Rapid brewing processes with multiple extractions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coffee makers fail to combine low cost with high speed and efficient use of coffee beans while producing flavorful, non-bitter coffee, due to inefficiencies in extraction processes and resource scarcity.
Innovation Solution
A coffee maker system that utilizes multiple extractions and high pressure differentials to extract coffee quickly and efficiently from a single set of grinds, using a brew chamber and coffee chamber with a filter device, and an agitation mechanism to prevent bitterness and reduce coffee bean usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If multiple extractions are performed from a single set of grinds, then coffee bean efficiency increases and consumption decreases, but the extraction process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The extraction process is divided into multiple sequential extraction cycles, each extracting additional coffee from the same grounds. The system segments the brewing process into distinct phases with separate water volumes passed through the coffee bed, allowing efficient reuse of coffee grounds across multiple extraction stages.
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous useful action by immediately passing the next volume of water through the coffee grounds after the first extraction, without discarding the grounds. Each extraction cycle seamlessly follows the previous one, maximizing the utilization of coffee beans while maintaining efficient workflow.
2Speed
If high pressure differentials are used for rapid extraction, then brewing speed increases, but the risk of over-extraction and bitterness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies periodic action by using a pressure differential device that alternates between creating pressure differentials for rapid water flow and releasing them. This periodic application of pressure allows quick extraction while preventing sustained high pressure that would cause over-extraction and bitterness, enabling rapid brewing with controlled extraction timing.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure differential device dynamically adjusts the pressure conditions during extraction, transitioning from high pressure differential for rapid initial extraction to reduced or reversed pressure differential to prevent over-extraction. This dynamic control allows the system to optimize both brewing speed and coffee quality.
3Productivity
If multiple volumes of water are passed through the same coffee grinds, then extraction efficiency increases, but the risk of bitter taste from prolonged contact increases
Solution Approach 1:
The total water volume is segmented into multiple separate extraction cycles rather than one continuous flow. Each volume of water undergoes extraction independently through the coffee grounds, allowing the system to recover useful coffee compounds in sequential batches while limiting the contact time for each individual water-coffee interaction.
Solution Approach 2:
The system rushes water through the coffee grounds quickly during each extraction cycle, minimizing contact time to prevent over-extraction. By using pressure differentials to accelerate water flow and quickly move through each extraction phase, the system maximizes extraction efficiency while skipping the prolonged contact period that would generate bitter compounds.
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 produces flavorful coffee with less bitterness and reduces coffee bean consumption by up to 30% compared to conventional methods, achieving efficient and precise extraction processes.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure differential device that produces a pressure differential between the brew chamber and the coffee chamber
Implementation Method 2
an agitation mechanism to prevent bitterness
Data Source
AI summary
Coffee makers with features for rapid and/or multiple extraction processes, and associated systems and methods, are shown. A representative method for brewing coffee includes placing ground coffee on a filter element of a brew chamber, directing heated water into the brew chamber and in contact with the ground coffee and, during a first phase, brewing coffee in the brew chamber without subjecting the coffee to a pressure differential of at least 150 torr between the brew chamber and a coffee chamber to which the brew chamber is coupled, the coffee chamber having a capacity of 200 mL or more. The representative method further includes, during a second phase, extracting the coffee from the brew chamber through the filter element and into the coffee chamber via a pressure differential of at least 150 torr between the brew chamber and the coffee chamber.