COMPACT MANUAL COFFEE GRINDER MACHINE, FOR DOMESTIC USE
20240008685 ยท 2024-01-11
Inventors
Cpc classification
A47J42/40
HUMAN NECESSITIES
International classification
Abstract
Disclosed is a manual coffee grinder machine for domestic use, of the compact and portable type, having a central body which integrates a hermetically sealed bean reservoir and is joined to a container for the ground powder, which is provided with a quick release clutch with magnets. The grinding unit acts on a horizontal rotation axis, with large-sized flat vertical grinders and an external actuating lever which is located on a side, with respect to the central body, so as to facilitate the introduction of the beans and improve stability during the grinding phase. The lever can be integrated in a retracted way with a snap overturning mechanism. The constructive configuration of the grinder machine optimizes the quality of grinding and the manual actuation, and it also improves the preservation of coffee and offers high efficiency and ease of use.
Claims
1. Manual coffee grinder for domestic use, of the portable type, which has a vertical development configuration and comprises: a central body comprising a grinding chamber, a reservoir for whole beans, an inlet opening for said beans which faces upwards; a closing cover on said opening; a container for ground powder, which is joined under said central body and can be separated from it; an external actuating lever, of the crank type, with a lever arm provided with a revolving handle; a grinding unit joined to said actuating lever, which is integrated into said grinding chamber and comprises two opposite and reciprocally spaced elements, with an interposed hollow space, which crush the beans introduced into said hollow space acting as grinders, where a first grinder is fixed, being integral with said chamber, and a second grinder is rotating, being connected to said actuating lever by means of a rotation shaft, with said shaft, said lever and said grinding unit which rotate coaxially, having the same rotation axis for grinding purposes; a rotating ring nut which spaces said grinders from each other, to adjust the grain size of the ground powder; wherein said rotation axis is horizontal and said grinding unit crosses said central body transversely, wherein said actuating lever is located on a side, being connected to one end of said grinding unit, while said adjustment ring nut is located on the opposite side, being connected to the opposite end of the same unit; and wherein said fixed grinder and said rotating grinder are flat and vertical as opposed discs, with said vertical hollow space; and wherein said fixed grinder is mounted on a flange fixed to the central body while the rotating grinder is integral with a grinder-holder element which is fixed to the rotation shaft and mounted on ball bearings; and wherein said flange comprises an inlet conveyor which introduces the beans between the grinders by fall from above, directly from said reservoir placed above, with the help of a propeller piece which is connected to said shaft and is integrated into it under said conveyor so that by rotation it removes the beans, pushing them and distributing them in the hollow space between the grinders; and wherein the powder ground by the grinders is introduced by fall into said container placed below, directly from said hollow space, assisted by the rotation of the grinder-holder element and of the propeller piece.
2. Manual coffee grinder according to claim 1, wherein said bean reservoir is provided with hermetic seal, with a continuous gasket around said opening which interacts with said cover.
3. Manual coffee grinder according to claim 2, wherein said container of the ground powder is provided with a quick release clutch with magnets, being joined to said central body by means of at least one couple of opposing magnets which hold the container in a guided coupling position and allow its separation by manual effort.
4. Manual coffee grinder according to claim 1, wherein said actuating lever can be overturned by rotation of the lever arm on a pin, and it integrates snap retaining means, particularly in an open position and a closed or tightened position; and wherein in said open position said lever is completely raised for actuation, while in said closed position it is completely lowered to tighten, integrating in a retracted way onto one side of the grinder which comprises a shaped closure element for the at least partial housing of said arm, and a recess for the housing of said handle.
5. Manual coffee grinder according to claim 4, wherein said snap retaining means include thrust springs and sliding pins which engage on notches.
6. Manual coffee grinder according to claim 5, wherein between said open position and said closed position said lever arm performs a rotation on said pin equal to 180.
7. Manual coffee grinder according to claim 1, wherein said grinders have a diameter between 56 mm and 60 mm.
8. Manual coffee grinder according to claim 1, wherein the grain size adjustment ring nut is threaded and couples to the central body by means of threading, acting directly on said rotation shaft with a total adjustment rotation equal to 360 degrees.
9. Manual coffee grinder according to claim 8, wherein said grain size adjustment ring nut is externally coupled to a covering and actuating cap, which is provided with protruding fins.
10. Manual coffee grinder according to claim 1, wherein said propeller piece is deformable with shape memory, made of a silicone material, so as to modulate the effort transmitted by the lever.
11. Manual coffee grinder according to claim 1, wherein the flange supports the fixed grinder, the anchoring plate, the lever and the closure element in the manner of a joined extractable unit, which is fixed to the body of the grinder with quick release coupling means without screws, of the clutching and partial rotation or bayonet type, and with a safety block; and wherein said coupling means are hooking small teeth which are corresponding to each other, respectively integrated onto the circular edge for the coupling of the flange and onto the circular edge for the entry into the grinding chamber; and wherein said safety block comprises a sliding pin which exits from the cover under the lever and is inserted onto the flange, allowing said extractable unit to perform a rotation which releases said small teeth; said extractable unit, so that the release of said small teeth occurs first with the lifting of the lever, and then with the rotation of the extractable unit by 180 degrees, and then with the pressure of the release pin, and then with the rotation of the extractable unit by 45 degrees in the opposite direction; and wherein, once said extractable unit is extracted, it is possible to extract the internal grinder-holder element including the rotating grinder, the propeller piece and the shaft which protrudes acting as a grip.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0045]
[0046]
[0047]
[0048]
[0049]
[0050]
[0051]
[0052]
[0053]
[0054]
[0055]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0056] Referring transversally integrates a particular grinding unit (138) which operates on a horizontal rotation axis (139), with flat grinders (130a, 130b) arranged parallel on vertical planes; an actuating lever (115) is connected to one end of the grinding unit, being located externally on a side with respect to the grinder machine (10, 100), so as to facilitate thrust, stability and ergonomics during the grinding phase (
[0057] Said lever (115) can be overturned in a retracted way, integrating into the side of the grinder machine (10, 100) when it is closed or when it is completely lowered for storage, so as to facilitate transportability and storage and to give the grinder machine a pleasant appearance (
[0058] The proposed manual grinder machine (10) is compact (
[0059] In practice, the use of the manual grinder machine (10) is made easier and intuitive, as the device can be disassembled into few elements (
[0060] Grinding takes place after lifting the actuating lever (115), causing it to overturn to the vertical position where it locks autonomously by means of the aforementioned snap lock system, which is made with thrust springs and sliding pins acting on notches in the arm (116-123), in a predetermined position. Then, by turning the lever (115) clockwise, the movable grinding means of the aforementioned grinding unit (138) are set in motion; the lever (115) moves a rotation shaft (133) with the rotating grinder (130b) and also puts in rotation the small removal propeller piece (131) which is integrated between the grinders and the inlet conveyor (106) so as to induce the descent of the coffee beans and their uniform distribution in the hollow space between the two grinders (130a, 130b).
[0061] The ground coffee powder falls by gravity into the container (110) placed below, through an intermediate element which acts as an outlet conveyor (108), closure of the bottom (100, 107) and housing for the clutch. Once the grinding is finished, the container (110) can be easily released to use the ground coffee; to this aim, said container (110) is provided with a quick release clutch with magnets. More in detail, from the bottom of the central body (100) said outlet conveyor (108) emerges, which is shaped in such a way as to protrude and engage into the upper edge of said container (110) as a guide for insertion, which (110) is counter-shaped and comprises coupling planes where couples of opposing magnets (109) are integrated, one magnet on each side (108, 110). They (109) hold the container in a guided coupling position and allow it to be separated with manual effort (
[0062] The adjusting of the grain size is easy and precise; it can be performed manually by rotating the external covering cap (136) which is joined to the internal ring nut (135) and is provided with flaps (137) for actuation; they (135, 136) are assembled on the opposite side with respect to the actuating lever (115) to act on the same horizontal axis of rotation (139), like one end of the grinding unit (138). More in operational detail, the element which actuates said adjustment is the internal ring nut (135) which is threaded, so as to act directly on the rotation shaft (130b, 132, 133) by reciprocally spacing the grinders, with a total adjustment rotation equal to 360 degrees.
[0063] A manual coffee grinder machine (10) is thus proposed, for domestic use of the compact and portable type, with vertical development, structurally consisting of: [0064] a central body (100) comprising a grinding chamber (107) and a reservoir (101) for whole beans, with an inlet opening (104) which faces upwards and is provided with a continuous gasket (103), to create a hermetic closure; [0065] a closing cover (102, 104) which interacts with the continuous gasket (103) for the purposes of said hermetic closure; [0066] a container for ground powder (110) which is joined under said central body (100, 108) and can be separated from it, being provided with a quick release clutch with magnets (109); [0067] an external actuating lever (115) of the crank type, with a lever arm (116) provided with a revolving handle (117), which is assembled laterally, that is on the side of the grinder machine (10), in correspondence with the main body (100), which acts on a horizontal rotation axis (139) and can be overturned with snap lock; [0068] a grinding unit (138) comprising said flat grinders (130a, 130b) which is connected to said actuating lever (115) and acts on the same horizontal rotation axis (139), and which is transversely integrated into the grinding chamber (107) crossing said central body (100) from side to side; [0069] a rotating ring nut (135, 136) which spaces the grinders from each other, adjusting the grain size of the ground powder.
[0070] Said grinding unit (138) comprises multiple grinding means (115-137), some of them fixed and others rotating, which interact with each other in the manner of an optimized grinding system, according to the purposes of the invention (
[0071] More in technical detail (
[0072] The grinding unit (138) comprises the following components, which operate as a grinding mechanism: the actuating lever (115, 116) which is provided with a handle which is revolving on a pin (117, 118) and with an overturning mechanism with snap lock in closed and open position (119-123), a shaped closure element (124) which internally integrates, or houses, the overturning mechanism and externally integrates, or houses, the arm lever in an open housing; this element engages and covers an anchoring plate (126) of the lever (115) and of the shaft (133), with a counterthrust spring (125) axially located (139). The flange (128) for assembling the fixed grinder (130a) and which also conveys the beans which fall from above, through the inlet conveyor (106), is engaged on said plate and located centrally with respect to the grinding chamber.
[0073] In said flange (128) the small removal propeller piece (131) is integrated, which is rotating, connected to the shaft (133) and inserted between the grinders (130a, 130b) and the conveyor (106) to facilitate the fall of the beans, these being pushed and distributed between them. On the opposite side of said chamber (107) a grinder-holder element (132) is inserted which assists in the removal of the ground powder; it is rotating as it is integral with the rotating grinder (130b) which is fixed to the rotation shaft (133), with ball bearings (127), a spacer ring (134) and said threaded adjustment ring nut (135). The ring nut (135) is externally coupled to a covering and actuating cap (136), which is provided with protruding fins (137) to facilitate rotation.
[0074] More in technical detail, the actuating lever (115) can be overturned in a retracted way (
[0075] Advantageously, according to the invention in the closed position (119b) said lever is completely lowered, or it closes, integrating in a retracted way onto one side of the grinder machine (10, 100). To this aim, said closure element (124) is shaped in such a way as to cover the fixing means of the lever (115, 120, 126) and also such as to obtain an external housing for housing the arm (116), which is then integrated in its thickness with the lever closed; in addition, a recess (114) is provided on the same side for housing the handle (117), being thus aligned with said housing of the arm (116, 124).
[0076] Finally, it has been experimentally noted that the proposed portable grinder machine achieves all the intended purposes; particularly, in practice, it offers great ease of use, it has an easy manual actuation and performs a precise and repeatable grinding of the beans, ensuring a uniform grain size, like the best table devices for domestic or professional use. It has therefore been noted that the provided grinding means and the specific structural configuration favour the introduction of the beans between the grinders and at the same time they favour the expulsion of the ground product towards the container placed below.
[0077] At the same time, the proposed solution significantly reduces the problem of retaining residues inside the grinders and in the interspaces, thanks to the type and arrangement of the grinders which are assembled on a horizontal axis; in them the ground powder descends by gravity, assisted by the rotation of the grinder-holder element which facilitates internal removal together with the propeller piece. It was then verified that thanks to the aforementioned reduction of residues, in combination with the hermetic closure of the upper reservoir and the improved clutch system of the lower container, it is possible to limit the natural processes of oxidation and degradation of coffee, and its preservation is significantly increased.
[0078] One improving variant of the invention (10a) (
[0079] More in detail said variant (10a) simultaneously joins the grinding means close to the lever, which are advantageously grouped and fixed to the central body (100, 107) as a composite element which can be easily removed manually, called extractable unit (141). To this aim, the flange (128a) comprises, on the outer circular edge, quick release coupling means (142a), of the hooking small teeth type for guided engagement and partial rotation, combined with corresponding means on the grinder machine (100, 107, 142b). Therefore, the flange (128a) supports the fixed grinder (130a), the anchoring plate (126), the lever (115) and the closure element (124), assembled as an extractable unit (141) constrained by means of said small teeth (142a, 142b). Basically, there is a quick hooking and releasing clutch with a release button of the so-called bayonet-type, as used in professional photographic lenses.
[0080] For safety purposes and for precision of engagement, there is a sliding element which acts as a release button; it consists of a pin (143) which exits from the cover (124, 144) under the lever (115, 116, 145) (
[0081] With the aforementioned quick release system, for extraction purposes, the following phases are provided in an operational sequence: [0082] a) lifting the lever (146a) (
[0088] In one further variant of the invention, which can be integrated into any configuration of proposed grinder machine (10) and is particularly suitable for the aforementioned improved quick-release variant (10b), the effort transmission is optimized with a propeller piece (131) in a deformable material of the resilient elastomeric type, with shape memory; to this aim, a silicone material is suitable for the invention. In particular, the characteristics of this material combined with the tapered structure of the propeller piece like a feed screw are such as to modulate the effort transmitted by the lever (115, 133), imparting always the same force to the rotation. This effect is due to the bending of said propeller piece, which deforms continuously and progressively during grinding, depending on the frequency of rotation of the grinders and on internal friction.
[0089] From an operational point of view, with this solution it is possible to obtain greater fluidity and homogeneity of rotation, avoiding the known sudden hardening during manual actuation, or blocking. Indeed, it has been noted experimentally that a manual grinder machine can be actuated by rotating the lever (115) with more or less force and speed, which transmits motion to the rotating grinder (130b). In particular, the effort required is different each time depending on the rotation inertia and/or the environmental conditions and/or the type of coffee and/or the state of wear of the grinding means and/or other concomitant causes. In practice, it is inconvenient to resume grinding when still or when the hollow space between the grinders is clogged with beans and/or ground powder; furthermore, the blocking increases considerably when the rotational speed is very high.
[0090] It is therefore desirable, in a manual grinder machine, to have an always fluid and uniform effort to operate the lever during grinding, regardless of the number of revolutions of the grinders, inertia and/or clogging. It has been noted instead that in the case of a propeller piece made of rigid material, the higher the rotation speed, the greater the tendency to flood the grinders with too many beans; this occurs because their dragging inside the hollow space is not directly proportional to the action of the propeller piece, and therefore to the productivity of the system.
[0091] To overcome this problem, and always keep the force to be applied to the grinders constant, it is advantageous to introduce said deformable propeller piece in a controlled way, based on the applied effort, with a modular effect. To this aim, it is made of a silicone material which is resistant and progressively deformable as the rotation speed of the grinders and/or the internal obstruction increases, so as not to feed them with an excessive quantity of beans and therefore without hardening during actuation.
NOMENCLATURE
[0092] (10) manually operated coffee grinder machine apparatus for domestic use of the portable type, called manual grinder machine, with vertical arrangement and lateral actuating lever, according to the present invention. In one variant (10a) it comprises a quick release extractable unit; [0093] (100) central body, with integrated bean reservoir; [0094] (101) integrated hermetically sealed bean reservoir; [0095] (102) reservoir cover; [0096] (103) sealing gasket, for hermetic closure; [0097] (104) bean inlet opening, from above; [0098] (105) internal receptacle of the reservoir; [0099] (106) inlet conveyor; [0100] (107) grinding chamber; [0101] (108) outlet conveyor; [0102] (109) magnet; [0103] (110) ground powder container, of the removable type with quick release; [0104] (111) internal structure of the container; [0105] (112) lateral coating of the container; [0106] (113) bottom of the container; [0107] (114) handle integration recess; [0108] (115) actuating lever of the crank type, rotating on a horizontal axis for the purpose of grinding, conventionally called lever; [0109] (116) lever arm; [0110] (117) revolving handle; [0111] (118) handle pin; [0112] (119a, 119b) lever overturning mechanism, with snap lock, respectively in lever closure and lever opening position; [0113] (120) lever overturning pin; [0114] (121) snap lock spring; [0115] (122) snap lock sliding pin; [0116] (123) notch on rail for snap lock; [0117] (124) shaped closure element, to integrate the overturning mechanism and the lever arm; [0118] (125) shaft counterthrust spring; [0119] (126) shaft and lever anchoring plate; [0120] (127) ball bearing; [0121] (128) fixed grinder assembly flange. In one variant (128a) it is extractable with quick release, with clutch and partial rotation or bayonet, acting as a support for an extractable unit; [0122] (129) fixing screw hole; [0123] (130a, 130b) vertical flat grinders, opposite to each other, being respectively a fixed grinder (130a) joined to the body of the grinder machine by means of a flange, and a rotating grinder (130b) joined to the rotation shaft; [0124] (131) removal propeller piece, helicoidal element in the form of a small feed screw integrated into the flange for removing, pushing and distributing the beans between the grinders. In one variant it is deformable, made of silicone material, to modulate the effort transmitted by the lever; [0125] (132) rotating grinder-holder element; [0126] (133) rotation shaft, corresponding to the rotation axis of the grinders and of the lever; [0127] (134) spacer ring; [0128] (135) threaded grain size adjustment ring nut, which acts on the shaft by making the grinders approach or move away, with a total adjustment rotation equal to 360 degrees; [0129] (136) cap for covering and actuating of the ring nut; [0130] (137) protruding fin; [0131] (138) grinding unit; [0132] (139) axis of rotation for grinding; [0133] (140) axis of rotation for lever overturning; [0134] (141) extractable unit, to the outside; [0135] (142a, 142b) corresponding hooking small teeth, for clutching and partial rotation or of bayonet type, respectively integrated into flange and central body; [0136] (143) sliding pin, as release button; [0137] (144) hole for pin, in the closure element; [0138] (145) hole for pin, in the lever arm; [0139] (146a-146f) direction of movement in the release phases: lifting of the lever (146a), rotation of the extractable unit by 180 degrees (146b), pressure of the release pin (146c), rotation by 45 degrees in the opposite direction (146d), horizontal extraction of the external extractable unit [0140] (146e), horizontal extraction of the internal grinder-holder element (146f) which includes rotating grinder, propeller piece and shaft; [0141] (147) fixing screw.