Flow adjusting structure and coffee machine

Abstract

The utility model discloses a flow adjusting structure and a coffee machine, the flow adjusting structure comprises at least two needle valves which are sequentially connected in series, and the flow can be changed by adjusting the needle valves; the water flow control element is connected to any needle valve in parallel, and the water inlet end and the water outlet end of the water flow control element are communicated with the water inlet end and the water outlet end of the needle valve respectively; the water flow control element can adjust and / or cut off water flow flowing through the water flow control element. When the water flow control device is used, water flow flows through the needle valves connected in series, the needle valves can adjust the water flow, the water flow control elements connected in parallel can form other water paths independent of the internal paths of the needle valves according to needs, and the whole structure is controlled to generate different flow parameters on the premise that the set flow of the needle valves is not changed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of coffee machines, in particular to a flow regulating structure and a coffee machine. Background Art

[0002] When making coffee in a compressed coffee machine, coffee beans are first ground into a powder, then pressed into a puck. When hot water is passed through the puck, the active ingredients in the puck are extracted and become coffee. Different roasting methods and roasting levels of coffee beans have different requirements for extraction time and pressure, which requires a coffee machine to have multiple adjustable hot water outputs.

[0003] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose of adjustable hot water flow, there are two common solutions: one is to set a needle valve on the pipeline. The needle valve can achieve the purpose of fine-tuning the flow, but this solution requires manual adjustment every time the flow is changed. Since the needle valve has no clear adjustment gear setting, the parameters after each adjustment are different. If you want to obtain the same adjustment result as a certain time, you need to constantly fine-tune and test. The process is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and different operators have different feelings and different results.

[0004] There is also a method of using a variable frequency pump with electronic control to control the output size of the pump electronically to achieve control of the output water flow. This solution avoids the uncertainty of manual adjustment, but this solution uses a complex pump and control system, which is expensive, and the electronic control part is easily damaged as the use time increases. Utility Model Content

[0005] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems in the above-mentioned technology to a certain extent. To this end, the first object of the present invention is to provide a simple, fast and accurate adjustment structure for repeatedly adjusting the flow rate to a set value.

[0006] The second object of the present invention is to provide a coffee machine.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the first embodiment of the present invention provides a flow regulating structure, comprising:

[0008] At least two needle valves connected in series, the flow rate can be changed by adjusting the needle valves;

[0009] At least one water flow control element is connected in parallel to any needle valve, and the water inlet and outlet of the water flow control element are respectively connected to the water inlet and outlet of the needle valve; the water flow control element can adjust and / or turn on and off the water flow passing through itself.

[0010] According to a flow regulating structure of an embodiment of the present invention, when in use, water flows through the needle valves in series, the needle valves can adjust the size of the water flow, and the parallel water flow control elements can form other water paths independent of the internal path of the needle valve as needed. Without changing the flow rate already set by the needle valve, the entire structure is controlled to produce different flow parameters.

[0011] In addition, the flow regulating structure proposed in the above embodiment of the present invention may also have the following additional technical features:

[0012] Optionally, each needle valve is connected in parallel with at least one water flow control element.

[0013] Optionally, the water flow control element is a solenoid valve.

[0014] Optionally, the needle valve is formed in an integral body, including a water inlet cavity, a water outlet cavity, and a connecting cavity connecting the two cavities, and also including a valve core; the water inlet cavity and the water outlet cavity respectively form parallel cavities communicating with the outside; the parallel cavities are connected to the water inlet end and the water outlet end of the water flow control element in a one-to-one correspondence;

[0015] Valve core: movably arranged in the water inlet cavity or the water outlet cavity, blocking the connecting cavity to control the connection state between the water inlet cavity and the water outlet cavity.

[0016] Furthermore, the water inlet cavity, the water outlet cavity and the connecting cavity are coaxially arranged.

[0017] Furthermore, the diameter of the connecting cavity is smaller than that of the water inlet cavity and the water outlet cavity.

[0018] Furthermore, the end of the valve core forms a valve tip that can be inserted into the connecting cavity.

[0019] To achieve the above-mentioned object, a second embodiment of the present invention provides a coffee machine, comprising:

[0020] Boiler, hot water pipeline, coffee powder bin, bean grinder, compressor, coffee filter, wherein the hot water pipeline is provided with a flow regulating mechanism to adjust the hot water flow;

[0021] The flow regulation structure includes at least two needle valves connected in series, and the flow rate can be changed by adjusting the needle valves; at least one water flow control element is connected in parallel to any needle valve, and the water inlet and outlet ends of the water flow control element are respectively connected to the water inlet and outlet ends of the needle valve; the water flow control element can adjust and / or turn on and off the water flow passing through itself, and the water flow control element is a solenoid valve.

[0022] According to a coffee machine of an embodiment of the present invention, when the flow adjustment mechanism is in use, water flows through the needle valves connected in series, and the needle valves can adjust the water flow size. The parallel water flow control elements can form other water paths independent of the internal paths of the needle valves as needed, and control the entire structure to produce different flow parameters without changing the flow rate already set by the needle valves.

[0023] Optionally, each needle valve is connected in parallel with at least one water flow control element. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 A structural perspective diagram according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0025] Figure 2 A side view of a structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 3 A cross-sectional view of a valve seat according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the structure of the valve seat and valve core assembly according to one embodiment of the present utility model;

[0028] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of a valve seat according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0029] Description of labels:

[0030] Valve seat 1

[0031] The water inlet cavity 11 connects to the water outlet cavity 13 and the parallel cavity 14 communicates with the channel 15.

[0032] Valve core 2 valve tip 21

[0033] Needle valve 31 water flow control element 32. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The following describes in detail embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are intended to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0035] When the utility model is used, water flows through the needle valves connected in series, and the needle valves can adjust the water flow size. The parallel water flow control elements can form other water paths independent of the internal paths of the needle valves as needed. Without changing the flow rate that has been set by the needle valves, the entire structure can be controlled to produce different flow parameters.

[0036] To better understand the above technical solution, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present invention can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the present invention and to fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

[0037] An embodiment of the present invention provides a flow regulating structure, comprising:

[0038] At least two needle valves 31 are connected in series, and the flow rate can be changed by adjusting the needle valve 31. Some existing solutions only have one needle valve, and the hot water flow rate is changed by turning the needle valve. However, the needle valve itself does not have a clear feel or scale to ensure that each adjustment can reach a desired precise value. The same person may get different results at different times.

[0039] For commercial coffee machines, varying hot water output means different flavors in the brewed coffee, making it impossible to achieve stable coffee brewing quality. Therefore, some existing solutions, as described in the background art, rely on variable frequency pumps and electronic controls to bypass the adjustable needle valve structure to achieve adjustable hot water output. This structure is complex and costly. In actual use, the hot water output pressure of the variable frequency pump also fluctuates slightly, and the pump's output capacity is inferior to that of ordinary fixed frequency pumps. Using this in commercial coffee machines significantly increases costs and slightly reduces efficiency.

[0040] In this solution, there is at least one water flow control element on the needle valves 31 connected in series, which is connected in parallel to any needle valve 31. The water inlet and outlet of the water flow control element are respectively connected to the water inlet and outlet of the needle valve; the water flow control element 32 can adjust and / or turn on and off the water flow passing through itself.

[0041] The principle is that the water flow control element 32 can "bypass" the needle valve 31 by being connected in parallel. By setting the water flow control element 32 in the pipe network, a variety of water paths can be created without adjusting the needle valve 31.

[0042] The needle valve 31 and the water flow control element 32 can adjust the size of the water flow passing through them separately or simultaneously. Of course, the needle valve 31 can also cooperate with the adjustment of the water flow control element 32 to further realize different water channel combinations.

[0043] More needle valves 31 can be connected in series as needed, and the water flow control elements 32 can use different parallel schemes. For example, in the water path formed by the entire needle valve series, only one water flow control element 32 is connected in parallel, so there are two water paths. Or two water flow control elements 32 can be connected in parallel, so there are three water path schemes. Furthermore, more water flow control elements 32 can be connected in parallel to achieve more water path control.

[0044] The advantage of this solution is that the water circuit constructed based on the series connection of needle valves is a purely mechanical structure. Under the same service life conditions, it has higher reliability than the electronic control solution and lower cost. Compared with the existing solution with only a single needle valve structure, it can realize flexible adjustment of the flow in the water system without significantly increasing the complexity and cost of the structure. When more water circuits are needed, it is only necessary to simply add to the existing structure to quickly realize product iteration.

[0045] In order to better understand the above technical solution, the above technical solution will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0046] In one embodiment, the equivalent structure of the needle valve 31 is formed in an integral body (hereinafter referred to as the valve seat 1 ): comprising a water inlet cavity 11, a water outlet cavity 13, and a connecting cavity 12 connecting the two cavities, and also comprising a valve core 2; the water inlet cavity 11 and the water outlet cavity 13 respectively form a parallel cavity 14 communicating with the outside; the parallel cavity 14 is connected to the water inlet end and the water outlet end of the water flow control element 32 in a one-to-one correspondence;

[0047] The valve core 2 is movably arranged in the water inlet cavity 11 or the water outlet cavity 13 , blocking the connecting cavity 12 to control the communication state between the water inlet cavity 11 and the water outlet cavity 13 .

[0048] Figures 1 to 5 A flow regulating structure according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

[0049] Valve seat 1: One needle valve 31 is composed of a water inlet cavity 11, a water outlet cavity 13, and a connecting cavity 12 that are interconnected, while the other needle valve 31 connects the water inlet cavity 11 with the water outlet cavity 13 of the aforementioned needle valve 31 through a connecting channel 17.

[0050] Of course, when this series structure is adopted, the water inlet cavity of the first needle valve 31 and the water outlet cavity of the last first-level water flow are connected to the outside, that is, water inlet and water outlet are realized, and the rest can only be connected to the outside through the parallel cavity 14.

[0051] After water flows into a water inlet cavity 11 from the connection port with the outside, it flows out after passing through the needle valve 31. In this process, as the positions and states of the valve cores 2 in different needle valves 31 are set differently, the overall size of the water flow can be adjusted.

[0052] This is also the normal use state of the present invention, at which the water flow control element 32 can be in a normally closed state and does not function. The parallel cavity 14 is in a closed state.

[0053] When necessary, the water flow control element 32 is controlled to change to a specified state. At this time, after the water flows through the parallel cavity 14, it passes through the water flow control element 32 to form a new circuit. By adjusting different design parameters, the comparison relationship between the two water paths can be adjusted, which changes the amplitude of the water flow change when different water flow control elements are switched.

[0054] In some embodiments, such as coffee machines, since the pressure loss after the water is discharged from the boiler is required to be small, the water inlet cavity 11, the water outlet cavity 12 and the connecting cavity 13 can be coaxially arranged to reduce flow resistance.

[0055] In order to facilitate accurate adjustment of the water flow, the diameter of the connecting cavity 12 is smaller than the water inlet cavity 11 and the water outlet cavity 13, so that the purpose of sealing the connecting cavity 12 is more easily achieved.

[0056] On the basis of the above solution, the end of the valve core 2 forms a valve tip 21 that can be inserted into the connecting cavity 12 to achieve a better sealing effect.

[0057] In some embodiments, the water flow control element 32 is a solenoid valve, which is controlled on and off by an external control circuit.

[0058] Another embodiment of the present invention is a coffee machine (not shown), such as an espresso machine, which has a structure including but not limited to a boiler, a hot water pipe, a coffee powder bin, a bean grinder, a compressor, and a coffee filter, wherein a flow regulating mechanism is provided on the hot water pipe to regulate the flow of hot water; the specific structure and principle of the flow regulating mechanism have been described above and will not be repeated here.

[0059] In some embodiments, each primary water flow control element in the coffee machine is connected in parallel with at least one secondary water flow control element. In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that terms such as "center," "longitudinal," "transverse," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "back," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," and "counterclockwise" to indicate positions or locations are based on the positions or locations shown in the accompanying drawings and are intended solely to facilitate the description of the present invention and simplify the description. They do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed, or operate in a specific orientation, and are therefore not to be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0060] In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may include the first and second features being in direct contact, or may include the first and second features being in contact not directly but through another feature between them. Moreover, a first feature being "above," "above," and "above" a second feature may include the first feature being directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or may simply mean that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below," "below," and "below" a second feature may include the first feature being directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or may simply mean that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0061] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example", or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic expressions of the above terms should not be understood as necessarily referring to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art can combine and combine different embodiments or examples described in this specification.

[0062] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it can be understood that the above embodiments are illustrative and cannot be understood as limitations on the present invention. Ordinary technicians in this field can change, modify, replace and modify the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. Flow regulating structure, characterized by: include At least two needle valves connected in series, the flow rate can be changed by adjusting the needle valve; At least one water flow control element is connected in parallel to any needle valve, and the water inlet and outlet of the water flow control element are respectively connected to the water inlet and outlet of the needle valve; the water flow control element can adjust and / or turn on and off the water flow passing through itself.

2. The flow regulating structure according to claim 1, wherein: Each needle valve is connected in parallel with at least one water flow control element.

3. The flow regulating structure according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The water flow control element is a solenoid valve.

4. The flow regulating structure according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that: The needle valve is formed in an integral body, comprising an inlet cavity, an outlet cavity, a connecting cavity connecting the two cavities, and a valve core. The inlet cavity and the outlet cavity respectively form parallel cavities that communicate with the outside. The parallel cavities are connected to the inlet and outlet ends of the water flow control element in a one-to-one correspondence. Valve core: movably arranged in the water inlet cavity or the water outlet cavity, blocking the connecting cavity to control the connection state between the water inlet cavity and the water outlet cavity.

5. The flow regulating structure according to claim 4, characterized in that: The water inlet cavity, the water outlet cavity and the connecting cavity are coaxially arranged.

6. The flow regulating structure according to claim 5, wherein: The diameter of the connecting cavity is smaller than that of the water inlet cavity and the water outlet cavity.

7. The flow regulating structure according to claim 4, wherein: The end of the valve core forms a valve tip that can be plugged into the connecting cavity.

8. A coffee machine, characterized in that: include: A boiler, a hot water pipeline, a coffee powder bin, a bean grinder, a compressor, and a coffee filter, wherein the hot water pipeline is provided with a flow regulating mechanism for adjusting the hot water flow rate; the flow regulating structure comprises at least two needle valves connected in series, and adjusting the needle valves can change the flow rate; at least one water flow control element is connected in parallel to any needle valve, and the water inlet and outlet of the water flow control element are respectively connected to the water inlet and outlet of the needle valve; the water flow control element can regulate and / or turn on and off the water flow passing through itself, and the water flow control element is a solenoid valve.

9. The coffee machine according to claim 8, wherein: Each needle valve is connected in parallel with at least one water flow control element.

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