Piston Coffee Brewing Unit With Multi-Position Filling Tray
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing brewing units in piston coffee machines face challenges with compact and cost-effective designs, limited coffee powder capacity, and inefficient coffee powder distribution, often requiring multiple motors and complex mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A brewing unit with a filling tray and brewing slide that can be adjusted into multiple positions, allowing for external coffee powder addition and cleaning agent use, featuring a compact design with a single drive motor and integrated filling mechanism for efficient coffee powder distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple motors and complex mechanisms are used to achieve reliable coffee powder distribution and handling, then the reliability of coffee powder distribution is improved, but the device complexity increases and manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple drive functions into a single motor system. The brewing unit positions (brewing position, filling position, cleaning position) are achieved through a single motor that drives the brewing slide and filling tray, eliminating the need for multiple separate motors and reducing overall system complexity while maintaining reliable coffee powder distribution
Solution Approach 2:
The brewing slide and filling tray are designed as multi-functional components that can perform different operations (brewing, filling, cleaning) at different positions. This universal design allows a single mechanism to handle multiple tasks that would otherwise require separate dedicated mechanisms, reducing device complexity while maintaining operational reliability
2Device complexity
If a compact design with single motor is used, then the device complexity is reduced and manufacturing cost is lowered, but the coffee powder capacity and distribution efficiency are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The filling tray is designed with dynamic positioning capability, allowing it to move between different positions (brewing position, filling position, cleaning position) relative to the brewing chamber. This dynamic arrangement enables a compact single-motor design to achieve the same coffee powder capacity and distribution efficiency that would require larger, more complex static mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes spatial repositioning in multiple dimensions. The filling tray can be positioned above, beside, or within the brewing chamber depending on the operational phase. This multi-dimensional positioning allows the compact mechanism to access and distribute coffee powder effectively without requiring a large fixed structure, thereby maintaining coffee powder capacity while reducing overall device complexity
3Productivity
If the brewing unit is designed for larger coffee powder quantities, then the productivity is improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Coffee powder is pre-loaded into the filling tray at the filling position before the brewing operation begins. This preliminary action allows the brewing slide to simply transfer and distribute the pre-prepared coffee powder during brewing, increasing productivity without requiring complex real-time filling mechanisms during the brewing process itself
Data Source
AI summary
A brewing unit is formed with a brewing slide as a brewing chamber, a filling tray, a machine frame with two base plates, two piston units as a shower screen and a plunger, and at least one drive motor, wherein the brewing unit is adjustable into four brewing unit positions, wherein the second brewing unit position forms a first filling position of the brewing unit for the supply of coffee powder or cleaning agents, and wherein the second brewing unit position forms a first filling position of the brewing unit for the supply of coffee powder or cleaning agents. The brewing unit has at least one second filling position for the supply of coffee powder or cleaning agents in the brewing unit position. A coffee piston machine and a process for filling a brewing unit are created.