A method of controlling dispensing of doses of coffee grounds, the machine comprising a grinding device which is configured to grind coffee beans, a conduit, having an inlet in communication with the grinding device for receiving coffee grounds, and an outlet, a closure member which is adapted to be removed between an open position for the coffee grounds to be discharged from the conduit through the outlet, and a closed position for closing the outlet, and a coffee grounds weight sensor, which is configured to generate signals representative of the weight of coffee grounds built-up in the dispensing conduit when the closure member is in the closed position.

A method of controlling dispensing of doses of coffee grounds, the machine comprising a grinding device which is configured to grind coffee beans, a conduit, having an inlet in communication with the grinding device for receiving coffee grounds, and an outlet, a closure member which is adapted to be removed between an open position for the coffee grounds to be discharged from the conduit through the outlet, and a closed position for closing the outlet, and a coffee grounds weight sensor, which is configured to generate signals representative of the weight of coffee grounds built-up in the dispensing conduit when the closure member is in the closed position.

Disclosed is a method of recognizing a type of coffee from a plurality of reference types of coffee, each reference type of coffee being associated with a respective reference signal, said method comprising the steps of sensing, by one or more sensors, the presence and concentration of one or more volatile organic compounds in a mixture of volatile organic compounds released from the coffee; generating a signal representative of the coffee according to the volatile organic compounds that have been sensed and their respective concentrations; comparing the generated signal with the reference signals associated with each reference type of coffee; generating a recognition signal in response to the comparison of the generated signal with the reference signals.

Disclosed is a method of recognizing a type of coffee from a plurality of reference types of coffee, each reference type of coffee being associated with a respective reference signal, said method comprising the steps of sensing, by one or more sensors, the presence and concentration of one or more volatile organic compounds in a mixture of volatile organic compounds released from the coffee; generating a signal representative of the coffee according to the volatile organic compounds that have been sensed and their respective concentrations; comparing the generated signal with the reference signals associated with each reference type of coffee; generating a recognition signal in response to the comparison of the generated signal with the reference signals.

A coffee grinder with a weight device to dose ground coffee includes an electric motor, a grinder group driven by the electric motor and housed inside a grinding chamber, a feed hopper for feeding coffee beans to the grinding chamber, a delivery channel for delivering ground coffee to a support fork of a filter-holder of the ground coffee, a load cell mechanically connected to the fork, and a microprocessor that controls the operation of the motor to determine a desired final dose of ground coffee inside the filter-holder. The microprocessor contains control firmware which, when weighing a new dose of coffee: (a) activates a weighing program that activates the electric motor so that the grinder group grinds the coffee; (b) continuously controls, with the load cell, the detected weight of ground coffee reaching the filter-holder; and (c) shuts the electric motor down when the detected weight reaches a desired value.

A coffee grinder with a weight device to dose ground coffee includes an electric motor, a grinder group driven by the electric motor and housed inside a grinding chamber, a feed hopper for feeding coffee beans to the grinding chamber, a delivery channel for delivering ground coffee to a support fork of a filter-holder of the ground coffee, a load cell mechanically connected to the fork, and a microprocessor that controls the operation of the motor to determine a desired final dose of ground coffee inside the filter-holder. The microprocessor contains control firmware which, when weighing a new dose of coffee: (a) activates a weighing program that activates the electric motor so that the grinder group grinds the coffee; (b) continuously controls, with the load cell, the detected weight of ground coffee reaching the filter-holder; and (c) shuts the electric motor down when the detected weight reaches a desired value.

A method of controlling dispensing of doses of coffee grounds, the machine comprising a grinding device which is configured to grind coffee beans, a conduit, having an inlet in communication with the grinding device for receiving coffee grounds, and an outlet, a closure member which is adapted to be removed between an open position for the coffee grounds to be discharged from the conduit through the outlet, and a closed position for closing the outlet, and a coffee grounds weight sensor, which is configured to generate signals representative of the weight of coffee grounds built-up in the dispensing conduit when the closure member is in the closed position.

A method of controlling dispensing of doses of coffee grounds, the machine comprising a grinding device which is configured to grind coffee beans, a conduit, having an inlet in communication with the grinding device for receiving coffee grounds, and an outlet, a closure member which is adapted to be removed between an open position for the coffee grounds to be discharged from the conduit through the outlet, and a closed position for closing the outlet, and a coffee grounds weight sensor, which is configured to generate signals representative of the weight of coffee grounds built-up in the dispensing conduit when the closure member is in the closed position.

A grinding unit (12) for selectively grinding beans (20), in particular coffee beans, is disclosed. The grinding unit comprises a plurality of storage containers (16, 18) for storing the beans (20) and a grinding module (14) associated to the storage containers for grinding the beans. The grinding unit comprises a plurality of shutters (28, 30), wherein each of the shutters is associated to one of the storage containers for feeding the beans from a selected storage container to the grinding module, wherein the shutters are movable with respect to each other to selectively feed the beans from the selected container to the grinding module. An actuation unit (46) is associated to the shutters for actuating the shutters and for opening and closing the storage containers independently. The grinding unit comprises a control unit (32) for controlling the actuation unit in order to open and close the selected storage container and for controlling the grinding module, wherein the control unit is adapted to start driving the grinding module after opening the selected container and to drive the grinding module for a predetermined time period or for a predetermined number of rotations after closing the selected storage container. The control unit is configured to determine said predetermined time period or said predetermined number of rotations, respectively, based on an opening time during which the selected storage container has been open.

A grinding unit (12) for selectively grinding beans (20), in particular coffee beans, is disclosed. The grinding unit comprises a plurality of storage containers (16, 18) for storing the beans (20) and a grinding module (14) associated to the storage containers for grinding the beans. The grinding unit comprises a plurality of shutters (28, 30), wherein each of the shutters is associated to one of the storage containers for feeding the beans from a selected storage container to the grinding module, wherein the shutters are movable with respect to each other to selectively feed the beans from the selected container to the grinding module. An actuation unit (46) is associated to the shutters for actuating the shutters and for opening and closing the storage containers independently. The grinding unit comprises a control unit (32) for controlling the actuation unit in order to open and close the selected storage container and for controlling the grinding module, wherein the control unit is adapted to start driving the grinding module after opening the selected container and to drive the grinding module for a predetermined time period or for a predetermined number of rotations after closing the selected storage container. The control unit is configured to determine said predetermined time period or said predetermined number of rotations, respectively, based on an opening time during which the selected storage container has been open.