Hot Beverage Heater Control With Ramp-Up Pumping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hot drink preparation devices face issues with temperature fluctuations during startup, leading to undesirable effects such as overheating, crema impairment, and uneven flow, which result in suboptimal beverage quality, particularly when the heating device is unheated or cooled, causing massive cold water entry and counter-pressure buildup.
Innovation Solution
Implementing operating control means that gradually increase pump delivery, using an oscillating armature or vibration pump, and controlling the pump's start-up period to ensure a ramp-shaped power increase, allowing for thermal block heating with reduced temperature overshoots and eliminating the need for separate flow rate detectors, while using a microcontroller to manage temperature and voltage fluctuations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the pump means and heating device are activated under full load immediately after manual actuation, then the hot drink can be dispensed quickly, but the massive cold water entry triggers a significant control reaction causing temperature overshoot that exceeds the temperature setpoint
Solution Approach 1:
The control means detects when the heating device is below a predetermined temperature threshold and prevents full-load pump operation during this preliminary heating phase. By activating the pump only after the heating device reaches the threshold temperature, the system avoids cold water entry into an unheated thermal block, thereby preventing temperature overshoot while still enabling quick dispensing once ready.
2Productivity
If the pump means is activated in full-load pump operation when the heating device is unheated or significantly cooled, then water flow is maximized, but the counter-pressure buildup creates uneven flow behavior that promotes temperature rise
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs a preliminary check of the heating device temperature before allowing full-load pump operation. When the heating device is below the threshold temperature, the pump operation is restricted or prevented. This preliminary action ensures that water flow is maximized only when the heating device is properly heated, avoiding counter-pressure buildup and uneven flow behavior that would occur with cold water entry.
3Manufacturing precision
If complex control means are used to compensate for temperature fluctuations, then temperature control precision is improved, but manufacturing costs and hardware effort increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The control means uses the existing temperature detection capability of the heating device to monitor its own state and automatically adjust pump operation accordingly. When the heating device temperature falls below the threshold, the system self-regulates by preventing full-load pump activation. This self-service approach achieves accurate temperature control without requiring additional complex control hardware or compensation mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach ensures consistent and high-quality hot beverage production by preventing temperature overshoots and maintaining crema quality, reducing manufacturing complexity and costs, suitable for mass production and private household use.
Implementation Method 1
the water is electrically heated during transport by a radiator, which is driven by a pump
Implementation Method 2
the temperature of the heating device is detected using a temperature-variable electrical resistance
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a device for preparing a hot beverage comprising an electrically operated heating device, provided in a housing, for water introduced from a fresh water connection of the housing or a water tank provided in the housing by means of an electrically operated pumping means and a brewing unit arranged downstream of the heating device, in which brewing unit heated water is combined with a beverage raw material and can be delivered from the housing by an outlet means, wherein regulating means for regulating a water contact region and/or a water temperature of the heated water to at least one target temperature value are allocated to the heating device, wherein there are no means for measurement and/or detection of a water flow and/or an introduced water volume between the water tank and the heating device, in particular between the water tank and the pumping means, and operational control means are allocated to the pumping means such that, as a reaction to an activation of the preparation device, preferably carried out via a manually actuated control unit on the housing, to produce a portion of the hot beverage, an electrical actuation of the pumping means occurs for activation thereof and occurs until a subsequent target power pump operation at an actuation voltage and/or actuation power profile, which, over a predetermined startup period, is configured to be continually rising and in particular linear and/or ramp-shaped over time, wherein network voltage detector means are allocated to a network voltage connection of the preparation device, connected for the electrical operation of the heating device, such that, as a reaction to a detector signal dependent on a currently detected network voltage, an electronic influence of a regulating functionality of the regulating means, in particular a consideration or compensation of an electrical power contribution of a network voltage difference on the heating device deviating from a network voltage target value can occur.