Improved coffee brewing apparatus comprising an extraction sleeve
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coffee-making systems using pre-packed cartridges are limited by the pre-roasted and pre-ground coffee, which compromises the organoleptic quality of brewed coffee, and generate environmental waste due to non-recyclable materials.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes a coffee cartridge with unground and unroasted coffee beans, allowing for roasting and grinding before brewing, using a slidable wall with a screen for even distribution of coffee grounds and an extraction sleeve for efficient brewing, utilizing biodegradable materials and eliminating the need for pressure jackets and non-recyclable metals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If pre-roasted and pre-ground coffee is used in cartridges, then convenience and ease of operation are improved, but the organoleptic quality of brewed coffee deteriorates due to loss of aromatic components
Solution Approach 1:
The coffee preparation process is segmented into distinct stages: storage of whole beans, roasting, grinding, and brewing. Each stage is performed sequentially within the cartridge system, allowing the coffee to remain in optimal form (whole beans) until the moment of brewing, thus preserving aromatic components while maintaining ease of operation through automated processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions of roasting and grinding within the cartridge just before brewing. The roasting chamber heats the green coffee beans, and the grinding mechanism processes them immediately afterward, ensuring that aromatic components are preserved until the moment of extraction while maintaining the convenience of a single-cartridge system.
2Reliability
If heat-resistant polymer/metal composite cartridges are used, then durability and extraction performance are improved, but environmental recyclability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The extraction sleeve is separated from the cartridge as a distinct component that can be removed and reused. This allows the cartridge to be made from biodegradable materials while the durable extraction sleeve (made of heat-resistant material) is extracted and retained for multiple uses, thus maintaining extraction performance while improving environmental recyclability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is designed so that the biodegradable cartridge is discarded after a single use, while the extraction sleeve is recovered and reused for multiple brewing cycles. This separation allows the disposable portion to be environmentally friendly while the reusable portion maintains the necessary durability and performance characteristics.
3Productivity
If blade grinding is used in the extraction sleeve, then grinding speed and productivity are improved, but centrifugal forces cause uneven distribution of coffee grounds
Solution Approach 1:
The blade grinder is designed to induce mechanical vibration during the grinding process. This vibration counteracts the centrifugal forces that would otherwise cause coffee grounds to accumulate on the walls of the extraction sleeve, resulting in more uniform distribution of grounds while maintaining high grinding speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade grinder operates with variable rotational speeds and blade configurations that can be adjusted to optimize both grinding efficiency and grounds distribution. By changing operational parameters such as rotation speed and blade geometry, the system achieves high productivity while minimizing uneven distribution caused by centrifugal forces.
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 system enhances the quality of brewed coffee by allowing for customizable roasting and grinding, while reducing environmental impact through the use of compostable materials and improving the even distribution of coffee grounds for optimal extraction.
Implementation Method 1
the extraction sleeve being adapted to enter the cartridge chamber via the opened wall such that the sealing rim forms a face pressure seal with the peripheral sealing portion of the slidable wall of the cartridge
Implementation Method 2
blade grinding, in which coffee beans are fragmented by a cutting and/or shearing process (rather than by crushing and/or grinding, as in burr grinding). However, the present inventors have now recognized that blade grinding imparts centrifugal forces to the coffee bean fragments which can result in an uneven distribution of coffee grounds within the extraction sleeve after grinding is complete
Implementation Method 3
a pump for feeding hot brewing water into the brewing chamber to extract the coffee
Implementation Method 4
the coffee contained in the cartridges is in a pre-roasted, pre-ground and powdered form. This greatly compromises the organoleptic qualities of the resultant coffee extract
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3(a)~3(d)
AI summary
Described is a system for roasting, grinding, brewing and dispensing coffee comprising: an infuser head in fluid communication with a source of hot water and comprising bedding means for distributing coffee grounds such that they are disposed substantially evenly on an inner surface of a slidable wall of a coffee cartridge thereby forming an extraction bed within an extraction chamber; and infuser means comprising one or more outlets for the hot water, the infuser head being adapted to deliver hot water to the extraction bed within the extraction chamber, whereby coffee is extracted to yield a coffee brew.