Sliding Capsule-Holder Design to Reduce Brewing Apparatus Complexity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing brewing apparatuses for single-serve capsules are complex and costly, with hydraulic actuators increasing structural and operational complexity, which reduces reliability.
Innovation Solution
A brewing apparatus with a capsule holder and needle injection device that uses a mechanical transmission system with electric motor and electronic control to selectively operate needles for fluid-tight coupling with capsules, allowing for different brewing pressures and flow rates without the need for hydraulic actuators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hydraulic actuators are used to move the injection unit towards the capsule-holder, then the brewing apparatus can achieve fluid-tight coupling, but the structural and operational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the hydraulic actuator from the system entirely. Instead of using a hydraulic actuator to move the injection unit, the capsule-holder itself is made movable in the horizontal direction, extracting the complex actuation mechanism and replacing it with a simpler mechanical sliding structure that achieves the same fluid-tight coupling function.
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than moving the injection unit towards the stationary capsule-holder (conventional approach), the invention inverts the approach by making the capsule-holder movable and moving it towards the stationary injection unit. This inversion eliminates the need for complex hydraulic actuators while achieving the same coupling result.
2Reliability
If hydraulic actuators are used to move the injection unit, then fluid-tight coupling is achieved, but the brewing apparatus becomes more costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the expensive hydraulic actuator from the system and replaces it with a simple mechanical sliding structure. This removal of complex hydraulic components directly reduces manufacturing costs while maintaining the fluid-tight coupling function through the movable capsule-holder design.
3Measurement precision
If hydraulic actuators are used, then the injection unit can be positioned accurately, but the brewing apparatus reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the hydraulic mechanical system with a simpler mechanical sliding system. The capsule-holder slides horizontally along guide rails or tracks to achieve accurate positioning, eliminating hydraulic fluid leaks, seal failures, and actuator malfunctions that reduce reliability, while maintaining sufficient positioning accuracy for fluid-tight coupling.
Data Source
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AI summary
A brewing apparatus (1) to prepare a beverage from a single-serve capsule (2) containing a dose of infusible or soluble material. The beverage brewing apparatus (1) comprises a capsule-holder (11) with a capsule seat (12) to receive a capsule (2) in a brewing position, and a brewing fluid supply apparatus (14) to supply a brewing fluid into a capsule (2) in the brewing position; the capsule-holder (11) is designed as a drawer and is mounted to slide in an insertion/extraction direction (17) to allow a capsule (2) to be received and moved to the brewing position, where the capsule (2) faces an outlet (23) of the brewing fluid supply apparatus (14). The capsule-holder (11) comprises a main body (41) to support the capsule (2) having a lower portion (43) and an upper portion (44) provided with the capsule seat (12) and slidingly mounted on the lower portion (43) to move, with respect to said lower portion (43), from and towards a raised position, in which the capsule (2) is fluid-tightly coupled to the outlet of the brewing fluid supply apparatus (14).