Coffee mill
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coffee grinders are complex, large, and expensive, making them inflexible for switching between different types of coffee beans and not optimized for optimal aroma development, as they require professional preparation and are not easily adaptable for various brewing devices.
Innovation Solution
A compact, cuboid coffee grinder with a flat underside for stable placement, a portafilter receptacle, and a switching element that activates the grinder upon portafilter placement, allowing for adjustable grinding degrees through RFID or manual input, ensuring optimal coffee bean grinding and dispensing without residue, and facilitating easy integration with various brewing devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If coffee grinders are integrated into coffee machines or provided as separate units, then coffee grinding functionality is available, but the device becomes complex, large, and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The coffee grinder is designed as a standalone unit that can be separated from the coffee machine. The housing can be removed from the coffee machine, and the coffee bean container can be detached from the housing, allowing each component to be independently handled, stored, or cleaned without affecting the other components.
Solution Approach 2:
The coffee grinder is designed to work with multiple types of coffee beans and can be used with different brewing devices. The housing can be placed on various surfaces (tabletop, shelf, refrigerator door), and the grinder can process different coffee bean types to accommodate various coffee preferences and brewing methods.
2Productivity
If coffee grinders are integrated into coffee machines, then grinding functionality is provided, but the device becomes large and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The coffee grinder is extracted as a separate functional unit from the coffee machine. It can be attached to the coffee machine when needed for grinding, but removed and stored separately when not in use, allowing the coffee machine to remain compact while still providing grinding functionality on demand.
Solution Approach 2:
The coffee bean container is nested within the housing, and the housing can be nested with or attached to the coffee machine. This nested arrangement allows compact storage when the grinder is not in use, while providing full grinding functionality when attached.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the outlet opening is located at the bottom of the housing, then the grinder can be combined with other units, but the device requires stable placement on surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom of the housing is designed with a flat surface that provides stable placement on horizontal surfaces. The center of gravity is positioned to ensure stable placement, creating an equipotential base that prevents tipping or instability during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The outlet opening is positioned at the bottom of the housing, utilizing the vertical dimension to allow ground coffee to be dispensed downward. This dimensional arrangement enables the housing to be placed on various surfaces (tabletop, shelf, refrigerator door) while maintaining functional dispensing capability.
Data Source
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Figure 5
AI summary
A coffee mill for grinding coffee beans for the preparation of beverages has a grinder (18) for grinding coffee beans and a substantially closed housing (1). The housing (1) has at least one receptacle for fastening at least one coffee bean container (2). The grinder (18) is arranged in the housing (1), the grinder (18) having an inlet (111) for the coffee beans from the coffee bean container (2) and an outlet (12) for ground coffee beans. The outlet (12) leads through a bottommost bottom side (15) of the housing (1) to the outside. The coffee mill according to the invention is small, compact, economical and versatile, can be combined with different brewing devices and ensures optimal coffee consumption.