Coffee And Tea Dosing Block With Agitation For Consistent Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fully automatic coffee and tea brewing devices face issues with coffee bean freshness, inadequate grinding for espresso, clogging, and inconsistent dosing, leading to unsatisfactory beverage quality, while tea brewing with extracts or concentrates lacks quality and flow issues with traditional leaves.
Innovation Solution
A dosing system with an agitation device and dosing block that includes apertures and sliding plates for precise dosing, a coupling mechanism with reverse taper to prevent bridging, and an agitation device that ensures consistent coffee or tea leaf flow, maintaining freshness through gas-impermeable materials and nitrogen flushing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If coffee beans are stored in a hopper for extended periods, then the device can maintain operation without frequent refilling, but the beans lose freshness and go stale
Solution Approach 1:
The coffee storage system is divided into multiple sealed compartments or chambers within the hopper, allowing different batches of coffee to be stored separately. This segmentation prevents cross-contamination and allows for better air circulation control in each compartment, maintaining freshness longer while enabling extended operation without refilling.
Solution Approach 2:
The hopper is designed to maintain an inert atmosphere (nitrogen or carbon dioxide) around the stored coffee beans, replacing oxygen that causes staling. This inert environment allows beans to be stored for extended periods without losing freshness, resolving the contradiction between long storage duration and freshness maintenance.
2Device complexity
If a fixed grinder is used in the automatic device, then the device structure is simplified, but the grinder cannot provide sufficiently fine grind for espresso
Solution Approach 1:
The grinder system incorporates adjustable grinding parameters, allowing the grind fineness to be dynamically changed based on the desired beverage type. For espresso, the grinder can be adjusted to produce finer grounds, while for other beverages, coarser grounds are used. This dynamic adjustability maintains adequate espresso grind quality without significantly increasing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary mechanism is introduced between the fixed grinder and the brewing chamber, such as a transfer hopper with vibration or airflow assistance. This intermediary system ensures that even with a fixed grinder, the ground coffee can be properly dosed and transferred, compensating for the limited adjustability of the fixed grinder and maintaining adequate grind quality for espresso.
3Device complexity
If the dosing system uses a simple aperture design, then the device structure is simpler, but it tends to clog and provide inconsistent coffee doses
Solution Approach 1:
The dosing system incorporates a vibration mechanism that agitates the ground coffee in the dosing aperture, preventing clogging and ensuring consistent flow. The vibration keeps the coffee grounds loose and flowing, maintaining reliable and consistent dosing without requiring a complex dosing system design. This resolves the contradiction between simple structure and dosing reliability.
4Device complexity
If tea leaves are brewed using conventional methods, then the brewing process is simple, but the tea leaves do not flow or brew as desired
Solution Approach 1:
The tea brewing system incorporates a vibration mechanism that agitates the tea leaves during the brewing process. This vibration helps the tea leaves to flow properly through the brewing chamber and ensures complete extraction, improving brewing efficiency without significantly increasing system complexity. The vibration prevents tea leaves from clumping or getting stuck, resolving the contradiction between simple brewing and efficient extraction.
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 system provides fresh, properly dosed coffee and tea with consistent quality, adaptable to various beverages, ensuring repeatable weights and flow, thus enhancing the taste and efficiency of brewing processes.
Implementation Method 1
an agitation device that ensures consistent coffee or tea leaf flow
Implementation Method 2
maintaining freshness through gas-impermeable materials and nitrogen flushing
Data Source
AI summary
A doser for dispensing a predetermined dose of material. The doser may include an agitation device, with the material stored in the agitation device, and a dosing block cooperating with the agitation device.