Offset Roller Milling Device for Compact Fine Coffee Grinding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional grinding devices for fine grinding of grains, such as coffee beans, are inflexible and require significant space, making them unsuitable for household use and difficult to adjust for optimal grinding, as they rely on multiple pairs of rollers and fixed grinding passages.
Innovation Solution
A compact grinding device with a continuous product guide channel and adjustable grinding rollers, where two rollers are arranged vertically and a third is adjacent, allowing for variable grinding gaps and rotational speeds, enabling flexible adjustment of the grinding degree and optimal grain guidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If multiple pairs of rollers with fixed grinding passages are used, then fine grinding of grains is achieved, but the device requires large installation space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a horizontal arrangement of multiple roller pairs to a vertical stacking configuration where grinding rollers are arranged one above another. This dimensional change allows multiple grinding passages to be compacted into a smaller footprint area while maintaining the same grinding functionality and fineness.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing part contains integrated product guide channels that nest around the vertically stacked grinding rollers, creating a compact nested structure where the guide channels and grinding elements occupy overlapping spatial volumes, reducing the overall device footprint.
2Area of stationary object
If grinding discs are used to reduce installation space, then space requirement is reduced, but material guidance from inlet to outlet opening becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Product guide channels serve as intermediary structures that connect the inlet opening to the outlet opening, facilitating smooth material flow through the vertically stacked grinding rollers. These channels prevent material stagnation and ensure efficient transport without requiring large horizontal spaces.
3Device complexity
If fixed grinding passages are used, then device structure is simple, but flexibility in setting grinding degree is very limited
Solution Approach 1:
The housing part incorporates adjustable grinding rollers that can be moved vertically along guide rails, allowing the grinding gaps to be dynamically adjusted. This enables users to change the grinding degree from coarse to fine by simply repositioning the rollers, transforming a static structure into a dynamically adjustable system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables continuous adjustment of the grinding gap parameter by allowing the grinding rollers to be repositioned at different heights. This parameter change capability provides flexibility in controlling the output particle size without complicating the overall device structure.
4Area of stationary object
If grinding rollers are arranged offset to one another, then compact grinder design is achieved, but material guidance becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The product guide channels are designed to create equipotential flow paths that naturally guide material through the offset grinding rollers using gravity and friction. The channels are shaped to maintain consistent material flow velocity and direction, preventing stagnation despite the offset arrangement of rollers.
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 solution provides a compact, flexible, and efficient grinding device capable of achieving fine grinding with adjustable grinding gaps and rotational speeds, ensuring optimal grain size reduction and ease of use in limited spaces.
Implementation Method 1
a grinding gap d1 and d2, which corresponds to a minimum distance between two adjacent grinding rollers
Implementation Method 2
the size of the grinding gaps d1-(n-1) decreases in the direction of gravity
Implementation Method 3
a continuous product guide channel from an inlet opening to an outlet opening
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
Grinding device for fine grinding grains, in particular coffee beans, with a housing (4) in which a grinder (8) that can be driven by at least one drive device (26) is arranged, the grinder (8) having a plurality of grinding rollers (10, 12 , 14) which define at least two grinding passages (16, 18), each with a grinding gap, such that a grinding gap is formed by a smallest distance d between two adjacent grinding rollers, with all successive grinding passages being part of a product guide channel, with at least a number n > 2 grinding rollers (10, 12, 14) are provided, which are arranged offset to one another in such a way that a grinding roller (12) with two adjacently arranged grinding rollers (10, 14) each forms a grinding gap d1-(n-1), so that the grinder (8) has a number (n-1) of grinding passages (16, 18).