Coffee Machine Dispensing Speed Control From Historical Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coffee machine control methods fail to optimize the dispensing cycle for various types of coffee beverages, coffee powder grain sizes, and machine degradation, leading to suboptimal extraction and dispensing quality.
Innovation Solution
A control method using an electronic controller and a brewing pump with a control algorithm that acquires parameters from stored dispensing data to adjust dispensing speed, ensuring optimal extraction regardless of beverage type, grain size, and machine condition, by dividing the brewing pump into intermittent activation and deactivation periods based on historical data and current coffee powder amount.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a control method divides the brewing pump with pre-set periodic intervals, then the pump operation is simplified, but the extraction is not optimized for different beverage types, grain sizes, and machine degradation states
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic pump division where the periodic intervals are not fixed but adaptively adjusted based on real-time sensor data. The control unit modifies the pump's activation and deactivation periods according to measured parameters such as flow rate, pressure, and temperature, allowing the system to optimize extraction for different beverage types, grain sizes, and machine degradation states while maintaining simplified operational control.
2Manufacturing precision
If a control method acquires brewing parameters during the first part of the dispensing step to optimize the second part, then the second part of dispensing is optimized, but the first part is not optimally utilized and the overall dispensing step is not fully optimized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by acquiring brewing parameters during the first part of the dispensing step and using this information to optimize the second part. The control unit continuously monitors flow rate, pressure, and temperature during the initial dispensing phase, then adjusts pump division parameters based on these measurements to optimize the remaining dispensing period, ensuring the entire dispensing step benefits from the acquired data.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback control where sensor data from the first part of dispensing is fed back to the control unit, which then adjusts pump operation parameters for the second part. This closed-loop control ensures that the information gathered during initial dispensing is immediately utilized to optimize subsequent dispensing, maximizing the effectiveness of the entire process.
3Productivity
If the dispensing step is very short, then the beverage is dispensed quickly, but only a small part of the dispensing step can be carried out optimally with real-time optimization methods
Solution Approach 1:
For short dispensing steps, the patent uses preliminary action by pre-calculating optimal pump division parameters based on the specific beverage type, grain size, and machine state before the dispensing begins. This allows the system to implement optimized control throughout the entire short dispensing step without needing to spend significant time on real-time parameter adjustment during the process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adapts the pump division strategy based on the detected dispensing step duration. When a short dispensing step is detected, the control unit adjusts the timing and parameters of pump activation and deactivation to ensure optimal extraction is achieved within the constrained time frame, maximizing productivity while maintaining extraction quality.
Data Source
AI summary
The control method for controlling the current dispensing cycle of a coffee machine comprising an electronic controller, a brewing pump and a brewing unit having a housing chamber of an amount of coffee powder, in which the current dispensing cycle comprises a dispensing step and a possible preliminary step of wetting the amount of coffee powder in which there is no dispensing, provides that the electronic controller controls the dispensing speed of the entire dispensing step of the current dispensing cycle by dividing the brewing pump by a control algorithm that acquires a parameter calculated from stored dispensing data of dispensing steps of dispensing cycles preceding the current dispensing cycle exclusively.