movable milk cup holder is the motor shaft of the lifting motor, which is connected to the bottom of the movable milk cup holder and drives it to move in both forward and reverse directions. Thus, the movable milk cup holder works in conjunction with the automatic milk frothing mechanism of the steam pipe above to improve the overall milk frothing effect.

[0010] The milk cup of the automatic milk-making mechanism is mounted on a base on a draining platform. A lifting motor is installed inside the base.

[0011] Two lifting microswitches are respectively provided on both sides of the outer diameter of the lifting motor inside the base. The automatic milk-making mechanism monitors and controls the lifting motor to perform forward and reverse lifting movements through the lifting microswitches. The two microswitches are triggered at the lifting positions of the upper and lower movable seats of the milk cup.

[0012] The bottom outer diameter of the upper and lower movable seat of the milk cup inside the base is provided with a protruding limiting edge, and the handle on one side of the milk cup or the fixing part at the bottom is snapped into the notch on one side of the upper and lower movable seat of the milk cup.

[0013] The upper and lower movable seats of the milk cup are equipped with an inner seat that supports and fixes the bottom of the milk cup. The automatic milk dispensing mechanism drives the milk cup to move up and down within the upper and lower movable seats of the milk cup through the inner seat and the lifting motor to complete the layered milk dispensing.

[0014] The system is based on the main support frame. The system uses a single stepper motor, a screw drive and a guide rail trajectory limit structure to simultaneously realize the vertical lifting and fixed angle deflection of the steam pipe. It is equipped with dual microswitches to achieve precise limit control throughout the entire process. The specific structural design is as follows: 1. The stepper motor is fixedly installed on the main bracket. The rotating bracket is threadedly matched with the motor screw of the stepper motor through the lifting bracket, forming the lifting transmission of the motor screw and realizing the conversion of the stepper motor power into vertical lifting action; 2. The rotating bracket is hinged to the lifting bracket through the assembly of bearings and pins, so that the rotating bracket can rotate freely relative to the lifting bracket and simultaneously lift vertically with the lifting bracket; 3. The guide rail groove of the main bracket is a composite trajectory structure, which combines the descent deflection trajectory and the reset trajectory. The cylindrical boss on the side of the rotating bracket is slidably embedded in the guide rail groove of the main bracket, and the mechanical trajectory of the guide rail groove forces the movement posture to be constrained; 4. The steam pipe is fixedly installed at the bottom of the steam pipe bracket of the rotating bracket and completes the full linkage action of lifting, deflection and reset synchronously with the rotating bracket; 5. The dual micro switches correspond to the initial standby position and the lowest milking operation position of the system, respectively, to realize the full stroke limit and signal feedback.

[0015] This invention features a reasonable structural design, a high degree of automation in milk frothing, low production costs, good stability, and high precision. In particular, the two sets of structures—the automatic milk frothing mechanism with steam pipe and the automatic milk frothing mechanism with upper and lower movable seats of the milk cup—work together to improve the layered milk frothing effect. It is suitable for use as a milk frothing system for semi-automatic coffee machines and for further improvement of similar products. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is an exploded structural diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the assembled three-dimensional structure.

[0018] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 A magnified schematic diagram of part of the structure.

[0019] Figure 4 yes Figure 2The diagram shows the initial usage state structure of the machine body. Only part of the structure is shown in the diagram, with part A defined.

[0020] Figure 5 yes Figure 4 The diagram shows the structure of part A at its lowest position, enlarged, with part B outlined in the diagram.

[0021] Figure 6 yes Figure 5 The diagram shows the enlarged guide rail groove structure of part B, omitting the automatic milk-making mechanism.

[0022] Figure 7 yes Figure 6 A side view of the guide rail groove structure.

[0023] Figure 8 yes Figure 4 A cross-sectional view of the structure at its lowest point.

[0024] Attached figures and their names: 1. Base, 2. Lifting motor, 3. Lifting micro switch, 4. Milk cup movable seat, 5. Steam pipe, 6. Lowest point micro switch, 7. Steam pipe bracket, 701. Cylindrical boss, 8. Pin, 9. Initial position micro switch, 10. Rotating bracket, 1001. Limiting post, 11. Lifting bracket, 1101. Limiting hole, 12. Stepper motor, 13. Milk cup, 14. Main bracket, 1401. Guide rail groove. Implementation

[0025] The structure and use of the present invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figures 1-8As shown, the system is an automatic milk-frothing mechanism located on the steam pipe 5 on one side of the main support 14 of the machine body. Below the steam pipe, on the drain platform of the machine body, there is a milk cup movable seat 4. One end of the steam pipe has a steam outlet extending into the milk cup 13 below the steam pipe. The automatic milk-frothing mechanism drives the milk cup of the movable seat to rise and fall through a lifting screw at the bottom of the movable seat to complete the layered milk frothing. Specifically, the lifting screw at the bottom of the movable seat of the milk cup in the automatic milk-frothing mechanism is the motor shaft of the lifting motor 2. The motor shaft of the lifting motor is connected to the bottom of the movable seat of the milk cup and drives the movable seat of the milk cup to perform forward and reverse rising and falling movements. At the same time, the other end of the steam pipe is equipped with a lifting deflection component of the automatic milk-frothing mechanism. The steam pipe, through the lifting deflection component, drives the steam pipe to perform vertical rising and falling and fixed-angle deflection linkage actions. The lifting and deflection assembly includes a steam pipe support 7, a rotating support 10, a lifting support 11, and a stepper motor 12. The stepper motor is fixedly mounted on the main support of the machine body. One end of the rotating support is hinged to one side of the lifting support via a bearing and pin 8 assembly method. The other side of the lifting support is threadedly matched with the motor lead screw of the stepper motor. The end of the steam pipe is fixedly set on the steam pipe support outside the rotating support. The cylindrical boss 701 on the outside of the steam support is slidably embedded in the guide rail groove 1401 of the main support. The composite trajectory structure of the guide rail groove includes a descent deflection trajectory and a reset trajectory. The cylindrical boss of the steam pipe support slides in the guide rail groove of the main support and performs a lifting and opening 35° angle movement trajectory.

[0026] Furthermore, the steam pipe at the aforementioned steam pipe support is set at a 35-degree angle to the vertical central axis. The guide rail groove of the main support is set at a 5-degree angle to the vertical central axis between its initial position at one end and its lowest point at the other end. The guide rail groove is an irregularly shaped sliding hole, which curves slightly from the short sliding hole end at the lowest point at one end with a 90-degree rounded chamfer to the other end of the long sliding hole. The limiting post 1001 at the other end of the rotating support slides into the limiting hole 1101 of the lifting support. The limiting hole of the lifting support is arc-shaped. The rotating support is equipped with a minimum point micro switch 6 and an initial position micro switch 9 at both ends of its 35° lifting and opening motion trajectory, respectively. The minimum point micro switch and the initial position micro switch are fixedly installed on the main support 14 of the machine body.

[0027] Furthermore, the automatic milk-frothing mechanism's upper and lower movable seats for the milk cups are mounted on a base 1 on a draining platform. A lifting motor is installed inside the base and is fixedly mounted therein. Two lifting microswitches 3 are located on either side of the outer diameter of the lifting motor inside the base. The automatic milk-frothing mechanism monitors and controls the lifting motor to perform forward and reverse lifting movements via these microswitches. The two microswitches are triggered at the lifting positions of the upper and lower movable seats for the milk cups. A raised limiting edge is provided on the bottom outer diameter of the upper and lower movable seats for the milk cups inside the base. The handle on one side of the milk cup or the fixing piece at the bottom is snapped into a notch on one side of the upper and lower movable seats for the milk cups. Alternatively, the upper and lower movable seats for the milk cups have an inner seat that supports and fixes the bottom of the milk cup. The automatic milk-frothing mechanism uses the inner seat of the upper and lower movable seats and the lifting motor to drive the milk cup to rise and fall within the upper and lower movable seats for the milk cups, completing the layered milk-frothing process.

[0028] The aforementioned automatic milk-making mechanism's lifting and deflection components include a lifting mechanism and a deflection mechanism. The lifting mechanism works as follows: the motor drive shaft is a threaded motor screw, and the lifting bracket also has threaded features where it mates; a stepper motor drives the lifting bracket to move up and down, thereby causing the steam pipe to move up and down. The deflection mechanism works as follows: the rotating bracket is assembled with the lifting bracket via a bearing and a pin, and then fixed by a bearing mounting seat and a snap ring, achieving the rotation function. The system's steam pipe is mounted on a steam pipe bracket with a cylindrical boss. The cylindrical boss of the steam pipe bracket slides within the guide rail groove of the main bracket, allowing the steam pipe bracket to move along the trajectory within the guide rail groove. This trajectory is the movement trajectory of the entire system, achieving lifting, lowering, and opening at a 35° angle. Thus, the stepper motor drives the steam pipe bracket to move up and down, and the guide rail groove limits the opening angle, thereby linking the steam pipe to achieve the system function; furthermore, a microswitch signal sense accurately locates the initial position and the lowest point.

[0029] The system operates as follows: In standby mode, the system is in its initial position. Triggering the initial position microswitch puts the system in a ready state. After the user places the milk cup on the movable base, the operating program is started. The stepper motor operates in the forward direction, driving the motor screw to rotate and causing the lifting bracket to descend vertically. During descent, the lifting bracket moves the rotating bracket downwards simultaneously. At the same time, the cylindrical boss on the side of the rotating bracket slides along the composite guide rail of the main bracket. Constrained by the guide rail, the rotating bracket deflects forward 35°, allowing the steam pipe to precisely and obliquely extend into the milk cup. Simultaneously, when the steam pipe reaches the preset milk-frothing limit position, the lowest point microswitch is triggered, the stepper motor stops feeding, and the system starts steaming the milk. After the operation is completed, the stepper motor rotates in the reverse direction, driving the lifting bracket to rise vertically. The cylindrical boss slides in the reverse direction along the composite guide rail, causing the rotating bracket to automatically rotate backward 35° to reset. The steam pipe rises and detaches from the milk cup until the mechanism returns to its initial position, triggering the initial position microswitch and stopping the stepper motor, completing a single automated milk-frothing cycle.

[0030] The advantages of this system are as follows: 1. A single-motor screw drive combined with guide rail trajectory limiter enables a composite motion structure that simultaneously achieves vertical lifting and lowering of the steam pipe and automatic deflection at 35°; 2. The hinged linkage structure of the lifting bracket, pin, and rotating bracket enables interference-free linkage between lifting and rotating motions; 3. The limiter structure of the main support composite trajectory guide rail enables a mechanically adaptive trajectory with deflection during descent and automatic reset during ascent; 4. A dual-point limit detection system with dual microswitches enables precise start-stop and travel protection throughout the entire process.

[0031] In summary, this system employs a linkage principle of single-motor lead screw drive and mechanical trajectory forced limit, eliminating the need for independent electronic angle adjustment. The purely mechanical structure achieves compound actions, ensuring reliable and stable operation. This system is a semi-automatic milk frothing system for coffee machines, capable of automatic lifting and adaptive angle adjustment. It is suitable for the structural optimization and automation upgrade of semi-automatic coffee machine intelligent milk frothing equipment. This system addresses the technical problems of low automation, poor alignment accuracy, structural redundancy, unstable operation, and uneven milk frothing in existing semi-automatic coffee machine milk frothing mechanisms. It provides a simplified, single-motor driven, trajectory-adaptive, and precisely limit-controlled semi-automatic coffee machine milk frothing system. It achieves automatic lifting, precise angle deflection, and automatic reset of the steam pipe, improving milk frothing quality and equipment operational stability while reducing manufacturing costs and failure rates.

Claims

1. A milk frothing system for a semi-automatic coffee machine, the system comprising an automatic milk frothing mechanism located at a steam pipe (5) on one side of the main support (14) of the machine body; characterized in that... One end of the steam pipe (5) has a steam port that extends into the milk cup (13) of the milk cup movable seat (4) below the steam pipe. The other end of the steam pipe is equipped with a lifting and deflection component of an automatic milk-making mechanism. The steam pipe is driven by the lifting and deflection component to perform vertical lifting and fixed angle deflection linkage actions.

2. The milk frothing system for an automatic milk frother in a semi-automatic coffee machine according to claim 1, characterized in that... The lifting and deflection assembly includes a steam pipe bracket (7), a rotating bracket (10), a lifting bracket (11), and a stepper motor (12). The stepper motor is fixedly installed on the main bracket (14) of the machine body. One end of the rotating bracket is hinged to one side of the lifting bracket by means of bearing and pin (8). The other side of the lifting bracket is threadedly matched with the motor screw of the stepper motor. The end of the steam pipe (5) is fixedly set on the steam pipe bracket outside the rotating bracket. The cylindrical boss (701) on the outside of the steam bracket is slidably embedded in the guide rail groove (1401) of the main bracket. The composite trajectory structure of the guide rail groove includes a downward deflection trajectory and a reset trajectory. The cylindrical boss of the steam pipe bracket slides in the guide rail groove of the main bracket and performs a lifting and opening 35° angle movement trajectory.

3. The milk frothing system for an automatic milk-making semi-automatic coffee machine according to claim 2, characterized in that... The steam pipe (5) at the steam pipe support (7) is set at a 35-degree angle with the vertical central axis. The guide rail groove (1401) of the main support (14) is set at a 5-degree angle with the vertical central axis between the initial position of one end and the lowest point of the other end. The guide rail groove is an irregular sliding hole. The guide rail groove is slightly curved from the short sliding hole end at the lowest point of one end with a 90-degree round chamfer to the other end of the long sliding hole end.

4. The milk frothing system for an automatic milk-making semi-automatic coffee machine according to claim 2, characterized in that... The limiting post (1001) at the other end of the rotating bracket (10) slides into the limiting hole (1101) of the lifting bracket (11), and the limiting hole of the lifting bracket is arc-shaped.

5. The milk frothing system for an automatic milk-making semi-automatic coffee machine according to claim 2, characterized in that... The rotating bracket (10) is equipped with a minimum point micro switch (6) and an initial position micro switch (9) at both ends of the motion trajectory of lifting and opening at a 35° angle. The minimum point micro switch and the initial position micro switch are respectively fixedly installed on the main bracket (14) of the machine body.

6. The milk frothing system for an automatic milk-making semi-automatic coffee machine according to claim 1, characterized in that... The milk cup movable seat (4) is located on the drain platform below the steam pipe (5) of the machine body. The milk cup movable seat is driven by the lifting screw at the bottom to lift the milk cup (13) to complete the layered milk mixing. The lifting screw at the bottom of the milk cup movable seat is the motor shaft of the lifting motor (2). The motor shaft of the lifting motor is connected to the bottom of the milk cup movable seat and drives the milk cup movable seat to perform forward and reverse lifting movements.

7. The milk frothing system for an automatic milk-making semi-automatic coffee machine according to claim 6, characterized in that... The milk cup movable seat (4) of the automatic milk making mechanism is set on the base (1) on the draining platform. The base is equipped with a lifting motor (2), which is fixedly installed inside the base.

8. The milk frothing system for an automatic milk-making semi-automatic coffee machine according to claim 7, characterized in that... The base (1) has two lifting micro switches (3) on both sides of the outer diameter of the lifting motor (2). The automatic milk-making mechanism monitors and controls the lifting motor to perform forward and reverse lifting movements through the lifting micro switches. The two micro switches are triggered at the lifting positions of the upper and lower movable seats (4) of the milk cup.

9. The milk frothing system for an automatic milk-making semi-automatic coffee machine according to claim 7, characterized in that... The bottom outer diameter of the milk cup movable seat (4) inside the base (1) is provided with a protruding limiting edge, and the handle on one side of the milk cup (13) or the fixing part at the bottom is snapped into the notch on one side of the milk cup movable seat.

10. The milk frothing system for an automatic milk-making semi-automatic coffee machine according to claim 6, characterized in that... The milk cup upper and lower movable seat (4) is provided with an inner seat that supports and fixes the bottom of the milk cup (13). The automatic milk-making mechanism drives the milk cup to move up and down within the milk cup upper and lower movable seat through the inner seat of the milk cup and the lifting motor (2) to complete the layered milk-making.

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