Vertical-Drop Coffee Grinder Design to Prevent Powder Accumulation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional coffee grinding machines suffer from coffee powders remaining in the grinding channel, affecting coffee quality, making cleaning difficult, and requiring fresh coffee beans to push out previous powders, leading to waste and inconvenience.

Innovation Solution

A coffee grinding machine design featuring an outer and inner cutter with adjustable clearance, where coffee powders fall vertically through through holes in the inner cutter, preventing accumulation and allowing easy cleaning, and eliminating the need to use fresh beans to clear previous powders.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If coffee powders are ground in a conventional channel, then coffee beans can be processed, but coffee powders remain in the channel causing contamination and quality degradation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecoffee qualityVSAvoidcoffee powder accumulation

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the harmful accumulation zone by designing a separate collection container positioned below the grinding chamber. Coffee powders are directly dropped into this container through a chute, separating the grinding function from the collection function and eliminating powder accumulation in the grinding channel.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the spatial arrangement by positioning the collection container in a vertical dimension below the grinding chamber rather than horizontally adjacent. This vertical arrangement allows gravity to naturally guide powders downward, preventing accumulation in the grinding area and facilitating easy removal.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Manufacturing precision

If the grinding device has many parts for precise grinding, then coffee powder size can be controlled, but cleaning becomes difficult and time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecoffee powder size controlVSAvoidcleaning convenience

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The grinding device is segmented into distinct components: an upper grinding chamber with adjustable cutters, a lower collection container, and a support structure. This segmentation allows the collection container to be easily removed for cleaning while the grinding mechanism remains in place, simplifying the cleaning process without compromising grinding precision.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of designing for easy assembly, the patent inverts the approach by designing for easy disassembly and cleaning. The collection container is made separable and accessible, allowing users to quickly remove and clean it without disassembling the entire grinding mechanism, thus maintaining precision while improving cleaning ease.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

3Ease of operation

If fresh coffee beans are used to push out previous powders, then the channel can be cleared, but coffee beans are wasted

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepowder removalVSAvoidcoffee bean waste

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the powder removal function from the grinding process by providing a separate, accessible collection container. Users can directly remove the container and empty the collected powders without needing to perform the wasteful action of grinding fresh beans to push out previous powders, eliminating substance loss while maintaining operational ease.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

4Device complexity

If the upper cutter and lower cutter are mounted on the same rotation shaft, then the structure is simple, but the cutters cannot be cleaned easily

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecutter mounting structureVSAvoidcutter cleaning

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the cutting system into an upper cutter assembly and a lower cutter assembly that can be independently accessed. The collection container is positioned to allow access to both cutters for cleaning, and the support structure enables independent removal or cleaning of each cutter without requiring complete disassembly of the mounting structure, thus maintaining structural simplicity while improving cleaning accessibility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

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

Ensures coffee powders do not remain in the grinding device, enhancing coffee quality, simplifying cleaning, and conserving coffee beans by allowing for seamless powder removal and preventing contamination in subsequent grinding processes.

Implementation Method 1

the outer cutter is rotated to grind the coffee beans so that the coffee powders fall down vertically

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectGravity: Gravitation

Data Source

PatentUS9545174B2Directly falling powder type coffee grinding machine

Publication Date: 2017.01.17 HSIAO CHUNG MIN

AI summary

A coffee grinding machine includes a base, a motor and a grinding device. The motor is mounted in the base. The base has a top face provided with a platform for mounting the grinding device. The grinding device includes an outer cutter and an inner cutter. A bearing is mounted on the outer cutter to drive the outer cutter so that the outer cutter is rotated above the inner cutter to grind the falling coffee beans into coffee powders. Thus, the coffee powders fall down vertically and will not remain in the grinding device.