Apparatus for pressing a dose of coffee within the portafilter

Abstract

An apparatus for filling the basket of a portafilter of an espresso machine with a predetermined dose of coffee grounds and for pressing it within the portafilter is disclosed. A support device for supporting the portafilter projects out of a front wall of the espresso machine. The portafilter is placed on the support device in a first coffee-dispensing position below a coffee grounds dispenser, then moved to a second position below a pressing device. In the second position, a pestle of the pressing device is moved vertically toward the dose of coffee contained in a basket of the portafilter to compress the coffee grounds a desired amount, and is then removed vertically away from the basket of the portafilter containing the pressed coffee dose.

Claims

1. An apparatus for filling a basket of a portafilter of an espresso machine with a predetermined dose of coffee grounds and for pressing the dose of coffee grounds within the portafilter, the apparatus comprising: a frame having a front wall; a support projecting from said front wall that is structured and arranged to support the portafilter in a first position for dispensing the dose of coffee grounds into the basket of the portafilter, and to support the portafilter in a second position for pressing the dose of coffee, wherein the second position is horizontally offset from the first position in a direction perpendicular to the front wall; a conduit comprising an opening configured to be located above the basket of the portafilter when the portafilter is in the first position; a dispenser structured and arranged to dispense the dose of coffee grounds through said conduit into the basket of the portafilter; a pressing device structured and arranged to press the dose of coffee grounds when the portafilter is in the second position; a cantilever arm extending from said frame and supporting the pressing device in a vertically aligned position above said second position; and a motor structured and arranged to move the pressing device toward and, away from the dose of coffee grounds contained in the basket of the portafilter.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first and second positions of the portafilter on the support are aligned on a common horizontal plane.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said front wall of said flame comprises at least one sensor structured and arranged to detect the portafilter when the portafilter is in said first position.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said front wall of said frame further comprises a sensor structured and arranged to detect the portafilter when the portafilter is in said second position.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said frame comprises a monitoring and control panel connected to said sensors, to the dispenser device for dispensing the coffee grounds, and to the motor structured and arranged to drive said pressing device.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said support for supporting the portafilter comprises means for adjusting a position of the support in relation to said front wall of the frame.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cantilever arm supporting said pressing device extends from said front wall of the frame and is vertically movable by a rack and pinion device.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pressing device comprises a pestle connected to a shaft slidingly mounted within a housing and supported by the cantilever arm, said shaft engaged with a cam mechanism comprising at least one helical portion structured and arranged to impart an angular displacement to the pestle when said pressing device is moved toward and away from a surface of the dose of coffee grounds.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein said angular displacement of the pestle is a 45 displacement.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for stopping the pressing of the dose of coffee grounds when an electric current absorption value is reached by the motor.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the means for stopping the pressing of the dose of coffee grounds comprises a central processing unit having a plurality of electric current absorption threshold values stored therein, and each value of said plurality of values corresponds to a respective pressing tierce value within a range of from 15 Kgf to 25 Kgf that is applied to the dose of coffee grounds in the portafilter.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) The invention will be now described in greater detail with reference to certain embodiments thereof, given by way of illustration and without limitation, and shown in the annexed drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows an overall perspective view of the apparatus of the invention in a first embodiment thereof without the portafilter on the support;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a partial vertically sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 with a portafilter on the support device in the filling station for a dose of coffee grounds;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a schematic perspective view of the portafilter supporting device with the first emplacement and the second emplacement configured in aligned relationship on the same horizontal plane;

(5) FIG. 4 shows a schematic perspective view of the pressing device for pressing the dose of coffee grounds and the associated motor means for moving the device toward and away from the dose of coffee grounds;

(6) FIG. 5 shows a schematic perspective front view of the pressing device of FIG. 4 located in vertical aligned relationship below said second emplacement of the portafilter;

(7) FIG. 6 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the pressing device for pressing the coffee dose;

(8) FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a construction member that is part of the enclosure of the pressing device;

(9) FIG. 8 shows a partial front view of the apparatus of the invention with the portafilter supporting device formed according to a second embodiment and with a portafilter located in the filling station for a dose of coffee grounds;

(10) FIG. 9 shows a partial perspective view of the apparatus of the invention with the portafilter supporting device formed according to the second embodiment and with a portafilter located in the compression station for the dose of coffee grounds;

(11) FIG. 10 is a vertically sectional schematic view of the apparatus of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(12) Referring to the above figures and particularly to FIG. 1, the apparatus of the invention has been designated by numeral 1 as a whole.

(13) It comprises a base 2, with conventional height-adjustable support feet 3. The outer structure of the apparatus comprises the sides 4 and 5 as well as the front panel 6, with an opening 7 formed therein for access to the operating parts of the apparatus as described in greater detail below.

(14) The top is closed by a cover 8, which has a container 9 with its own lid, mounted thereupon, as is known in the art.

(15) Such container 9 is designed to contain roasted coffee beans and to carry out the task of a hopper to provide the beans to be ground, upon request by the electronic operating system of the apparatus, into an underlying coffee grinding and dosing device which, for the purposes of the present invention, shall be deemed to be of fully conventional type.

(16) In a correspondingly conventional manner, a control panel 11, e.g. of electronic type, is placed on the front panel 6, for actuating and adjusting the various functions of the apparatus.

(17) Namely, the panel 11 may comprise a CPU control unit, which is conventional and is not shown herein.

(18) Also particularly referring to FIG. 1, a device 12 for pressing the dose of coffee grounds is shown at the opening 7 of the front panel 6, and is mounted to the end 13 of an arm 14 which extends in cantilever fashion from the front wall 15 of the inner frame of the apparatus 1.

(19) At such opening 7 a vertical conduit 16 is also shown, which is supported by the front wall 15 by stems 17.

(20) Also referring to FIG. 2, such conduit 16 is connected to a chute 18 through which a predetermined dose of coffee grounds falls by gravity into the basket 20 of a portafilter 21 from a conventional vibrating grinding-dosing device 19, which is equipped with a conventional operating handle 22 located at the discharge opening 23 of the conduit 16.

(21) Referring now to both FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, at the opening 7, the apparatus of the invention comprises a support, generally referenced 24 in FIG. 1 which, according to a first embodiment, comprises the walls 25 and 26 arranged in side-by-side spaced relationship, with a gap 27 formed therebetween.

(22) A plate 28 is placed at the base of the apparatus for collecting the coffee that may regularly fall into the portafilter 21.

(23) A fork element, attached to a support 29 which is in turn connected to the wall 15 of the frame by a screw 29a, has tines 30 and 31.

(24) Said tines 30 and 31 of the fork element, as shown in FIG. 3, support the walls 25 and 26 of the support 24 respectively, in height-adjustable fashion, using slots and fastening screws, such as those referenced 32 and 33 in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

(25) Therefore, the support 24 may be adjusted in its vertical position relative to the wall 15 of the frame.

(26) It is also configured with a first emplacement A for the portafilter 21 in which, as shown in FIG. 2, the corresponding basket 20 is located at the discharge opening 23 of the conduit 16 and is ready to receive a predetermined dose of coffee grounds.

(27) The same support 24 is also configured to define a second emplacement B for the portafilter 21, as shown in FIG. 1, so that it will be located at the device 12 for compressing the dose of coffee grounds received in the basket 20 when the portafilter was in the first emplacement A below the conduit 16.

(28) The displacement of the portafilter 21 from first emplacement A, where filling of the dose of coffee grounds takes place, to the second emplacement B where compression of such dose is carried out, is performed manually by the operator, i.e. the barista, by simply having the portafilter 21 slide on the support 24 between the first and the second emplacements, which are configured in aligned relationship to each other on one horizontal plane extending in the direction perpendicular to the wall 15 of the frame.

(29) For easier positioning of the portafilter 21, the emplacements A and B can be preferably identified by mechanical abutments, such as bosses formed on the surface of the support 24 upon which the portafilter 21 is caused to slide, such abutments not being shown in the drawings as they are conventional.

(30) Referring to FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7, the pressing device 12, which is mounted to the end 13 of the arm 14, comprises a pestle 34 with a corresponding shaft 35.

(31) The latter vertically extends in a cylindrical enclosure 36 having a slit 37 formed in its wall, with at least one section extending with a helical cam profile 38. A roller 39 is slidingly engaged in said slit 37 with the function of a cam follower, as further discussed below.

(32) The shaft 35 comprises a disk 40, which is rigidly joined thereto and is designed to axially abut the facing end of the enclosure 36, during compression of the dose of coffee grounds in the portafilter, as further explained below.

(33) Particularly referring to FIG. 6, the pressing device 12 also comprises a spring 41, which is mounted coaxial with the section 35a of the shaft 35 located within the enclosure 36 and extending between the bottom wall 42 of the cylindrical enclosure 36 and an annular abutment member 43 that is fitted on the section 35a of the shaft 35.

(34) The end portion 35b of the shaft 35 is attached by an axial screw 44, with an interposed washer 45, to the cylindrical body 46 that is part of the end 13 of the arm 14 having the pressing device 12 attached thereto.

(35) The aforementioned cylindrical body 46 has the roller 39 that acts as a cam follower in the helical slit 37 of the cylindrical enclosure mounted thereto, transverse to its vertical axis.

(36) As shown in FIG. 6, front bearings 47 are placed between the annular abutment member 43 and the cylindrical body 46, allowing the shaft 35 and its pestle 34 to perform an angular movement about their longitudinal axis.

(37) Such angular movement occurs as a result of the axial displacement imparted to the pestle 34 during pressing, when it contacts the surface the dose of coffee grounds with which the basket 20 of the portafilter 21 has been filled, as a result of the engagement of the roller 39 with the helical profile 38 of the window 37 on the cylindrical enclosure 36.

(38) Particularly referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 it shall be noted that the arm 14 having the pressing device 12 connected at its end 13 is carried by a horizontal bar 48, which is mounted to a support frame 49, 50 that can be displaced vertically relative to a base 51 that is part of the inner frame of the apparatus.

(39) The movement of the bar 48 that causes the pressing device 12 to move toward and away from the dose of coffee grounds in the basket 20 of the portafilter, thereby allowing pressing to occur, is obtained by means of a rack 52 carried by a vertical column 53 placed on the base 51, and a pinion 54 that engages with the rack 52, and is driven by an electric motor 55, the latter being mounted to a frame 56 rigidly coupled to the frame 50.

(40) A rod 57 that is rigidly joined to the bar 48 and able to slide within a hole 58 formed in the plate 59 rigidly coupled to the frame 50, helps to maintain a horizontal orientation of the bar 48 as it moves vertically.

(41) Referring to FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, a second embodiment of the support 24 will be now described, in which said first and second emplacements A and B for positioning the portafilter 21 are configured on respective horizontal planes which are in superimposed and vertically spaced relationship to each other.

(42) According to this embodiment, the support 24 comprises the side walls 60 and 61, attached in cantilevered fashion to the wall 15 of the inner frame of the apparatus, and a fork element 62 with tines 63 and 64.

(43) The fork element 62 is also attached in cantilevered fashion to the wall 15 of the inner frame of the apparatus by means of screws 65 for vertical position adjustment, such that the right position under the opening 23 of the conduit 16 can be found for proper positioning of the portafilter 21.

(44) Therefore, the tines 63 and 64 define the emplacement A for filling the basket 20 of the portafilter 21 with the dose of coffee grounds, the portafilter being placed for this purpose on the tines 63 and 64 as shown in FIG. 8.

(45) The second emplacement, namely the emplacement B where the dose of coffee grounds is pressed, according to the second embodiment of the support 24, is configured by the guides 66 and 67 formed on the facing inner sides of the walls 60 and 61 at the top sides of such walls 60 and 61.

(46) The portafilter 21 is manually positioned in 66 and 67 and the dose of coffee grounds is later pressed by moving the pressing device 12 toward and away from it.

(47) Therefore, according to the above discussed embodiment, said second emplacement B is configured on a horizontal plane other than that designed for the emplacement A for filling the basket 20 of the portafilter 21, which is vertically displaced relative to it.

(48) In both embodiments of the support 24, the emplacements A and B that have been configured thereon are intended to be equipped with sensors SA and SB that detect both the presence of the portafilter in the given position, and its proper orientation in space.

(49) Preferably but without limitation these sensors are placed on the vertical wall 15 of the inner frame of the apparatus 1.

(50) In addition, these sensors may incorporate the functionality of reading certain codes on the portafilter, allowing them to derive the commands to be given to the members for dispensing the doses of coffee grounds and of determining the pressing operation in the emplacement B and stopping it, as soon as the target compression value has been reached, e.g. by reading and decoding an energy absorption signal by the members for moving the compression device 12 relative to the dose of coffee grounds.

(51) The operation of the apparatus, in both the first and second embodiments of the portafilter support, is self-evident from the above description thereof.

(52) In both embodiments, once the portafilter 21 has been placed in the first emplacement A, the sensor of this emplacement, as mentioned above, indicates the presence of the portafilter and instructs to fill the predetermined target dose of coffee grounds by acting upon the designated actuator means via a conventional CPU.

(53) Once dose filling has been terminated, the portafilter is moved by the operator, i.e the barista, from the emplacement A to the emplacement B, where the corresponding sensor detects its presence and determines that the device 12 has moved against the dose of coffee grounds in the basket 20 of the portafilter 21.

(54) As the pestle 34 contacts the free surface of the dose of coffee grounds and is still lowered due to the rotation of the pinion 54 on the rack 52, the coffee powder is axially compressed and the pestle is rotated about the axis of its shaft 35 as the cam connection between the roller 39 carried by the cylindrical body 46 and the helical profile 38 in the enclosure 36, also causes an angular displacement of the pestle preferably, but without limitation, through 45.

(55) The compression of the dose of coffee grounds ends when the CPU of the apparatus detects a given current absorption by the motor members for actuating the pressing device 12, such absorption corresponding to the achievement of a given force, e.g. 20 Kgf, applied by the pressing device 12 to the surface of the dose of coffee within the filter holder.

(56) Obviously, the CPU of the apparatus can store various current absorption values corresponding to as many pressing values achieved in the dose of coffee depending on the type of coffee that has been used, on the favorite recipe by the operator, i.e the barista, or on the type of portafilter.

(57) As the compression operation has been terminated, the portafilter is ready to be attached to the dispenser unit of an espresso machine, which is designed to deliver the beverage.

(58) Therefore, the apparatus of the invention fulfills both purposes of filling the basket of the portafilter with a predetermined dose of coffee grounds whose quantitative value can be effectively consistent and of carrying out a predetermined pressing operation, in a single apparatus.

(59) The invention is susceptible of variant embodiments, which may be other than those expressly mentioned in the foregoing description, without departure from the scope of the following claims.