Coffee Brewing Chamber Control With Single-Handle Sequential Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Semiautomatic coffee machines require complex user management with both manual and electrical controls, limiting their reliability and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A coffee machine design featuring a single control member with sequential actuation capabilities that automates the entire operating cycle, including brewing, valve control, and pump actuation, simplifying user interaction and enhancing operational efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If multiple manual and electrical controls are used in semiautomatic machines, then the machine can perform brewing operations, but the user management becomes complex and reliability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate controls (manual valve controls, pump controls, brewing chamber closing controls) into a single integrated control member that sequentially actuates all necessary functions. This merging of controls simplifies the user interface while maintaining full brewing functionality, directly resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The single control member is designed to perform multiple functions sequentially: it controls the closing of the brewing chamber, actuates the pump, opens/closes valves, and manages the brewing cycle. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate controls for each function, reducing complexity while preserving operational capability.
2Reliability
If multiple manual and electrical controls are used in semiautomatic machines, then the machine can perform brewing operations, but the reliability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
By merging multiple controls into a single integrated control member with sequential actuation, the patent reduces the number of potential failure points. Fewer separate components and connections mean fewer opportunities for malfunction, thereby improving reliability while maintaining the necessary control functions.
3Ease of operation
If a single control member actuates the entire operating cycle, then user management is simplified, but the mechanism requires sequential transformation of movements
Solution Approach 1:
The control member's travel is divided into distinct sequential portions (first, second, third portions), each triggering a specific brewing function. This segmentation of the control sequence allows for systematic actuation of multiple functions through a single control input, managing complexity through structured progression rather than simultaneous control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces kinematic transformation means as intermediary mechanisms that convert the single control member's linear or rotational travel into the specific movements required for different brewing functions (valve opening, pump actuation, chamber closing). These intermediaries handle the complexity of movement transformation while keeping the user interface simple.
Data Source
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AI summary
The coffee machine (100) comprises a brewing cylinder (101) defining a brewing chamber (17), a piston (7) for closing the brewing chamber (17), means (10, 14) for locking the closure of the brewing chamber (17), a control member (1) sequentially actuable along a first, a second and at least a third portion of a reversible travel having a single degree of freedom, first kinematic transformation means suitable for transforming the control member (1) movement along the first travel portion into a relative rotation between the brewing cylinder (101) and the closing piston (7) for aligning their axes (102, 103) along a common axis, second kinematic transformation means suitable for transforming the control member (1) movement along the second travel portion into a relative shifting of the brewing cylinder (101) and of the closing piston (7) along the common axis for closing the brewing chamber (17), and at least third kinematic transformation means suitable for transforming the control member (1) movement along the third travel portion into at least one movement of the locking means (10, 14) for locking the closure of the brewing chamber (17).