A hopper

Abstract

A hopper for weighing coffee beans, the hopper comprising a base including a weighing system configured to determine a weight of the coffee beans, a wall extending upwardly from the base and connected thereto at a first end of the wall, a second end of the wall including a rim that is configured to operatively engage with an appliance, wherein the wall is moveable between a first position where the rim is located at a first distance from the base, and a second position where the rim is located at a second distance from the base, the first distance being greater than the second distance.

Description

A HOPPERFIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a hopper. In particular, the invention relates to a hopper configured to determine a weight of coffee beans located in the hopper.

[0002] The invention has been developed primarily for use with coffee machines and / or coffee grinders, and will be described hereinafter with reference to these applications. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular field of use, and may also be employed in other applications where other food items may be weighed.BACKGROUND

[0003] Coffee grinders, either stand-alone or integrated in a coffee machine, include hoppers where the coffee beans to be ground are stored. However, for users who prefer to ‘single dose’ their coffee, i.e. fill the hopper with only the exact amount of beans required for a single dose / espresso shot of coffee, there are particularly configured ‘single dose’ hoppers that may include bellows for blowing air through the grinder to dislodge any ground coffee that may be retained in the grinder. However, the user is first required to weigh the coffee beans required to be filled in the hopper and a separate accessory is required to weigh the coffee beans, as well as a container to hold the coffee beans while they are being weighed. This increases the number of accessories required, thereby increasing initial costs and storage space required for the accessories.SUMMARY

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to substantially overcome, or at least ameliorate, one or more of the disadvantages of existing arrangements, or at least provide a useful alternative to existing arrangements.

[0005] In one form, although not necessarily the only or broadest form, the invention resides in a hopper for weighing coffee beans, the hopper comprising: a base including a weighing system configured to determine a weight of the coffee beans;a wall extending upwardly from the base and connected thereto at a first end of the wall, a second end of the wall including a rim that is configured to operatively engage with an appliance for grinding the coffee beans; wherein the wall is moveable between a first position where the rim is located at a first distance from the base, and a second position where the rim is located at a second distance from the base, the first distance being greater than the second distance.

[0006] Preferably, the base includes a housing. Preferably, the weighing system is located in the housing. Preferably, the base includes a display to display the determined weight of the coffee beans. Preferably, the display communicates with the weighing system.

[0007] Preferably, the housing includes an upper wall, a bottom wall and a hollow space located between the upper and bottom walls. Preferably, the wall is connected to the upper wall of the housing. Preferably, the wall is spaced from the bottom wall of the housing.

[0008] Preferably, the weighing system is powered by a power source. Preferably, the power source is a battery or a supercapacitor. Preferably, the power source is wirelessly rechargeable.

[0009] Preferably, the weighing system includes a sensor and a support member connected to the sensor. Preferably, the sensor is configured to determine the weight of the coffee beans. Preferably, the sensor is a load cell. Preferably, the sensor is connected to the support member in a cantilevered configuration. Preferably, the sensor is located between the upper wall of the housing and the support member. Preferably, the sensor is configured to sense a force applied to the upper wall of the housing.

[0010] Preferably, the support member is T-shaped. Preferably, the support member has an elongate central portion and two arms connected to a first end of the central portion. Preferably, the arms extend laterally from the central portion in opposite directions. Preferably, the support member is formed from an elastically deformable material. Preferably, the sensor is connected to the central portion of the support member.

[0011] Preferably, the weighing system includes an overload protection system. Preferably, the overload protection system protects the sensor against force applied on the bottom wall of the housing. Preferably, the overload protection system is configured to prevent a force beyond a maximum force threshold of the sensor from being transferred to the sensor. Preferably, theoverload protection system includes an elongate pin located at distal ends of the arms of the support member and at a second end of the central portion of the support member. Preferably, the pins maintain a distance between the support member and the bottom wall of the housing. Preferably, the pins are configured to transfer a force applied on the bottom wall of the housing to the support member.

[0012] Preferably, the wall encloses a space in which the coffee beans are located. Preferably, the wall includes a concertinaed wall portion between the first end and a second end of the wall. Preferably, the wall includes bellows. Preferably, the concertinaed wall portion is configured to be compressed and / or at least partially collapsed upon application of force. Preferably, the wall is formed from an elastic material. Preferably, the wall is cylindrical in shape.

[0013] Preferably, an adapter connects the hopper to the appliance. Preferably, the rim is configured to be engageable with the adapter.

[0014] Preferably, the base includes a first coil configured to inductively couple with a second coil in the appliance. Preferably, when the first and second coils are inductively coupled, the first coil receives electrical power from the second coil. Preferably, the electrical power received by the first coil is transmitted to the power source. Preferably, the power source is recharged by the power received by the first coil.

[0015] In another form, the invention resides in a method of grinding coffee in an appliance including a coffee grinder, the method comprising: locating coffee beans in a hopper, the hopper including a base and a wall extending upwardly from the base and connected thereto; determining, by a weighing system located in the base, a weight of the coffee beans; operatively engaging the hopper with the appliance to grind the coffee beans; wherein the wall is moveable between a first position where a rim of the wall is located at a first distance from the base, and a second position where the rim is located at a second distance from the base, the first distance being greater than the second distance.

[0016] Preferably, operatively engaging the hopper with the appliance includes inverting the hopper such that the base 100 is located above the wall.

[0017] Preferably, the method includes applying a force on the base to move the wall between the first and second positions. Preferably, a concertinaed wall portion of the wall is compressed and / or partially collapsed when the force is applied to the base. Preferably, when the force is applied to the base, air in a space enclosed by the wall is pushed into the appliance.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] For a more complete understanding of the present invention, exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail in the following description with reference to the accompanying drawing figures, in which like reference signs designate like parts and in which:

[0019] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hopper for weighing coffee beans, according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0020] Figure 2 is a perspective view of the hopper of Figure 1 operatively engaged with an appliance;

[0021] Figure 3 is an underside perspective view of the housing of the base of the hopper of Figure 1;

[0022] Figure 4 is a perspective view of the sensor and support member of the weighing system of the hopper of Figure 1;

[0023] Figure 5 is a side view of the sensor and support member of Figure 4;

[0024] Figure 6 is a perspective view of an alternative configuration of a sensor and support member of the weighing system;

[0025] Figure 7 is a schematic view of a hopper for weighing coffee beans, according to a further embodiment of the invention.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] Figures 1-3 illustrate a hopper 10 for weighing coffee beans. The hopper 10 comprises a base 100 including a weighing system 120 configured to determine a weight of the coffee beans,and a wall 110 extending upwardly from the base 100. The wall 110 has a first end 111 that is connected to the base 100, and a second end 112 that includes a rim 113 configured to operatively engage with an appliance for grinding coffee beans, for example, a coffee machine (which may have an integrated grinder) and / or a coffee grinder.

[0027] The base 100 includes a housing 101 in which the weighing system 120 is located, and a display 105 to display the determined weight of the coffee beans. The display may be a digital or analog display that is connected to and communicates with the weighing system 120. In this embodiment, the base 100 is cuboidal in shape. However, in further embodiments, the base 100 may be shaped differently, for example, spherical, cylindrical etc. and / or the display may be located elsewhere on the hopper 10.

[0028] The housing 101 includes a hollow enclosed space in which the weighing system 120 is located, the hollow space being located between an upper wall 102 and a bottom wall 103 of the housing 101. The wall 110 is connected to the upper wall 102, while the bottom wall 103 of the housing 101 is spaced from the wall 110. Figure 3 shows an internal view of the housing 101 with the bottom wall 103 of the housing 101 removed from its fixed position. In this embodiment, the weighing system 120 is powered by a battery 121 located in the housing 101. However, in further embodiments, the weighing system 120 may have another power source, for example, a supercapacitor etc. that may be charged wirelessly.

[0029] The weighing system 120 includes a sensor 122 and a support member 123 connected to the sensor 122. Figures 4 and 5 show the sensor 122 and the support member 123, while Figure 6 shows an alternative configuration of the support member 123. In this embodiment, the sensor 122 is a load cell. However, in further embodiments, the sensor 122 may be a different type of sensor, for example, a piezoelectric sensor, strain gauge etc. As seen in Figure 5, the sensor 122 is connected to the support member 123 in a cantilever configuration and is located between the upper wall 102 and the support member 123, such that a force applied to the upper wall 102 (due to weight of coffee beans in the space enclosed by the wall 110) can be sensed by the sensor 122 and the weight of the coffee beans can be determined based on the sensed force. The sensor 122 communicates with a controller (not shown) of the weighing system 120, and the weighing system 120 then communicates with the display 105 to display the determined weight to a user.

[0030] The support member 123 is T-shaped and has as an elongate central portion with two arms connected to a first end of the central portion, the two arms extending laterally from the central portion in opposite directions. The central portion and the arms of the support member 123 are formed from an elastically deformable material such as spring steel etc. that allows each of the central portion and the arms to temporarily and elastically deform upon application of force. The sensor 122 is connected to the central portion of the support member 123. However, in further embodiments, the support member 123 may be shaped differently and / or the sensor 122 may be connected to a different portion of the support member 123. Figure 6 shows an alternative configuration of a support member 123 that has a different shape - a central portion with two arms extending laterally in opposite directions at one end of the central portion, and two further arms extending laterally in opposite directions at the opposite end of the central portion.

[0031] As seen in Figures 4 and 5, a second end of the central portion (that is opposite to the first end), and the distal ends of each of the arms of the support member 123 have an elongate pin 124 that extends therethrough. In this embodiment, each pin 124 is a screw that extends through an aperture at each end of the arms and the second end of the central portion of the support member 123. However, in further embodiments, the pins 124 may be integrally formed with the support member 123 and / or have a different shape, include springs or be formed from an elastic material.

[0032] The pins 124 engage with the bottom wall 103 of the housing 101, thereby maintaining the support member 123 at a distance from the bottom wall 103. The pins 124, when used with the support member 123 and engaged with the bottom wall of the housing 101, form an overload protection system that protects the sensor 122 against excessive force applied on the bottom wall 103, and prevents a force beyond a maximum force threshold of the sensor 122 from being transferred to the sensor 122 from the bottom wall 103, by transferring the applied force to the support member 123 where the force is absorbed by elastic deformation of the support member 123, thereby preventing the force from acting on the sensor 122. Thus, although the sensor 122 can detect a force applied to the upper wall 102 of the housing 101 to determine the weight of coffee beans in the space enclosed by the wall 110, force applied to the bottom wall 103 of the housing 101 is not transferred / applied to or otherwise detected by the sensor 122.

[0033] In further embodiments, the hopper 10 may include a different, but mechanically equivalent, form of an overload protection system that performs the same mechanical function of preventing a force beyond a maximum force threshold of the sensor 122 from being applied to the sensor 122.

[0034] The wall 110 encloses a space in which the coffee beans are located and includes a concertinaed wall portion, in the form of bellows, that extends between the first and second ends 111, 112 of the wall 110. With the concertinaed wall portion, the wall 110 is moveable between a first position where the rim 113 is located at a first distance from the base 100, and a second position where the rim 113 is located at a second distance from the base 100, the first distance being greater than the second distance. Upon application of force on the wall 110, the concertinaed wall portion collapses partially and is compressed such that the volume of the space enclosed by the wall 110 is reduced. Thus, in the first position, when no force is applied to the wall 110, the wall 110 remains in its original shape and / or size where the rim 113 is located at the first distance from the base 100. In the second position, when force is applied on the wall 110, the wall 110 is compressed / partially collapsed and the rim 113 is located at the second distance from the base 100, i.e. the rim 113 is located closer to the base 100 in the second position than it would be in the first position.

[0035] In this embodiment, the wall 110 is formed of a flexible material, for example, silicone. However, in further embodiments, the wall 110 may be formed from other materials or a mix of two or more materials, providing the wall 110 is still moveable between the first and second positions. Moreover, in this embodiment, the wall 110 is cylindrical in shape. However, in further embodiments, the wall 110 may be shaped differently and / or only a portion of the wall 110 may be collapsible / compressible. In yet further embodiments, the wall 110 may include an elastically deformable portion instead of or in addition to the concertinaed wall portion, for example, the wall 110 may be formed as an elastic cylinder which can be squeezed or otherwise temporarily deformed by a user to reduce the volume of the space enclosed by the wall 110 in order to expel air from the space.

[0036] As noted above, the rim 113 is configured to operatively engage with an appliance for grinding coffee beans. Such appliances, for example, a coffee machine (which has an integrated grinder) and / or a coffee grinder, may include a traditional hopper that has a fixed shape and / or configuration. The hopper 10 can be used instead of the appliance’s hopper by operativelyengaging the rim with the appliance, either directly or with an adapter 150 that connects the hopper 10 to the appliance. The rim 113 is configured and / or sized to be engageable with such appliances or the adapter 150 that can connect the hopper 10 to the appliance.

[0037] In use, the hopper 10 is first located on a surface, with the base 100 in contact with the surface and the wall 110 extending upwards from the base 100. The coffee beans to be weighed are placed in the space enclosed by the wall 110 and the weight of the coffee beans is determined by the weighing system 120, which is then displayed on the display 105.

[0038] The hopper 10 is then operatively engaged with the appliance, with the coffee beans still located in the space enclosed by the wall 110. To operatively engage the hopper 10 with the appliance, the orientation of the hopper 10 is inverted such that the base 100 is located above the wall 110 and the rim 113 is engaged with the adapter 150 connected to the appliance. Next, the grinding function in the appliance is activated and the coffee beans located in the space enclosed by the wall 110 fall into the grinder in the appliance. Any ground coffee retained in the grinder can be extracted by applying force on the base 100 which would cause the wall 110 to move to the second position, i.e. a force applied on the base 100 would be transferred to the wall 110 and the concertinaed wall portion of the wall 110 would be compressed / partially collapsed such that the rim 113 is located closer to the base 100 than it was prior to the application of force. When the concertinaed wall portion of the wall 110 is compressed / partially collapsed, the air in the space enclosed by the wall 110 is pushed into the grinder of the appliance and dislodges any ground coffee retained in the grinder, thereby causing the ground coffee to pushed out through the outlet of the grinder. In this manner, it can be ensured that all of the ground coffee from the coffee beans is extracted from the grinder.

[0039] Figure 7 illustrates a hopper 20, according to a further embodiment of the invention, operatively engaged with an appliance. The hopper 20 is substantially similar to the hopper 10 but differences therebetween are noted below.

[0040] Like the hopper 10, the hopper 20 includes a base 200 and a wall 210 extending upwardly from the base 200 and connected thereto. The base 200 includes a weighing system (not shown) to weigh the weight of coffee beans located in the space enclosed by the wall 220. However, unlike the weighing system 120 of hopper 10, the weighing system of hopper 20 includes a power source that is wirelessly charged. In particular, the weighing system of hopper20 includes a supercapacitor (not shown) connected to a first coil 225 located in the base 200. When the hopper 20 is operatively engaged with an appliance that includes a second coil 226, the first and second coils 225, 226 are inductively coupled and the first coil 225 receives electrical power from the second coil 226. The electrical power received by the first coil 225 is transmitted to the supercapacitor to charge the supercapacitor, which then powers the weighing system and display (not shown) of the hopper 20.

[0041] Various forms of the hopper described above may have one or more of the following advantages. As the base of 100, 200 of the hopper 10, 20 includes a weighing system to weigh the coffee beans to be located in the hopper 10, 20, the need for a separate accessory to weigh coffee beans or to hold the coffee beans while they are being weighed is eliminated. The weighing system of the hopper 10, 20 also includes an overload protection system to prevent the sensor 122 from being damaged due to excessive forces applied to the base 100, 200. Moreover, the need for replacing the battery for the weighing system of the hopper 20 is eliminated by having a rechargeable power source that can be wirelessly recharged.

[0042] Although specific embodiments of the invention are illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a variety of alternative and / or equivalent implementations exist. It should be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are examples only and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration in any way. Rather, the foregoing summary and detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing at least one exemplary embodiment, it being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope as set forth in the appended claims and their legal equivalents. Generally, this application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the specific embodiments discussed herein.

[0043] It will also be appreciated that in this document the terms “comprise”, “comprising”, “include”, “including”, “contain”, “containing”, “have”, “having”, and any variations thereof, are intended to be understood in an inclusive (i.e. non-exclusive) sense, such that the process, method, device, apparatus or system described herein is not limited to those features or parts or elements or steps recited but may include other elements, features, parts or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Furthermore, the terms “a” and “an” used herein are intended to be understood as meaning one or more unless explicitly statedotherwise. Moreover, the terms “first”, “second”, etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on or to establish a certain ranking of importance of their objects.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A hopper for weighing coffee beans, the hopper comprising: a base including a weighing system configured to determine a weight of the coffee beans; a wall extending upwardly from the base and connected thereto at a first end of the wall, a second end of the wall including a rim that is configured to operatively engage with an appliance; wherein the wall is moveable between a first position where the rim is located at a first distance from the base, and a second position where the rim is located at a second distance from the base, the first distance being greater than the second distance.

2. The hopper of claim 1, wherein the weighing system includes a sensor to determine the weight of the coffee beans.

3. The hopper of claim 2, wherein the weighing system includes an overload protection system configured to prevent a force beyond a maximum force threshold of the sensor from being transferred to the sensor.

4. The hopper of claim 3, wherein the base includes a housing with an upper wall and a bottom wall.

5. The hopper of claim 4, wherein the overload protection system is configured to prevent a force applied on the bottom wall from being transferred to the sensor.

6. The hopper of claim 4 or 5, wherein the weighing system includes a support member connected to the sensor.

7. The hopper of claim 6, wherein the support member includes a central portion and two arms connected to a first end of the central portion.

8. The hopper of claim 7, wherein the overload protection system includes elongate pins located at distal ends of the arms of the support member and at a second end of the central portion of the support member.

9. The hopper of claim 8, wherein the pins maintain a distance between the support member and the bottom wall of the housing.

10. The hopper of claim 8 or 9, wherein the pins are configured to transfer a force applied on the bottom wall of the housing to the support member.

11. The hopper of any one of claims 6-10, wherein the support member is formed from an elastically deformable material.

12. The hopper of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the weighing system is powered by a power source, the power source being a battery and / or a supercapacitor.

13. The hopper of claim 12, wherein the power source is wirelessly rechargeable.

14. The hopper of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the wall includes a concertinaed wall portion configured to be compressed and / or at least partially collapsed upon application of force.

15. A method of extracting ground coffee from an appliance including a coffee grinder, the method comprising: locating coffee beans in a hopper, the hopper including a base and a wall extending upwardly from the base and connected thereto; determining, by a weighing system located in the base, a weight of the coffee beans; operatively engaging the hopper with the appliance to grind the coffee beans; wherein the wall is moveable between a first position where a rim of the wall is located at a first distance from the base, and a second position where the rim is located at a second distance from the base, the first distance being greater than the second distance.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein operatively engaging the hopper with the appliance includes inverting the hopper such that the base is located above the wall.

17. The method of claim 15 or 16, wherein the method further applying a force on the base to move the wall between the first and second positions.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein a concertinaed wall portion of the wall is compressed and / or partially collapsed when the force is applied to the base.

19. The method of claim 17 or 18, wherein the weighing system includes an overload protection system configured to prevent the force from being transferred to the sensor.

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