Coffee machines with automatic grinding time adjustment and their control methods

Abstract

A coffee machine with self-adjusting grinding time and its control method are disclosed. The coffee machine includes a grinding module, a brewing module, a sensing module, and a control module. The grinding module grinds a certain amount of coffee beans to produce coffee powder. The brewing module extracts coffee liquid from the coffee powder and produces a coffee cake. The sensing module generates a corresponding coffee cake weight value. The control module is electrically connected to the sensing module, the brewing module, and the grinding module, and is used to determine whether the coffee cake weight value is greater than a first upper limit value or less than a first lower limit value, thereby generating and storing a first grinding time reduction value or a first grinding time increase value to adjust and improve the error in the weight of the coffee powder ground by the grinding module.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a coffee machine, and more particularly to a coffee machine with an automatic grinding time adjustment function and its control method. Prior Technology

[0002] Coffee machines are now ubiquitous in daily life. A typical coffee machine includes a grinding module, a brewing module, a waste collection module, and a control module. In operation, the control module generates a coffee concentration command, which corresponds to a grinding time value. Next, the grinding module grinds a specific amount of coffee beans according to the grinding time value to produce coffee grounds. Then, the brewing module receives the coffee grounds, tamps them, and brews them to extract coffee liquid. Finally, the waste collection module collects the ground coffee residue after tamping and brewing.

[0003] However, even for the same model of existing coffee machine, the efficiency of its grinding module in grinding coffee beans can still be affected by differences in the manufacturing process or the usage environment. This results in a discrepancy between the amount of coffee powder actually ground by the grinding module based on the grinding time value and the expected amount of coffee powder ground based on the grinding time value, which in turn leads to a discrepancy between the concentration of the extracted coffee liquid and the required concentration. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Therefore, the purpose of this invention is to provide a coffee machine and its control method that have an automatic grinding time adjustment function that can overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention provides a coffee machine with an automatic grinding time adjustment function, which is suitable for extracting coffee liquid from a certain amount of coffee beans. The coffee machine includes a grinding module, a brewing module, a sensing module and a control module.

[0006] This grinding module is used to grind the coffee beans to produce coffee powder.

[0007] The brewing module is used to compress and brew the coffee powder to extract the coffee liquid from the coffee powder and produce a coffee grounds cake.

[0008] The sensing module is adjacent to the brewing module and is used to sense the amount of coffee grounds produced by the brewing module, and generate a grounds amount value indicating the amount of coffee grounds.

[0009] The control module is electrically connected to the sensing module, the brewing module and the grinding module, and stores a first upper limit value for the amount of residue cake, a first lower limit value for the amount of residue cake, a first preset value for grinding time and a grinding time adjustment value. The control module is used to control the grinding module to grind the coffee beans according to the first preset grinding time value and to receive the coffee cake weight value from the sensing module. When the control module determines that the coffee cake weight value is greater than the first upper limit value of the coffee cake weight, it generates and stores a first grinding time reduction value indicating the first preset grinding time value minus the grinding time adjustment value. When the control module determines that the coffee cake weight value is less than the first lower limit value of the coffee cake weight, it generates and stores a first grinding time increase value indicating the first preset grinding time value plus the grinding time adjustment value. After the control module obtains the first grinding time reduction value or the first grinding time increase value, it controls the grinding module to grind the coffee beans according to the first grinding time reduction value or the first grinding time increase value.

[0010] Therefore, the control method for a coffee machine with self-adjusting grinding time of the present invention is implemented by a coffee machine, which includes a grinding module for grinding a certain amount of coffee beans to produce coffee powder, a brewing module for compressing and brewing the coffee powder to produce a coffee grounds cake, a sensing module adjacent to the brewing module, and a control module electrically connected to the sensing module, the brewing module, and the grinding module. The sensing module is used to sense the amount of coffee grounds cake produced by the brewing module and generate a grounds cake amount value indicating the amount of coffee grounds cake. The control method includes the following steps:

[0011] (A) The control module stores a first upper limit value for the amount of residue cake, a first lower limit value for the amount of residue cake, a first preset value for the grinding time, and a grinding time adjustment value;

[0012] (B) The control module controls the grinding module to grind the coffee beans according to the preset value of the first grinding time and receives the corresponding value of the coffee cake from the sensing module;

[0013] (C) The control module determines whether the slag cake mass is greater than the first upper limit or less than the first lower limit. When the control module determines that the slag cake mass is greater than the first upper limit, it generates and stores a first grinding time reduction value indicating the first grinding time preset value minus the grinding time adjustment value. When the control module determines that the slag cake mass is less than the first lower limit, it generates and stores a first grinding time increase value indicating the first grinding time preset value plus the grinding time adjustment value.

[0014] (D) The control module controls the grinding module to grind the coffee beans according to the first grinding time reduction value, the first grinding time increase value or the first grinding time preset value, and receives the updated coffee cake quantity value from the sensing module.

[0015] The advantages of this invention are as follows: the sensing module generates a coffee grounds quantity value indicating the amount of coffee grounds, and the control module determines whether the coffee grounds quantity value is greater than or less than the first upper limit value or lower limit value, thereby generating a first grinding time reduction value or a first grinding time increase value. Based on the first grinding time reduction value or the first grinding time increase value, the grinding module is controlled to grind the coffee beans, so as to adjust and improve the error of the amount of coffee powder ground by the grinding module. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0016] Other features and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the embodiments with reference to the drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the device of the present invention; and Figure 2 is a flowchart of the control method of this embodiment. Implementation

[0017] Referring to Figures 1 and 2, an embodiment of the coffee machine of the present invention, featuring an automatic grinding time adjustment function, is suitable for extracting coffee liquid from a certain quantity of coffee beans. This embodiment includes a grinding module 1, a brewing module 2, a sensing module 3, a waste collection module 4, an operation module 5, and a control module 6 electrically connected to the operation module 5, the sensing module 3, the brewing module 2, and the grinding module 1. In this embodiment, the sensing module 3 and the control module 6 are jointly implemented by a processor and a computer-readable medium storing multiple program instructions and electrically connected to the processor.

[0018] The grinding module 1 is used to grind a certain amount of coffee beans to produce coffee powder. In this embodiment, the grinding module 1 is implemented by a grinding disc and a drive motor.

[0019] The brewing module 2 is used to compress and brew the coffee powder to extract coffee liquid from the coffee powder and generate a coffee grounds cake. In this embodiment, the brewing module 2 is implemented by a coffee powder conveying mechanism, a brewing chamber, a tamping mechanism, a heating mechanism, and a hot water conveying mechanism.

[0020] The sensing module 3 is adjacent to the brewing module 2 and is used to sense the amount of coffee grounds generated by the brewing module 2, and generate a grounds amount value indicating the amount of coffee grounds. In this embodiment, the sensing module 3 is a counting program used to calculate the moving distance of the tamping mechanism, and is used to sense the thickness of the coffee grounds generated by the brewing module 2, so as to generate a grounds thickness value indicating the thickness of the coffee grounds.

[0021] The waste collection module 4 is used to receive the coffee grounds generated by the brewing module 2. In this embodiment, the waste collection module 4 is implemented by a coffee grounds conveying mechanism and a waste container.

[0022] The operation module 5 defines a low-concentration button for outputting a low-concentration signal to the control module 6, a medium-concentration button for outputting a medium-concentration signal to the control module 6, and a high-concentration button for outputting a high-concentration signal to the control module 6.

[0023] The control module 6 stores an upper limit value for the first slag cake quantity, a lower limit value for the first slag cake quantity, a preset value for the first grinding time corresponding to the medium concentration signal, and a grinding time adjustment value. In this embodiment, the preset value for the first grinding time is tested to be no less than 4 seconds and no more than 4.8 seconds. The adjusted value for the grinding time is no less than 200 milliseconds and no more than 300 milliseconds. Preferably, the adjusted value for the grinding time is 250 milliseconds. The upper limit value for the first slag cake quantity stored in the control module 6 is also an upper limit value for the first slag cake thickness, which is 13 mm. The lower limit value for the first slag cake quantity stored in the control module 6 is also a lower limit value for the first slag cake thickness, which is 11.5 mm.

[0024] In addition, the control module 6 also stores a second upper limit value for slag cake thickness that is less than the first upper limit value for slag cake thickness, a second lower limit value for slag cake thickness that is less than the first lower limit value for slag cake thickness, a second preset grinding time value corresponding to the low concentration signal, a third upper limit value for slag cake thickness that is greater than the first upper limit value for slag cake thickness, a third lower limit value for slag cake thickness that is greater than the first lower limit value for slag cake thickness, and a third preset grinding time value corresponding to the high concentration signal. Testing showed that the second upper limit value for slag cake thickness is 12 mm. The second lower limit value for slag cake thickness is 10.5 mm. The third upper limit value for slag cake thickness is 14 mm. The third lower limit value for slag cake thickness is 12.5 mm. The second preset grinding time is not less than 3.7 seconds and not more than 4.4 seconds. The third preset grinding time was tested to be not less than 4.8 seconds and not more than 5.7 seconds.

[0025] Specifically, the control module 6 controls the grinding module 1 to grind the coffee beans according to the first preset grinding time value and receives the cake weight value from the sensing module 3. When the control module 6 determines that the cake weight value is greater than the first upper limit of the cake weight value, it generates and stores a first grinding time reduction value indicating the first preset grinding time value minus the grinding time adjustment value. When the control module 6 determines that the cake weight value is less than the first lower limit of the cake weight value, it generates and stores a first grinding time increase value indicating the first preset grinding time value plus the grinding time adjustment value. After the control module 6 obtains the first grinding time reduction value or the first grinding time increase value, it controls the grinding module 1 to grind the coffee beans according to the first grinding time reduction value or the first grinding time increase value.

[0026] More precisely, the control module 6 is used to receive the medium concentration signal, the low concentration signal, or the high concentration signal, and thereby control the grinding module 1 to grind the coffee beans according to the corresponding first grinding time preset value, the second grinding time preset value, or the third grinding time preset value, and receive the corresponding cake thickness value from the sensing module 3.

[0027] Under the premise that the control module 6 controls the grinding module 1 according to the preset value of the first grinding time, when the control module 6 determines that the thickness of the residue cake is greater than the upper limit value of the first residue cake thickness, it generates and stores the first grinding time reduction value. When the control module 6 determines that the thickness of the residue cake is less than the lower limit value of the first residue cake thickness, it generates and stores the first grinding time increase value.

[0028] Before the control module 6 controls the grinding module 1 according to the second preset grinding time value, when the control module 6 determines that the cake thickness is greater than the second upper limit of cake thickness, it generates and stores a second grinding time reduction value indicating the second preset grinding time value minus the grinding time adjustment value. When the control module 6 determines that the cake thickness is less than the second lower limit of cake thickness, it generates and stores a second grinding time increase value indicating the second preset grinding time value plus the grinding time adjustment value.

[0029] Before the control module 6 controls the grinding module 1 according to the preset third grinding time value, when the control module 6 determines that the cake thickness is greater than the upper limit of the third cake thickness, it generates and stores a third grinding time reduction value, indicating the third grinding time preset value minus the grinding time adjustment value. When the control module 6 determines that the cake thickness is less than the lower limit of the third cake thickness, it generates and stores a third grinding time increase value, indicating the third grinding time preset value plus the grinding time adjustment value.

[0030] In this embodiment, the control module 6 is implemented using an integrated circuit, computer, or server with computing and storage capabilities, and illustratively includes hardware components such as a processor, memory, communication circuit, input interface, and output interface (not shown in the figure).

[0031] Since the preceding paragraphs have already revealed that the control module 6 controls the grinding module 1 according to the second or third preset grinding time value, etc., for the sake of briefly introducing the control method of this embodiment, the relevant content of the control module 6 controlling the grinding module 1 according to the second or third preset grinding time value is omitted. The control method of this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0032] Step S1: The control module 6 stores the upper limit value of the first slag cake quantity, the lower limit value of the first slag cake quantity, the preset value of the first grinding time, and the adjustment value of the grinding time. In this embodiment, the control module 6 stores the upper limit value of the first slag cake thickness corresponding to the upper limit value of the first slag cake quantity, and the lower limit value of the first slag cake thickness corresponding to the lower limit value of the first slag cake quantity.

[0033] In step S2, the medium concentration signal is output to the control module 6 by pressing the operation module 5.

[0034] Step S3: The control module 6 controls the grinding module 1 to grind the coffee beans according to the preset value of the first grinding time and receives the corresponding amount of coffee grounds from the sensing module 3.

[0035] Step S4: The control module 6 determines whether the slag cake quantity is greater than the first upper limit or less than the first lower limit. If the control module 6 determines that the slag cake quantity is greater than the first upper limit, it generates and stores the first grinding time reduction value. If the control module 6 determines that the slag cake quantity is less than the first lower limit, it generates and stores the first grinding time increase value.

[0036] In this embodiment, the control module 6 determines whether the slag cake thickness is greater than the upper limit or less than the lower limit of the first slag cake thickness. When the control module 6 determines that the slag cake thickness is greater than the upper limit, and this condition has occurred more than twice consecutively, it generates and stores the first grinding time reduction value. When the control module 6 determines that the slag cake thickness is less than the lower limit, and this condition has occurred more than twice consecutively, it generates and stores the first grinding time increase value. In other words, when the control module 6 determines that the slag cake thickness is between the upper and lower limits of the first slag cake thickness, or when it determines that the slag cake thickness is not between the upper and lower limits and this condition has not occurred more than twice consecutively, it will not generate the first grinding time reduction value or the first grinding time increase value (no adjustment is required). It is worth mentioning that in other variations of this embodiment, the number of consecutive occurrences of the condition that the thickness of the slag cake is not between the upper limit and the lower limit of the first slag cake thickness can also be adjusted to one or more than two times, and is not limited to this embodiment.

[0037] In step S5, the medium concentration signal is output to the control module 6 again by pressing the operation module 5 again.

[0038] Step S6: The control module 6 controls the grinding module 1 to grind the coffee beans according to the first grinding time reduction value, the first grinding time increase value, or the first grinding time preset value. After the sensing module 3 receives the updated coffee cake quantity value, step S4 is executed.

[0039] In this embodiment, the control module 6 controls the grinding module 1 to grind the coffee beans according to the first grinding time reduction value, the first grinding time increase value, or the first grinding time preset value, and after the sensing module 3 receives the updated cake thickness value, step S4 is executed.

[0040] In summary, this embodiment and its control method have the following advantages:

[0041] (i) The sensing module 3 generates a coffee grounds quantity value indicating the quantity of the coffee grounds, and the control module 6 determines whether the coffee grounds quantity value is greater than the first upper limit value or less than the first lower limit value of the coffee grounds, thereby generating the first grinding time reduction value or the first grinding time increase value, and controlling the grinding module 1 to grind the coffee beans according to the first grinding time reduction value or the first grinding time increase value, so as to adjust and improve the error of the quantity of the ground coffee powder.

[0042] (ii) The sensing module 3 generates a coffee grounds thickness value indicating the thickness of the coffee grounds cake, and the control module 6 determines whether the coffee grounds thickness value is greater than the first upper limit value or less than the first lower limit value of the coffee grounds cake thickness, thereby generating the first grinding time reduction value or the first grinding time increase value, and controlling the grinding module 1 to grind the coffee beans according to the first grinding time reduction value or the first grinding time increase value, so as to adjust and improve the error of the amount of coffee powder produced.

[0043] Therefore, the coffee machine with automatic grinding time adjustment function of the present invention can indeed achieve the purpose of the present invention.

[0044] However, the above description is merely an embodiment of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. Any simple equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the scope of the patent application and the contents of the patent specification of the present invention shall still fall within the scope of the patent of the present invention.

[0045] 1: Coffee grinding module 2: Brewing Module 3: Sensing Module 4: Waste collection module 5: Operation Module 6: Control Module S1~S6: Steps

Claims

1. A coffee machine with an automatic grinding time adjustment function, suitable for extracting coffee liquid from a certain amount of coffee beans, the coffee machine comprising: a grinding module for grinding the coffee beans to produce coffee powder; and a brewing module for tamping and brewing the coffee powder to extract the coffee liquid from the coffee powder and produce a coffee cake. A sensing module, adjacent to the brewing module, is used to sense the amount of coffee grounds produced by the brewing module and generate a grounds quantity value indicating the amount of coffee grounds. A control module, electrically connected to the sensing module, the brewing module, and the grinding module, stores a first upper limit value for grounds quantity, a first lower limit value for grounds quantity, a first preset grinding time value, and a grinding time adjustment value. The control module is used to control the grinding module to grind the coffee beans according to the first preset grinding time value and to receive the grounds quantity value from the sensing module. When the control module determines the amount of grounds... If the quantity value is greater than the upper limit of the first cake quantity, a first grinding time reduction value is generated and stored, indicating the value of the first grinding time preset value minus the grinding time adjustment value. When the control module determines that the cake quantity value is less than the lower limit of the first cake quantity, a first grinding time increase value is generated and stored, indicating the value of the first grinding time preset value plus the grinding time adjustment value. After the control module obtains the first grinding time reduction value or the first grinding time increase value, it controls the grinding module to grind the coffee beans according to the first grinding time reduction value or the first grinding time increase value.

2. The coffee machine with automatic grinding time adjustment function as described in claim 1 further includes a waste collection module for receiving the coffee grounds cake generated by the brewing module.

3. A coffee machine with an automatic grinding time adjustment function as described in claim 1, wherein, The preset value for the first grinding time is not less than 4 seconds and not more than 4.8 seconds, and the adjustment value for the grinding time is not less than 200 milliseconds and not more than 300 milliseconds.

4. A coffee machine with an automatic grinding time adjustment function as described in claim 1, wherein, The sensing module is used to sense the thickness of the coffee grounds generated by the brewing module. The grounds quantity value is a grounds thickness value indicating the thickness of the coffee grounds. The control module stores a first upper limit value of grounds quantity as a first upper limit value of grounds thickness and a first lower limit value of grounds quantity as a first lower limit value of grounds thickness. The control module is used to control the grinding module to grind the coffee beans according to the first preset grinding time value and to receive the corresponding grounds thickness value from the sensing module. When the control module determines that the grounds thickness value is greater than the first upper limit value of grounds thickness, it generates and stores a first grinding time reduction value. When the control module determines that the grounds thickness value is less than the first lower limit value of grounds thickness, it generates and stores a first grinding time increase value.

5. A coffee machine with an automatic grinding time adjustment function as described in claim 4, wherein, The control module also stores a second upper limit value for cake thickness that is less than the first upper limit value for cake thickness, a second lower limit value for cake thickness that is less than the first lower limit value for cake thickness, and a second preset value for grinding time. The control module is used to control the grinding module to grind the coffee beans according to the second preset value for grinding time and to receive the corresponding cake thickness value from the sensing module. When the control module determines that the cake thickness value is greater than the second upper limit value for cake thickness, it generates a second grinding time reduction value that indicates the second preset value for grinding time minus the grinding time adjustment value. When the control module determines that the cake thickness value is less than the second lower limit value for cake thickness, it generates and stores a second grinding time increase value that indicates the second preset value for grinding time plus the grinding time adjustment value.

6. A coffee machine with an automatic grinding time adjustment function as described in claim 5, wherein, The control module also stores a third upper limit value for cake thickness that is greater than the first upper limit value for cake thickness, a third lower limit value for cake thickness that is greater than the first lower limit value for cake thickness, and a third preset value for grinding time. The control module is used to control the grinding module to grind the coffee beans according to the third preset value for grinding time and to receive the corresponding cake thickness value from the sensing module. When the control module determines that the cake thickness value is greater than the third upper limit value for cake thickness, it generates and stores a third grinding time reduction value that indicates the third preset value for grinding time minus the grinding time adjustment value. When the control module determines that the cake thickness value is less than the third lower limit value for cake thickness, it generates and stores a third grinding time increase value that indicates the third preset value for grinding time plus the grinding time adjustment value.

7. A control method for a coffee machine with self-adjusting grinding time, implemented by a coffee machine, the coffee machine comprising a grinding module for grinding a certain amount of coffee beans to produce coffee powder, a brewing module for compressing and brewing the coffee powder to produce a coffee cake, a sensing module adjacent to the brewing module, and a control module electrically connected to the sensing module, the brewing module and the grinding module, the sensing module for sensing the amount of coffee cake produced by the brewing module and generating a coffee cake amount value indicating the amount of coffee cake, the control method comprising the following steps: (A) storing a first upper limit value for coffee cake amount, a first lower limit value for coffee cake amount, a first preset grinding time value and a grinding time adjustment value by the control module; (B) controlling the grinding module to grind the coffee beans according to the first preset grinding time value and receiving the corresponding coffee cake amount value from the sensing module by the control module. (C) The control module determines whether the coffee cake quantity is greater than the first upper limit or less than the first lower limit. When the control module determines that the coffee cake quantity is greater than the first upper limit, it generates and stores a first grinding time reduction value indicating the first grinding time preset value minus the grinding time adjustment value. When the control module determines that the coffee cake quantity is less than the first lower limit, it generates and stores a first grinding time increase value indicating the first grinding time preset value plus the grinding time adjustment value. (D) The control module controls the grinding module to grind the coffee beans according to the first grinding time reduction value, the first grinding time increase value, or the first grinding time preset value, and receives the updated coffee cake quantity value from the sensing module.

8. A control method for a coffee machine with automatic grinding time adjustment as described in claim 7, wherein, The sensing module is used to sense the thickness of the coffee cake generated by the brewing module. The coffee cake weight value is a coffee cake thickness value that indicates the thickness of the coffee cake. In step (A), the control module stores a first upper limit value of coffee cake thickness corresponding to the first upper limit value of coffee cake weight and a first lower limit value of coffee cake thickness corresponding to the first lower limit value of coffee cake weight. In step (C), the control module determines whether the coffee cake thickness value is greater than the first upper limit value of coffee cake thickness or less than the first lower limit value of coffee cake thickness, thereby generating and storing the first grinding time reduction value or the first grinding time increase value. In step (D), the control module controls the grinding module to grind the coffee beans according to the first grinding time reduction value, the first grinding time increase value or the first grinding time preset value, and receives the updated coffee cake thickness value from the sensing module.

9. A control method for a coffee machine with automatic grinding time adjustment as described in claim 8, wherein, In step (C), the control module determines whether the thickness of the slag cake is greater than the upper limit of the first slag cake thickness or less than the lower limit of the first slag cake thickness. When the control module determines that the thickness of the slag cake is greater than the upper limit of the first slag cake thickness and the situation of the thickness of the slag cake being greater than the upper limit of the first slag cake thickness has occurred more than twice consecutively, the first grinding time reduction value is generated and stored. When the control module determines that the thickness of the slag cake is less than the lower limit of the first slag cake thickness and the situation of the thickness of the slag cake being less than the lower limit of the first slag cake thickness has occurred more than twice consecutively, the first grinding time increase value is generated and stored.

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