Coffee Machine Load Cell Layout for Uniform Cup Filling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Professional coffee machines struggle to ensure uniform coffee filling due to variables like water dispersion and coffee powder compression, which affect the amount of coffee reaching the cups, despite advancements like the use of load cells to monitor weight, as these cells become dirty and clogged from coffee residues when positioned under the grille.
Innovation Solution
Positioning the load cell inside the coffee machine body allows it to remain free from solid and liquid residues, ensuring accurate weight detection and real-time monitoring of cup weights, with independent suspended portions under each filter-holder supporting cups and interfaced with electronic control units to manage coffee distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the load cell is positioned under the grille to detect cup weight, then measurement precision is improved, but the load cell becomes dirty and clogged from coffee residues
Solution Approach 1:
The load cell is extracted from its conventional position under the grille and relocated to the interior of the machine body. This removes the load cell from the contamination zone while preserving its measurement function through the load transmission mechanism of the suspended portion.
Solution Approach 2:
The suspended portion acts as an intermediary element that transmits the load from the cup (through the grille) to the load cell (inside the machine body). This mediator allows the load cell to measure cup weight without being directly exposed to coffee residues.
2Reliability
If the load cell is positioned inside the machine body to avoid contamination, then reliability is improved, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The suspended portion serves multiple functions: it supports the cup during brewing, transmits the cup weight to the load cell for measurement, and provides a mechanical linkage that enables the load cell to function from its protected interior position. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components.
3Manufacturing precision
If water dispersion and coffee powder compression variables are considered, then manufacturing precision is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The load cell provides real-time feedback on the actual coffee weight in the cup. This feedback enables the control system to monitor and adjust the brewing process to achieve consistent filling, compensating for variations in water dispersion and coffee compression without requiring complex predictive models.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces complex mechanical control mechanisms with a straightforward electronic weighing system. The load cell converts mechanical weight into an electrical signal that can be easily processed by the control unit, simplifying the overall system while improving precision.
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 configuration maintains the load cell's operational integrity, ensuring consistent coffee filling levels by accurately detecting the weight of coffee in cups and controlling the coffee distribution process, overcoming the limitations of previous technologies.
Implementation Method 1
an electronic load cell (14) used to detect the weight of the cup disposed on the suspended portion (12a)
Implementation Method 2
a pump (2) used to convey the water towards a boiler (3)
Implementation Method 3
a second water conduit (5) along which a heating element (6) operates
Implementation Method 4
an electrovalve (8) disposed at the end of said second water conduit (5) basically at the entrance of said coffee dispenser unit (7)
Implementation Method 5
The passage of the hot water through the layer of coffee powder produces the desired beverage
Implementation Method 6
its fall by gravity inside the cups disposed under said dispenser nozzles
Data Source
AI summary
A professional coffee machine for bars, adapted to provide for the measured filling of cups according to the specific preference of the customer for a normal, a short or a long coffee.