beverage preparation device

Abstract

Beverage preparation device, in particular a coffee and / or espresso machine, comprising a brewing chamber and a liquid supply, wherein the brewing chamber and the liquid supply are connected by a fluid line designed to guide water, and a sensor unit designed to determine the water hardness, and wherein a control unit connected to the sensor unit is included, which is designed to control the beverage preparation device based on a brewing profile, wherein the control unit is designed such that the brewing profile is selected and / or adapted based on the determined water hardness and / or a water hardness profile selected based on the determined water hardness.

Description

The present invention relates to a beverage preparation device according to the preamble of claim 1. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for operating a beverage preparation device according to the preamble of claim 8. Beverage preparation devices and methods for operating them are known from the prior art, in which one or more brewing profiles are predefined for the beverages to be dispensed, particularly coffee beverages. These profiles are executed when a brewing process is started or a beverage is selected for dispensing. The brewing profiles define, in particular, the parameters according to which the brewing process or the beverage preparation device is controlled to achieve the desired result. These parameters can, for example, define a brewing temperature, a temperature profile, brewing time, and brewing pressure. Furthermore, parameters for controlling a brewing fluid pump, a grinding unit, and the like can be included. It is regularly possible to modify some parameters within a certain range in order to adapt brewing profiles to the user's taste preferences.However, the predefined and partially customizable brewing profiles are only of limited use in achieving an optimal result for the beverage produced, especially if information and properties about the basic ingredients are unknown. This can cause the dispensed beverages to fall short of quality requirements in terms of their properties, such as taste, appearance, or foaming characteristics. Against this background, the object of the invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and to improve the brewing processes. This problem is solved by a beverage preparation device having the features of claim 1. Furthermore, the problem is solved by a method for operating a beverage preparation device according to claim 8. Advantageous embodiments of the beverage preparation device according to the invention and the method for operating a beverage preparation device are the subject of the following description and description of figures, as well as the dependent claims. Features disclosed by the device shall also be deemed to be disclosed and claimable by the corresponding procedure, and vice versa. The beverage preparation device, in particular a coffee and / or espresso machine, comprises a brewing chamber and a liquid supply, wherein the brewing chamber and the liquid supply are connected by a fluid line designed to guide water, and a sensor unit designed to determine the water hardness, and wherein a control unit connected to the sensor unit via data transmission is included, which is designed to control the beverage preparation device based on a brewing profile. According to the invention, the control unit is designed in such a way that the brewing profile is selected and / or adapted based on the determined water hardness and / or a water hardness profile selected on the basis of the determined water hardness. A water tank can be provided as a liquid supply, or a connection of the beverage preparation device to a water connection is also conceivable. A brewing profile, as defined here, is a preset and / or adjustable brewing instruction for a beverage to be dispensed, in which at least one parameter to be specified for the brewing process and / or the beverage to be dispensed is defined, such as the brewing time and / or brewing temperature and / or brewing pressure. Brewing profiles can also define, for example, a quantity of liquid or beverage substrate. Preferably, several parameters are defined in a single brewing profile. Controlling the beverage preparation device based on a brewing profile can therefore, for example, include controlling a heating device to set a heating temperature and / or heating time, controlling a grinder to set a quantity of beverage substrate, and / or controlling a pump device to set a delivered liquid volume.The beverage preparation device has at least one brewing profile, preferably with a plurality of different brewing profiles stored and available. Water hardness refers to the concentration of dissolved alkaline earth ions, particularly calcium and magnesium ions. A water hardness profile is a control instruction dependent on the water hardness value, which includes at least one instruction for adjusting and / or selecting the brewing profile and / or a parameter of the brewing profile. The present invention recognizes that incorporating water hardness into the selection and / or content instructions of the brewing profile can improve the quality of the dispensed beverages. This is achieved by controlling the beverage preparation device through the selected and / or adapted brewing profile in such a way that the brewing process is optimized for the measured water hardness to achieve an improved brewing result. Automatic detection of the water hardness by the sensor unit prevents user errors in data acquisition or input and ensures that the recorded water hardness values ​​are updated for each brewing process. Thus, variations in beverage quality due to varying water hardness can be avoided, and the reproducibility of the brewing result can be improved. According to a first advantageous embodiment, an evaluation unit is included which is configured to compare the determined water hardness with a reference value and / or a comparison table and to determine a comparison result, and to select the water hardness profile from predefined water hardness profiles based on the comparison result. This advantageously allows selection from a large number of water hardness profiles stored for different water hardness values, each of which includes optimized control instructions for the respective water hardness value. According to a further advantageous embodiment, the sensor unit may include a conductivity sensor configured to measure the conductivity of the water and an evaluation unit configured to determine and / or calculate the water hardness from the measured conductivity. The water hardness can be determined particularly reliably via the conductivity of the water, with the evaluation unit calculating, in particular, the amount of ions dissolved in the water based on the conductivity in order to determine the water hardness. According to a further advantageous embodiment, the sensor unit can include means for measuring at least one further property of the water, preferably a physical and / or chemical property, and more preferably a temperature. This allows for the advantageous acquisition of further information about the water from the liquid supply, which can contribute to improving the control of the beverage preparation device. For example, the brewing process can be improved by measuring the water temperature before and / or after heating. Measuring the temperature before heating allows for particularly efficient heating, and measuring the temperature after heating allows for comparison with a target temperature to determine whether that target temperature has been reached.Furthermore, this additional property can be used to normalize the water hardness value, for example, to factor out the influence of temperature on the solubility of ions in the water and thus obtain comparable values. For this purpose, it is advantageous to have reference values ​​and correction coefficients stored on the evaluation unit, such as a temperature table containing the correction coefficients, which can be used for example to perform multiplication or division in order to obtain a comparable water hardness value. According to a further advantageous embodiment, the sensor unit can be arranged to contact the fluid line between the water supply and a heating device and / or between the heating device and the brewing chamber. In other words, the sensor unit is advantageously arranged on the cold water line in such a way that it detects the water hardness and / or at least one other property of the water before heating. This allows the water hardness and any other detected properties to be taken into account as early as possible in the selection or adjustment of the brewing profile in order to ensure an optimal brewing process. According to a further advantageous embodiment, a storage unit can be provided which is designed to store the water hardness and / or conductivity determined by the sensor unit. This allows advantageously acquired measured values ​​to remain available for calculations and evaluations at different times and / or, for example, to take varying water hardness into account when calculating the optimal time until descaling becomes necessary. According to a further advantageous embodiment, the control unit for controlling the beverage preparation device, in particular at least one input and / or output interface for users, can be configured based on the water hardness and / or the water hardness profile. Advantageously, the control unit communicates a request to perform descaling or instructions guiding the user through the descaling process to the user via the input and / or output interface, and advantageously, beverage preparation can be blocked until descaling has been carried out. Alternatively, it is also conceivable that the control unit automatically initiates descaling, communicating a notification about the ongoing descaling process and / or instructions for manual execution to the user. Furthermore, the above-mentioned task is solved by a method for operating a beverage preparation device. To avoid unnecessary repetition, reference is made to the beverage preparation device described above with regard to the advantageous effects and the advantageous design of the method for operating a beverage preparation device. The method for operating a beverage preparation device, in particular a coffee and / or espresso machine, preferably according to one of the embodiments described above, comprises the following process steps: - supplying water from a liquid supply to a brewing chamber via a fluid line, - determining the water hardness by means of a sensor unit, - transmitting the determined water hardness to a control unit connected to the sensor unit via data technology, - controlling the beverage preparation device by the control unit on the basis of a brewing profile. According to the invention, an adjustment and / or selection of the brewing profile is provided, based on the determined water hardness and / or a water hardness profile selected on the basis of the determined water hardness. As already explained above with regard to the beverage preparation device, the brewing processes can be improved by the method according to the invention. According to a first advantageous embodiment, the determined water hardness can be compared by an evaluation unit with a reference value and / or a comparison table, and a comparison result is determined. Based on this comparison result, the water hardness profile is selected from predefined water hardness profiles. This advantageously allows selection from a large number of water hardness profiles stored for different water hardness values, each of which includes optimized control instructions for the respective water hardness value. According to a further advantageous embodiment, the conductivity of the water can be measured by a conductivity sensor included in the sensor unit, wherein an evaluation unit determines and / or calculates the water hardness from the measured conductivity. The water hardness can be determined particularly reliably via the conductivity of the water, wherein the evaluation unit calculates, in particular, the amount of ions dissolved in the water based on the conductivity in order to determine the water hardness. According to a further advantageous embodiment, the sensor unit can measure at least one additional property of the water, particularly a physical and / or chemical property, especially a temperature measurement. This allows for the advantageous acquisition of further information about the water from the liquid supply, which can contribute to improving the control of the beverage preparation device. For example, the brewing process can be improved by measuring the water temperature before and / or after heating. Measuring the temperature before heating allows for particularly efficient heating, and measuring the temperature after heating allows for comparison with a target temperature to determine whether that target temperature has been reached. According to a further advantageous embodiment, the determined water hardness and / or measured conductivity and / or other properties can be stored on a storage unit. This allows the advantageously acquired measured values ​​to remain available for calculations and evaluations at different times and / or, for example, to take varying water hardness into account when calculating the optimal time until descaling becomes necessary. Advantageously, the values ​​stored in this way can also be used, for example, to optimize water hardness profiles and / or brewing profiles. According to a further advantageous embodiment, the beverage preparation device can be controlled by the control unit based on the determined water hardness and / or the water hardness profile. This control unit can, in particular, control an output, especially preferably via an input and / or output interface for users of the beverage preparation device. Most preferably, it can also control the output of a prompt to perform descaling and / or the time period from the determination of the water hardness until the dispensing. Advantageously, the control unit communicates a prompt to perform descaling or instructions guiding the user through the execution of descaling to the user via the input and / or output interface. Furthermore, it is advantageous that beverage preparation can be blocked until descaling has been carried out.Alternatively, it is also conceivable that the control system automatically initiates a descaling process, communicating a notification about the ongoing descaling and / or instructions for manual execution to the user. According to a further advantageous embodiment, the heating temperature and / or heating duration of the water can be controlled based on the brewing profile, in particular by controlling the heating device, whereby the heating temperature and / or heating duration are increased or decreased depending on the determined water hardness and / or the selected water hardness profile. This control allows the heating temperature and / or heating duration to be optimally selected and implemented for a given beverage. By adjusting or selecting the brewing profile based on the water hardness and / or water hardness profile, the heating duration and / or heating temperature can, for example, be increased in the case of particularly hard water to counteract any reduced heat transfer due to limescale buildup, or decreased to prevent limescale precipitation. According to a further advantageous embodiment, it can be provided that a liquid volume and / or a flow rate are controlled based on the brewing profile, in particular by controlling a suction device and / or a valve, wherein the liquid volume and / or the flow rate are increased or decreased depending on the determined water hardness and / or the selected water hardness profile. For example, a flow rate can be reduced in very hard water to prevent damage to components that may scale up quickly. According to a further advantageous embodiment, the brewing time and / or brewing speed can be controlled based on the brewing profile, in particular by controlling a brewing chamber and / or a beverage outlet, whereby the brewing time and / or brewing speed are increased or decreased depending on the determined water hardness and / or the selected water hardness profile. This allows the brewing speed and brewing time to be optimally matched to the beverage being dispensed and advantageously adapted to the water hardness. For example, a longer brewing time can be implemented in combination with a lower brewing temperature to reduce limescale deposits and / or precipitation. The present invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to a drawing showing a purely schematic, exemplary embodiment. Fig. 1 Schematic process flow for operating a beverage preparation device in a first embodiment. Figure 1 schematically illustrates a possible process flow for operating a beverage preparation device. The process is not limited to the steps and sequence shown. Process steps can also be performed multiple times or in a different order. In process step S1, water is conveyed from a liquid supply to a brewing chamber via a fluid line. The liquid supply can be, in particular, a water tank of the beverage preparation device, but it is also conceivable that the liquid supply is designed as a direct connection to a water line. A sensor unit, advantageously arranged between the water supply and a heating device, measures the conductivity of the water in process step S2 and, advantageously, at least one other property of the water, for example, the temperature. Alternatively, the sensor unit can be arranged between the heating device and the brewing chamber, or a sensor unit can be arranged at each of these positions. The measured conductivity is transmitted to an evaluation unit, which determines the water hardness from this, in particular via the amount of dissolved ions. If another property of the water has been measured, it is preferably also included in the calculation of the water hardness. In process step S3, the water hardness is compared by the evaluation unit with a stored reference value and / or a comparison table, and a comparison result is determined. This comparison can be based, for example, on a simple subtraction or division. Advantageously, the determined water hardness values ​​can be compared without decimal places. Based on the comparison result, a water hardness profile is selected from a range of stored profiles. This profile contains control instructions, such as the intervals at which descaling should be performed for the measured water hardness and / or the maximum brewing temperature. The determined water hardness, other properties, comparison results, or the water hardness profile can advantageously be stored on a storage unit in process step S4. The values ​​can then be transferred from the storage unit back to the evaluation unit for further use, for example, to take varying water hardness into account when calculating the time until descaling is necessary. In process step S5, a brewing profile is selected or adjusted based on the determined water hardness or the water hardness profile. A brewing profile can be selected from a list of predefined profiles. For example, brewing profiles may be predefined for different beverages, or different brewing profiles may be stored for a single beverage type, each already adjusted for different water hardness levels. Adjusting a brewing profile or the parameters defined within it can also be done additionally or alternatively. This is possible, for example, if the brewing profiles are stored only for different beverages and the adjustments from the water hardness profiles are used to adapt the respective brewing profiles. It is also possible that only one brewing profile is predefined in the beverage preparation device, which is then adjusted accordingly. The beverage preparation device is controlled in a process step S6, whereby the control can affect various components of the beverage preparation device. In process step S6.1, an input and / or output interface for users is controlled based on the determined water hardness or water hardness profile. This specifically controls the time period during which a descaling prompt is communicated to the user, as well as the actual output and / or display of the prompt. Advantageously, a user input that initiates a brewing process can also be blocked until descaling has been completed. Furthermore, in addition to the descaling prompt, additional instructions, such as those guiding the user through the descaling process, can be output via the input and / or output interface, particularly via a display. Based on the brewing profile, a heating device can be controlled in a process step S6.2, in particular a heating temperature and / or heating duration can be controlled, which can be increased or decreased depending on the determined water hardness, for example to reduce limescale precipitation. Furthermore, based on the brewing profile, in process step S6.3, the volume of liquid delivered and / or the flow velocity in the fluid lines can be controlled by controlling a suction device and / or a valve. For example, the flow velocity can be reduced in very hard water to prevent damage to components that may scale up quickly. In process step S6.4, the brewing time and / or brewing speed can be controlled by controlling a brewing unit based on the brewing profile. For example, if the heating temperature has been reduced, the brewing time can be increased to achieve a desired brewing result. Reference sign S1 Flowing water S2 Measuring conductivity S3 Selecting a water hardness profile S4 Saving the measured values ​​S5 Selecting / adjusting the brewing profile S6 Controlling the beverage preparation device S6.1 Controlling a user input and / or output interface S6.2 Controlling a heating device S6.3 Controlling a suction device and / or valve S6.4 Controlling a brewing unit

Claims

Beverage preparation device, in particular a coffee and / or espresso machine, comprising a brewing chamber and a liquid supply, wherein the brewing chamber and the liquid supply are connected by a fluid line designed to guide water, and a sensor unit configured to determine the water hardness, and wherein a control unit connected to the sensor unit via data processing is included, which is configured to control the beverage preparation device based on a brewing profile, characterized in that the control unit is configured such that the brewing profile is selected and / or adapted based on the determined water hardness and / or a water hardness profile selected based on the determined water hardness. Beverage preparation device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises an evaluation unit which is configured to compare the determined water hardness with a reference value and / or a reference table and to determine a comparison result, and to select the water hardness profile from predefined water hardness profiles on the basis of the comparison result. Beverage preparation device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the sensor unit comprises a conductivity sensor which is configured to measure the conductivity of the water and an evaluation unit which is configured to determine and / or calculate the water hardness from the measured conductivity. Beverage preparation device according to claim 3, characterized in that the sensor unit comprises means for measuring at least one further, preferably physical and / or chemical, property of the water, preferably a temperature. Beverage preparation device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the sensor unit is arranged to contact the fluid line between the water supply and a heating device and / or between the heating device and the brewing chamber. Beverage preparation device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by a storage unit which is designed to store the water hardness and / or conductivity determined by the sensor unit. Beverage preparation device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the control unit for controlling the beverage preparation device, in particular at least one input and / or output interface for users, is configured on the basis of the water hardness and / or the water hardness profile. Method for operating a beverage preparation device, in particular a coffee and / or espresso machine, preferably according to one of claims 1 to 7, comprising the method steps: - supplying water from a liquid supply to a brewing chamber through a fluid line, - determining the water hardness of the water by a sensor unit, - transmitting the determined water hardness to a control unit connected to the sensor unit via data transmission, - controlling the beverage preparation device by the control unit on the basis of a brewing profile, characterized by an adjustment and / or selection of the brewing profile on the basis of the determined water hardness and / or a water hardness profile selected on the basis of the determined water hardness. Method according to claim 8, characterized in that the determined water hardness is compared with a reference value and / or a reference table by an evaluation unit and a comparison result is determined, wherein the water hardness profile is selected from predefined water hardness profiles on the basis of the comparison result. Method according to one of claims 8 or 9, characterized by a measurement of the conductivity of the water by a conductivity sensor encompassed by the sensor unit, wherein an evaluation unit determines and / or calculates the water hardness from the measured conductivity. Method according to claim 10, characterized by a measurement of at least one further, in particular physical and / or chemical, property of the water by the sensor unit, in particular a temperature measurement. Method according to claim 11, characterized in that the further property for calculating the water hardness is taken into account by the evaluation unit with the conductivity and / or included in the calculated water hardness. Method according to one of claims 8 to 12, characterized by storing the determined water hardness and / or measured conductivity and / or further property on a storage unit. Method according to one of claims 8 to 13, characterized by controlling the beverage preparation device based on the determined water hardness and / or the water hardness profile by the control unit, in particular controlling an output, especially preferably via an input and / or output interface for users of the beverage preparation device, most preferably outputting a request to perform descaling, and / or a time period from the determination of the water hardness until the output. Method according to one of claims 8 to 14, characterized in that a heating temperature and / or heating duration of the water are controlled on the basis of the brewing profile, in particular by a control of the heating device, wherein the heating temperature and / or heating duration are increased or decreased depending on the determined water hardness and / or the selected water hardness profile. Method according to one of claims 8 to 15, characterized in that a liquid volume and / or a flow rate are controlled on the basis of the brewing profile, in particular by controlling a suction device and / or a valve, wherein the liquid volume and / or the flow rate are increased or decreased depending on the determined water hardness and / or the selected water hardness profile. Method according to one of claims 8 to 16, characterized in that a brewing time and / or a brewing speed are controlled on the basis of the brewing profile, in particular by controlling a brewing chamber and / or a beverage outlet, wherein the brewing time and / or the brewing speed are increased or decreased depending on the determined water hardness and / or the selected water hardness profile.

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