Rotating Brush with Flexible Sheet Elements for Coffee Filter Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing coffee machine filter cleaning methods often result in coffee grounds sticking to the filter, leading to reuse and negative impacts on the final product, especially when using traditional methods or hard mechanical brushes that do not adapt well to the filter's profile, requiring high attention and potentially causing noise and filter damage.
Innovation Solution
A rotating brush with flexible, sheet-shaped cleaning elements made from materials like thermoplastic elastomers or silicon, designed to bend and follow the filter's internal surface, equipped with shaped edges and appendages to adapt to the filter's profile, mounted on a motor or handle for effective cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If hard mechanical brushes are used for cleaning coffee grounds from filters, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but noise increases and filter integrity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the brush material from hard to soft/flexible. The cleaning elements are made of flexible material that can deform under pressure, allowing effective cleaning without the noise and damage associated with hard brushes. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by maintaining cleaning effectiveness while eliminating harmful effects.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs flexible cleaning elements that can conform to the filter surface. These flexible elements adapt to the filter's profile and contours, providing effective cleaning contact without the rigidity that causes noise and damage. The flexibility allows the brush to follow the filter geometry closely, resolving the contradiction between cleaning effectiveness and harmful effects.
2Device complexity
If traditional cleaning methods are used, then simplicity is maintained, but coffee grounds stick to the filter leading to reuse and product quality issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service cleaning mechanism where the flexible brush automatically adapts to the filter profile during rotation. The brush elements conform to the filter's internal geometry and cleaning surface, providing reliable cleaning action without requiring complex positioning systems or manual intervention. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining simplicity while achieving reliable cleaning results.
3Power
If hard brushes are used for cleaning, then cleaning power is improved, but attention during operation must be very high and time is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic flexibility to the cleaning elements. The soft brush material can deform and adapt in real-time to the filter profile during rotation, providing consistent cleaning power without requiring high operational attention. The dynamic adaptation of the flexible elements eliminates the need for careful manual control, resolving the contradiction between cleaning power and ease of operation.
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 rotating brush ensures complete removal of coffee grounds with a gentle action, preserving filter integrity, reducing noise, and maintaining high cleaning effectiveness, while being adaptable to various machines and configurations, and can be reprocessed when damaged.
Implementation Method 1
thanks also to the elastic characteristics of the plastic material with which it is realized, it allows bending movements such as to allow it to precisely follow, and with continuity, the internal surface of a filter 30 during the rotation of the brush 1
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a rotating brush, particularly for the cleaning of coffee machine filters, comprising a central support connectable to a rotating organ and a plurality of cleaning elements connected at one of their end to the central support itself. The peculiarity of the present invention is the fact that each cleaning element comprises a sheet-shaped body elastically deformable at least for part of its length.