Coffee Bean Container Door Locking Mechanism to Reduce Spring Failure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coffee machines with removable coffee bean containers often experience mechanical failures due to large part dimensions, spring element failures, and deformations, leading to unreliable and difficult operation of the bean tank aperture cover.
Innovation Solution
A coffee machine design featuring a locking member with a locking portion and actuating portion, pivotally connected to the housing, which engages and disengages the door of the coffee bean container along a movement path, ensuring reliable and easy automatic opening and closing of the discharge opening, utilizing a bayonet connection and inclined surfaces for smooth operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If spring elements and large dimension parts are used in the bean tank aperture cover mechanism, then the covering function can be achieved, but mechanical failures and deformations occur leading to unreliable operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes spring elements from the door mechanism entirely, replacing them with a gravity-based system where the door's own weight provides the closing force. This extraction of the problematic spring component eliminates the source of mechanical failures and deformations while maintaining the covering function.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using active components (springs) to force the door closed, the patent inverts the approach by using passive gravity force where the door naturally closes on its own. The mechanism works by allowing the door to open actively while passively closing through gravity, reversing the traditional active-closing approach.
2Reliability
If a locking mechanism with multiple components is used to secure the door, then the door can be reliably closed, but the operation becomes difficult and assembly becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The door mechanism is designed to be self-acting, using the container's movement along the guide path to automatically open the door at the correct position. The gravity-based closing system also requires no manual intervention, making the entire operation self-service and eliminating complex user interactions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a guide path as an intermediary element that mediates between the container movement and door opening action. The guide path translates the container's linear movement into the precise angular rotation needed to open the door, eliminating the need for direct mechanical coupling and complex actuating mechanisms.
3Ease of operation
If spring elements and complex mechanical components are used, then the door can be actuated, but deformations and mechanical failures occur during production and operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates spring elements and complex mechanical components from the door actuation system, replacing them with a simplified gravity-based mechanism. This extraction removes the components prone to deformation and failure during production and operation, significantly improving manufacturing precision and operational reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental operating parameter from spring-force-based actuation to gravity-based actuation. This parameter change simplifies the mechanical requirements, reduces manufacturing precision demands on individual components, and eliminates the deformation issues associated with spring elements under load.
Data Source
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AI summary
A coffee machine (1), having a housing (2) and a coffee bean container (3) that is removable therefrom, having a grinder for coffee beans, having a discharge opening (4) of the coffee bean container (3) and having a door (5) for closing the discharge opening (4) which can be moved by manual movement of the coffee bean container (3) between an opened position and a closed position, having a stop (6) on the housing (2), which stands substantially transversely to the movement path and, having a locking member (7) which is pivotally connected to the housing (2) and can be rotated about an axis of rotation (R), comprising: a locking portion (8) which when the coffee bean container (3) is inserted engages the door (5) in a locking manner in the opened position of the door (5), and an actuating portion (9), which comes in the touching contact with the coffee bean container (3) which when the coffee bean container (3) is inserted, keeps the locking portion (8) engaged with the door (5) in the opened position of it.