Title of Invention

A BEAN TO CUP COFFEE MACHINE

Abstract An improved coffee machine, including a bean grinder, a steam boiler, a brewing unit and a control board, where in the grinder, boiler, brewing unit and control board are integrated on a substrate made of durable material in the manner such as herein described, where by the machine gets adapted to achieve remarkable performance in respect of running and the quality of the final product and high degree of consumer acceptability, in respect of its utility, quality and price competitiveness. FIG1
Full Text AN IMPROVED COFFEE MACHINE FIELD OF THE INVENTIION

The present invention in general, relates to an improved coffee machine and in particular, to a bean to cup machine, comprising an adjustable bean grinder, a vertical / horizontal steam boiler, a brewing unit and a control board.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Coffee machines known in the art had some vital disadvantages in respect of running of the machines and the quality of the end product.
Furthermore, the running cost of the coffee machines in vogue is quite high.

Additionally, consumer acceptability is not so high for such machines, particularly having regard to the operational constraints, in obtaining the desired mix of the drink opted for. So, there was a long felt need to design a coffee machine, having remarkable performance in respect of running and the quality of the final product and also, which is equally cost effective. Further, there was a popular demand for a consumer friendly coffee machine so that the desired mix of the drink opted for can be easily obtained. The coffee machine in accordance with the present invention, which is also popularly known as, bean to cup machine, aims at solving the aforesaid needs.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:

It is a prime object of the present invention, to provide an improved coffee machine which has remarkable performance in respect of running and the quality of the final product.

It is further object to the present invention to provide a coffee machine which is cost effective.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a bean to cup coffee machine which has high degree of consumer acceptability because of its utility, quality and price competitiveness.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for obtaining
the desired mix of the drink opted for by a consumer running a bean to cup coffee machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

Accordingly the present invention provides an improved coffee machine, including a bean grinder, a steam boiler, a brewing unit and a control board, wherein the grinder, boiler, brewing unit and control board are integrated on a substrate made of durable material in the manner such has herein described, whereby the machine gets adapted to achieve remarkable performance in respect of running and the quality of the final product and high degree of
consumer acceptability, in respect of its utility, quality and price competitiveness.

Irr accordance with preferred embodiments of the improved coffee machine of the present invention:
Said substrate is made of ss304 grade steel, and has a base plate, a central column, a top plate and powdered coated side and back panels.

Said grinder is adjustable and is adapted to blend the roasted coffee bean, to the required fineness.

Said grinder includes an AC motor running at constant speed, flat burr cutters made of high quality steej with helical profile, a device to adjust the distance between the flat burr cutters to enable adjustment of the grind size and a bean feed mechanism allowing a required quantity of bean to be fed per revolution.

Said boiler is made from food grade SS304 material having built in safety feature
like pressure gauges, pressure relief valves, safety valve.

Said boiler has an inside pressure set to 1.4 kgs and said boiler is adapted to
held 3.5 liters of water under pressure.

Said boiler is adapted to receive fresh water through an imported high pressure constant discharge vane pump.

The various components of said brewing unit include actuators (1 and 2), piston, wiper, supporting plate, nozzle, wiper motor, and cylinder. The movement of said actuators is controlled by switching mechanism and the ends of the actuators have piston with micro fine SS filters through which the decoction is squeezed
out.

Said brewing cylinder is made of high quality food grade stainless steel SS304 material.

Said control board is made from dual side PCB having solid state reiays and switching options and said board is adapted to be controlled from an eight bit programmable microprocessor.

Said board is adapted to control the AC motors applied for water pumping as well as grinders apart from the DC motors applied in the actuators, and a DC motor for the wiper.

Various machine parameters and drink options is adapted to be viewed through a 16 X1 single line LCD display either with green, white or blue back ground and said machine is adapted to receive input from a dome sticker keypad.

The present invention also provides a method for obtaining the desired mix of the drink opted for by a consumer including running the improved coffee machine as described hereinbefore.

BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS ACCOMPANYING

THE PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION AND THE COMPLETE SPECIFICATION The nature and scope of the present invention will be better understood from the description of the drawings accompanying the provisional specification and the drawings accompanying the complete specification, which are purely by way of illustration of some preferred embodiments and not by way of any sort of limitation. In the drawings accompanying the provisional specification:

Fig 1: Illustrates the adjustable bean grinder of the coffee machine in accordance with the present invention.

Fig 2: Illustrates the brewing unit of the coffee machine in accordance with the present invention.

Fig 3: Illustrates the steam boiler of the coffee machine in accordance with the
present invention.

Fig 4: Illustrates the control board of the coffee machine in accordance with the
present invention.

Irrthe drawings accompanying the Complete Specification;

Fig 1 illustrates an exploded view of the Coffee Machine in accordance with the present invention.

Fig 2 illustrates an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the grinder of
the coffee machine of the present invention

Fig 3 illustrates an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the brewing unit
of the coffee machine of the present invention.

Fig 4 illustrates an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the boiler of the
coffee machine of the present invention.

Fig 5 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the control board of the coffee machine of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:

The following describes some non - limiting preferred embodiments of the machine in accordance with the present invention.

As stated aforesaid, the coffee machines in vogue, did not have a high degree of
consumer acceptability because of drawbacks in respect of utility, quality and price competitiveness and durability/re- usability.

The Indian water conditions has frequent problems associated with boiler scaling
thus reducing thermal efficiency of the machine
The end product and the running of the machine was also not satisfactory , due to the operational constraints involved, in obtaining the desired mix of the drink opted for.

The coffee machine in accordance with the present invention, aims at solving the
above issues.

The machine in accordance with the invention is popularly known as bean to cup machine.

The bean to cup machine of the present invention comprises of an adjustable bean grinder, a steam boiler, a brewing unit and a control board. As shown in Figure 1 accompanying the Complete Specification, preferably the coffee machine of the present invention includes a hopper(1), a grinder(2), a boiler (3), a dispensing mechanism(4) a pump(5) and a brewing unit(6). That apart, it also includes a control board as illustrated in Figure 5 accompanying the Complete Specification.

The components are integrated on a substrate made of durable material, such as ss304 grade steel, consisting of a base plate, central column, top plate and a powder coated side and back panels. The frame not only ensures hygiene condition but also trouble free service over years of use. The boiler as illustrated in Figure 4 accompanying the complete specification is a unique one, which enables descaling / cleaning of the boiler with ease repeatedly, even while using various quality of water available in Indian conditions.

The adjustable bean grinder illustrated in Figure 2 accompanying the complete specification, can grind thp roasted coffee bean blends to the required fineness , without really over burning the already roasted beans which otherwise, affects its aroma or taste. The grinder unit may consist of the following: 1 .Ac motor running at constant speed.

2. Flat burr cutters made of high quality steel with helical profile to cut the bean without over pressing or over burning of the grind due to compression.

3. A device to adjust the distance between the two flat burr cutters to enable adjustment of the grind size.

4. A bean feed mechanism allowing a required quantity of bean to be fed per revolution.

As shown in Figure 2, accompanying the Complete Specification, preferably, the various component of the grinder includes coupler(7), cutters(8), top bowl(9), bottom bowl(10), warm holder(11), warm adjuster(12), motor(13), bean guide(14), stud(15), mounting clamp(16), powder channel(17), screw(18), chute clamp, SS chute, 3 pin male connector, grinding mounting clamp, capacitor.

The steam boiler illustrated in Figure 4, accompanying the complete specification, may be made from food grade SS 304 material having built in safety features like pressure gauges, pressure relief valves, safety valve. The boiler pressure inside is set to 1.4kgs. It has an inside seamless ss304 grade U tube for taking out of water required for coffee brewing. Steam required for warming or sucking the fresh milk is provided by this boiler. The boiler has a capacity to hold 3.5 liters of water under pressure and is fed fresh water through an imported high pressure constant.

The brewing unit illustrated in Figure 3 accompanying the complete specification , meets the requirement to brew a very good coffee in the specified temperature and pressure. It consists of two actuators, which use rotary motion to be converted to linear motion and the freshly ground coffee powder is compressed and hot water is injected to get a rich and thick brewed coffee to the discerning taste of consumers. The various components of the brewing unit include actuators (1 and 2), piston wiper, supporting plate, nozzle, wiper motor cylinder. The movement of the actuators is controlled by switching on and off the relays and limiting current supply to the D.C. motors which are supplied with 8 volts D.C supply. To the ends of the actuators are pistons with micro fine SS filters through which the decoction is squeezed out. The brewing cylinder is also made of high quality food gradess304 material.

As shown in the Figure 3 accompanying the complete specification, preferably the brewing unit includes a base plate(19), piston filter(20), wiper supporting plate(21), wiper motor(22), wiper pad(23)t actuator sim(24), piston nozzle bottom(25), piston nozzle top(26), solenoid mounting plate(27)) lead screw cap bottom(28), lead screw cap top(29), gear box housing (30), piston(31), piston 0 ring(32).
The control board illustrated in Figure 5 accompanying the complete specification, is made from dual side PCB and solid state relays and switching options. The board is controlled from an 8 bit programmable microprocessor to incorporate any changes in sequences or timings, which may call for changes during development phases. The board controls both the Ac motors used for water pumping and as well as grinder apart from two DC motors used in actuators and DC motor for the wiper. The power supply to the PCB is through a step down transformer 18-0-18 VAC. AH the solenoid valves operating at 230 VAC are switched on or off from the PCB. An EMI filter is used at the input section of the circuitry to suppress all noises. The heater element inside the boiler is controlled through SSR which in turn, is controlled by PCB. The controlled circuit is also provided with MCB switches for emergency switching on/off functions apart from fuses for safety.

The display of various .machine parameters and drink options is through a 16*1 sjngle line LCD display either with green, white or blue black back ground. The input to the machine is a dome sticker keypad.

The present invention has been described with reference to some preferred embodiments and drawings for the sake of understanding and not by way of any sort of limitation and it includes all legitimate developments , within the scope of what as been described here in before and claimed in the appended claims.






WE CLAIM

1. An improved coffee machine, including a bean grinder, a steam boiler, a brewing unit and a control board, where in the grinder, boiler, brewing unit and control board are integrated on a substrate made of durable material in the manner such as herein described, where by the machine gets adapted to achieve remarkable performance in respect of running and the quality of the final product and high degree of consumer acceptability, in respect of its utility, quality and price competitiveness.

2.The improved coffee machine as claimed in claim 1 where in said substrate is made of ss304 grade steel, and has a base plate, a central column, a top plate and a powder coated side and back panels.

3.The improved coffee machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein said grinder is adjustable and is adapted to blend the coffee bean, to the required fineness.

4.The improved coffee machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein said grinder includes an AC motor running at constant speed, flat burr cutters made of high quality steel with helical profile, a device to adjust the distance between the flat burr cutters to enable adjustments of the grind size and a bean feed mechanism allowing a required quantity of bean, to be fed per revolution.

5.The improved coffee machine as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said boiler'is made from food grade ss304 material, having built in safety features like pressure.

6.The improved coffee machine as claimed in claim 5 wherein said boiler has an inside pressure set to 1.4kgs.boiler and is adapted to hold 3.5lilters of water under pressure.

7.The improved coffee machine as claimed in claim 5 wherein said boiler is adapted to receive fresh water through an imported high pressure constant discharge vane pump.

8.The improved coffee machine as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the various components of said brewing unit includes actuators(1 and2), piston, wiper, supporting plate, nozzle, wiper motor, cylinder.

9.The improved coffee machine as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the movement of said actuators is controlled by switching mechanism and the ends of the actuator have pistons and the micro fine SS filters through which the decoction is squeezed out.

10.The improved coffee machine as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said brewing cylinder is made of high quality food grade stainless steel SS 304 material.

11. The improved coffee machine as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said control board is made from dual sided PCB having solid state relays switching option which in turn is controlled by programmable microprocessor of PCB.

12.The improved coffee machine as claimed in claim 11 wherein said board is adapted to control the AC motors applied for water pumping as well as grinders apart from the DC motors applied in the actuators.

13.A method for obtaining the desired mix of the drink opted for by a consumer, including running the improved coffee machine as claimed in any preceding claim.

Documents:

http://ipindiaonline.gov.in/patentsearch/GrantedSearch/viewdoc.aspx?id=gheW7zUJDH3d3+JW6SUvbw==&loc=egcICQiyoj82NGgGrC5ChA==


Patent Number 279813
Indian Patent Application Number 594/CHE/2008
PG Journal Number 05/2017
Publication Date 03-Feb-2017
Grant Date 31-Jan-2017
Date of Filing 10-Mar-2008
Name of Patentee COFFEE DAY GLOBAL LIMITED
Applicant Address NO. 23/2 9TH FLOOR, VITTAL MALLYA ROAD, BANGALORE-560001,
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 M. VENKATESH NO. 23/2 9TH FLOOR, VITTAL MALLYA ROAD, BANGALORE-560001,
PCT International Classification Number A47J31/00
PCT International Application Number N/A
PCT International Filing date
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 NA