Coffee machine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional coffee machines in the HORECA sector are bulky, difficult to maintain, and lack modularity, leading to operational inefficiencies and prolonged downtime due to their integrated and compact design.
Innovation Solution
The coffee machine design separates the boiler and water supply unit from the machine body, allowing them to be positioned externally, reducing the machine's size and weight, and enabling easier maintenance and component replacement through a modular, interchangeable system with quick-coupling connections and auxiliary heating to maintain water temperature.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the boiler and water supply unit are integrated into the machine body, then the machine structure is compact, but the machine becomes bulky and difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The coffee machine is divided into separate functional modules: the machine body housing the delivering assembly and the external supplying unit housing the boiler and pump. This segmentation allows each module to be independently maintained and replaced, resolving the contradiction between compact structure and maintenance ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The boiler and water supply unit are extracted from the machine body and positioned externally. This extraction reduces the footprint of the machine body while maintaining all necessary functions, and allows the supplying unit to be serviced independently without disassembling the entire machine.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple delivering assemblies are integrated in the housing portion, then the machine can serve multiple functions, but the machine dimensions and volume increase
Solution Approach 1:
The external supplying unit serves as a universal resource for multiple delivering assemblies. A single boiler and pump system can support multiple coffee delivery points, allowing the machine to maintain versatility while keeping the machine body compact since all assemblies share common infrastructure.
3Device complexity
If components are integrated in a single-block design, then the machine structure is simplified, but maintenance and replacement operations become arduous and complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The machine is segmented into at least two removable modules: the machine body and the supplying unit. This segmentation maintains structural simplicity while enabling easy maintenance, as the supplying unit can be detached and serviced independently without complex disassembly procedures.
4Area of stationary object
If the machine body is reduced in dimensions, then the machine is more practical for workspace placement, but the boiler and pump must be positioned externally
Solution Approach 1:
The boiler and pump are extracted from the machine body and positioned externally as a separate supplying unit. This extraction reduces the machine footprint to only what is necessary for the delivering assembly, while the external supplying unit maintains all water heating and supply functions through simplified system configuration.
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 design reduces the machine's footprint, simplifies maintenance, and allows for quick component swaps, minimizing downtime and operational complexity, even for unskilled users, while maintaining performance and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The boiler is substantially a tank provided with usually electric heating means
Implementation Method 2
a water distribution pump supplying the water drawn from the boiler to the delivering assembly, for example at a pressure of about 8-9 bars
Implementation Method 3
The delivering assemblies are arranged such as to protrude above the supporting base, so that the delivered coffee falls in the demitasses by gravity
Data Source
AI summary
A coffee machine (100), particularly suitable to be used in catering establishments or the like, is described, comprising a machine body (10) provided with a delivering assembly (30) for delivering coffee, at least one boiler (20) designed to heat the water up to the working temperature and means (25) for drawing water from the boiler (20) and supplying the same to the delivering assembly (30). The boiler (20) is arranged outside of the machine body (10) and remotely therefrom such that the overall dimensions on the working surface are considerably reduced and a simple replacement or interchangeability of the various components is allowed.