COFFEE MACHINE

Abstract

A coffee machine includes a brewing unit, a grinding mechanism to process coffee beans into coffee grounds that are used by the brewing unit to brew coffee, and a container for coffee beans. The container has a bottom surface with an outlet opening that leads to the grinding mechanism. The bottom surface is inclined toward the outlet opening and includes ridges extending in a direction of the outlet opening.

Claims

1. A coffee machine, comprising: a brewing unit; a grinding mechanism to process coffee beans into coffee grounds that are used by the brewing unit to brew coffee; a container for coffee beans, the container having a bottom surface with an outlet opening that leads to the grinding mechanism, the bottom surface being inclined toward the outlet opening and including ridges extending in a direction of the outlet opening.

2. The coffee machine according to claim 1, wherein the ridges are arranged star-shaped around the outlet opening.

3. The coffee machine according to claim 1, wherein adjacent ridges are separated by respectively one groove which is smaller than 6 mm in width.

4. The coffee machine according to claim 1, wherein adjacent ridges are separated by respectively one groove which is smaller than 4 mm in width.

5. The coffee machine according to claim 1, wherein the ridges have top surfaces that are inclined by an angle of less than 22° relative to a horizontal line.

6. The coffee machine according to claim 1, wherein the ridges have top surfaces that are inclined by an angle of less than 20° relative to a horizontal line.

7. The coffee machine according to claim 1, further comprising a distribution plate arranged above the outlet opening so that coffee beans move between an underside of the distribution plate and the ridges to the outlet opening.

8. The coffee machine according to claim 1, wherein the number of ridges increases with increasing distance from the outlet opening.

9. The coffee machine according to claim 8, wherein the bottom surface has a first inner ring-shaped region arranged around the outlet opening and a second ring-shaped region arranged around the first ring-shaped region, wherein the first inner ring-shaped region has fewer ridges than the second ring-shaped region.

10. The coffee machine according to claim 1, wherein the bean container is detachably attached to the coffee machine via a plug-in, snap-in, or bayonet connection.

11. The coffee machine according to claim 1, wherein the bean container is comprised of plastic.

12. The coffee machine according to claim 11, wherein the plastic is transparent.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The invention is explained in the following in further detail with the aid of an exemplary embodiment and reference to the enclosed drawings, wherein:

[0015] FIG. 1 is a view of a coffee machine according to the invention;

[0016] FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the bean container for the coffee machine according to FIG. 1;

[0017] FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the bean container shown in FIG. 2;

[0018] FIG. 4 is a view from above of the bean container shown in FIG. 2, without the distribution plate;

[0019] FIG. 5 is a view from above of the bean container shown in FIG. 2, showing the distribution plate; and

[0020] FIG. 6 is a sectional view through the bean container above the grinding mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a coffee machine 1 having a housing with a container 3 for coffee beans arranged on the top. The container 3 can be closed with a removable lid 4. A grinding mechanism 5 is arranged below the coffee bean container 3 for grinding coffee beans freshly prior to a brewing operation. The freshly ground coffee can be supplied by the grinding mechanism 5 to a brewing unit 6 where hot water from a reservoir 2 is used to brew coffee which then flows into a decanter 7. The coffee machine 1 is operated via an operating and control unit 8 provided on the housing.

[0022] The container 3 is shown in FIG. 2 without a lid 4 (see FIG. 6). The container 3 comprises an essentially vertical side wall 9 and a bottom surface 10 that is inclined downward toward an outlet opening 15. Above the outlet opening 15, a distribution plate 11 is arranged inside the container 3, which has a top surface 12 that is curved or which slopes toward the outside, to avoid that coffee beans remain on the distribution plate 11 which are not moved to the outlet opening 15.

[0023] The bottom surface 10 takes the shape of a truncated cone and extends between the outlet opening 15 and the side wall 9, wherein a plurality of ridges 13 are provided on the top surface of the bottom. The ridges 13 have a uniform height, for example ranging from 1 mm to 5 mm, and extend in a longitudinal direction toward the outlet opening 15. The ridges 13 are thus arranged star-shaped around the outlet opening 15.

[0024] The distribution plate 11 is held inside the container 3 via a holder having several arms 14 which extend from the bottom surface 10 to below a center region of the distribution plate 11. Between the arms 14, coffee beans 20 can slide with the force of gravity toward the outlet opening 15.

[0025] To ensure a sliding of the coffee beans 20 along the ridges 13, the top of the ridges 13 extends at an angle of inclination a, relative to the horizontal line, of between 15 and 22° , in particular 16 to 20° , so that the structural height H of the container 3 is comparatively low.

[0026] FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of a coffee bean 20 resting on a ridge 13. The ridges 13 can have a width between 0.8 to 4 mm, especially 1.5 to 3 mm. By arranging a plurality of ridges 13 on the bottom surface 10, the contact surface between the underside of the coffee bean and the bottom surface is reduced, so that the adhesion forces are low even with very oily coffee beans. As a result, the angle of inclination a can be embodied smaller than with containers 3 having a flat bottom surface.

[0027] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the number of ridges 13 changes with increasing distance to the outlet opening 15. An inner ring 17 around the outlet opening 15 has a smaller number of ridges 13 than a center ring 18 of ridges that is arranged around the inner ring 17. In addition, an outer ring 19 contains more ridges than the center ring 18. Thus, even the regions located farther from the outlet opening 15 can be provided with enough ridges 13, so that the spacing between adjacent ridges measures less than 6 mm, in particular less than 4 mm, for example between 1 mm and 3 mm, to prevent a wedging of coffee beans 20 into a groove between two adjacent ridges 13.

[0028] The container 3 does not have a circular contour for the bottom surface 10, but is embodied elongated, meaning it is at least 20 percent longer in the longitudinal direction than in the width. The distribution plate 11 is also embodied elongated while the outlet opening 15 is circular.

[0029] FIG. 6 shows the bean container 3 installed above the grinding mechanism 5. The bean container 3 is provided with connecting stays or bars 16 on the underside, for securing and positioning the bean container 3 on the grinding mechanism 5, so that the outlet opening 15 is located above a rotating crushing tool 50 which is arranged inside a stationary crushing tool 51. The crushing tool 50 in this case rotates around a vertical axis, so that the ground coffee is moved downward, in particular is supplied to the brewing unit 6. A sealed closing element can be provided on the underside of the grinding mechanism, to avoid agglutination of the coffee grounds during the brewing of the coffee.

[0030] The container 3 is closed via a lid 4, containing a recessed gripping depression 41 in the center region, with a gripping handle 40 projecting upward. The structural height of the coffee machine 1 can thus be kept small owing to the container 3 and the flat lid 4.

[0031] It will be understood that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications, changes and adaptations, and that the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims.