Coffee Roasting Smoke Control With Selective Aroma Release

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing roasting methods for coffee beans in small environments, such as shops or restaurants, emit harmful components along with desirable aromas, posing health risks to workers and customers, while existing solutions either capture or destroy both, reducing the pleasant aroma impact.

Innovation Solution

A roasting apparatus with a smoke treating unit that includes a contaminants treating device to filter or convert harmful components, allowing a controlled release of smoke aromas directly into the environment without treatment, while ensuring compliance with health regulations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If smoke is treated by contaminants treating device to remove harmful components, then health safety is improved, but coffee aromas are also removed reducing pleasant experience

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveharmful emissionsVSAvoidaroma preservation

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The smoke treatment process is segmented into multiple stages: an initial untreated phase where aromas are released, followed by a treated phase where harmful components are removed. This temporal segmentation allows both aroma preservation and health safety to be achieved at different times during the roasting process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically switches between untreated and treated smoke release modes based on real-time conditions such as smoke composition analysis and environmental sensor data. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to optimize the balance between aroma release and harmful emission control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Object-affected harmful factors

If all smoke is treated to ensure health safety, then harmful emissions are reduced, but the pleasant aroma experience is lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveharmful emissionsVSAvoidaroma release

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of treating all smoke, the system applies partial treatment by releasing a portion of smoke untreated during the initial phase to maximize aroma release, then treats the remaining smoke to remove harmful components. This partial action approach optimizes both aroma quantity and health safety.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Solution Approach 2:

The smoke treatment operates periodically with alternating phases of untreated aroma release and treated safe emission. This periodic action creates cycles where aromas are released during untreated phases and harmful components are removed during treated phases, achieving both objectives over time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

3Ease of manufacture

If smoke is released without treatment to preserve aromas, then pleasant experience is maintained, but harmful components are emitted

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvearoma preservationVSAvoidharmful emissions

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary untreated smoke release to capture and disperse aromas before switching to treated emission mode. This preliminary action ensures that the majority of aroma release occurs before harmful components become a significant concern, optimizing both objectives.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system maintains continuous smoke release throughout the roasting process, ensuring uninterrupted aroma dispersion, while intermittently applying treatment to remove harmful components. This continuity ensures that the useful action of aroma release is never stopped, while harmful emissions are controlled during treatment phases.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

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

The method allows for the reduction of harmful emissions while maintaining the pleasant aroma experience, ensuring a safe and enjoyable environment by selectively treating and releasing smoke components based on environmental conditions and health standards.

Implementation Method 1

a smoke treating unit comprising a contaminants treating device configured to treat the smoke produced in the roasting device and to prevent the dispense of air contaminants

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectSmoke treatment:

Data Source

PatentUS12478085B2Apparatus and method for roasting coffee beans

Publication Date: 2025.11.25 SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE SA

AI summary

A method of roasting coffee beans with a roasting device positioned in a room, and the roasting device includes a roasting device and a smoke treating unit configured to treat the smoke produced in the roasting device and to prevent the dispense of air contaminants in the room. The method includes introducing coffee beans in the roasting device and heating the coffee beans during a time, and a part of the whole quantity of smoke produced during the time of the step of heating is dispensed in the room without being treated by the smoke treating unit.