Device for the extraction of a substance having a moveable component

The present invention relates to a device for the extraction of substances for preparing a drink.

In known coffee brewing machines, for the extraction of closed reservoirs, for example in the device described in EP 412 570, there is no movable element, so that the machine consists of one part and the water waiting to be introduced into the casing of the substance to be extracted is in a hot environment, more precisely at a temperature of 90 ° C. Therefore, there is no risk of a drop in water temperature. In contrast, in a machine with a moving element, for example according to patent application WO 94/02059 and EP 99117107.5 of August 31, 1999, the heating body of the machine is not in the vicinity of the sheath of the substance to be extracted. The consequence of this is that if the machine start control and the valve incorporated in the machine are at a distance from the enclosure of the substance to be extracted, there will be some standing water. In fact, the valve allows the heating body to be emptied as soon as the valve is emptied, but not upstream. The connecting pipe between the casing of the substance to be extracted and the valve remains filled with water, this water cooling over time. The longer the time span between two successive coffee brewing processes, the greater the drop in temperature of the water and the greater the effect on the temperature of the coffee prepared at a later time.

The aim of the invention is to reduce the amount of standing water, so that when the machine is turned on, there is only a slight influence on the temperature of the brewed coffee.

Apparatus for extracting a substance for the preparation of a drink, comprising a first stationary element, a second element movable relative to the first element along an axis of rotation lying at the rear of both elements, the front portions of each forming an enclosure for the substance to be extracted, and a means for serving for closing and opening both elements, integrated with the fixed element and the movable element, and further comprising a control device and a hot water flow control valve connected thereto, according to the invention, characterized in that the control device and the valve are arranged on the upper part of the movable member near the enclosure of the substance to be extracted, the control device being connected to the disc having a slot switching, which disc, depending on its position, connects the main hot water inlet to the outlet for the waste water or to an outlet leading to the reservoir of the substance to be extracted.

The control device and the valve connected thereto have a rest position, a beverage preparation position and a steam generation position.

The valve is preferably a ceramic valve.

The switching slot disc has a member connecting the main hot water inlet to the steam producing outlet.

The device according to the invention makes it possible to significantly reduce the amount of stagnant water. For example, without the use of the device according to the invention, the volume of standing water is in the range of 1-15 ml, while according to the invention, the volume of standing water is reduced to 1-3 ml. This means that for a coffee volume of 40-100 ml, even after a relatively long period of interruption, the first cup of coffee after this period of pause is at the same temperature as the other cups made using the device according to the invention. Certainly, the situation is different with the conventional system, which can serve coffee even 5 ° C lower due to the large volume of standing water.

The means used to close and open the two elements may be of any kind, in particular they may be the means described in the above-mentioned European Patent Application No. 99117107.5.

The control element of the system acts directly on the direction of the water flow, that is, on the valve used to distribute the water. In the device according to the invention, the control element and the associated valve have a rest position, a beverage preparation position and a steam generation position. In the rest position, the residual water is removed: this occurs even though the removal takes place only in the rest position of the control device, i.e. at the end of the extraction process, e.g. In the beverage preparation position, the water flows directly from the heating body into the housing of the substance to be extracted for the period necessary for the extraction of the cartridge. As mentioned above, upon completion of extraction, a return to the rest position takes place. The last position is the steam delivery position, for example to heat the milk when making a cappuccino.

The type of valve that can be used according to the invention is not intended to be limiting. Preferably a ceramic valve is used.

The device according to the invention is usually actuated manually. It is also possible for the valve to be an electronically controlled solenoid valve, which allows the coffee preparation process to be programmed for a predetermined volume.

The subject of the invention is illustrated in the drawing in which fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a device according to the invention for preparing a drink having a movable element, fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of the device according to the invention in a resting state, and fig. 3 is a schematic illustration of the device. according to the invention, in a state of preparing coffee.

Shown in Fig. 1-3, the beverage preparation device according to the invention comprises a first stationary element 1, a second movable element 2 relative to the first stationary element along an axis of rotation 3 lying in the rear part of both elements, the front parts of each of the elements 1, 2, respectively, form the covers 4 and 5, intended for the substance to be extracted, and means for closing and opening both elements, which means comprise a two-armed closing lever 6 and two linkages 7.

Such a device and its operation are already described in the above-mentioned European patent application.

The closing lever 6 comprises a handle and a proper lever which has a substantially 90 ° bend. The pull rod may be straight or, as shown in the figure, it may have curved ends. The cover 4 has a rim 9 and a cover 5 with rim 10.

Both arms of the closing lever 6 are rotatably fastened along a first axis 11 on each side of the second element 2, and the tie rods 1 are rotatably fastened along a second axis 12 on both sides of the first element 1.

Both ends of the two arms of the closing lever that are opposite to the handle 8 and the two ends of the rods 7 are integrated with each other along the third movable axis of rotation 13, so that the closing lever cooperates with the rods to ensure the closing and opening of the device according to the invention.

The consumer places the capsule or tray intended for extraction in the cover 4 (not shown). Then it pulls the handle 8 of the closing lever 6 forward in the direction of arrow A, so as to cause the lever to rotate about its axis 11, which causes the rod 7 to be pulled up along the axis 13 and the movable element 2 (arrow B) to drop towards the fixed element 1. Closed position is achieved when the closing lever is substantially horizontal and the rods are in a vertical position. At this point, the rims 9, 10 of the covers 4, 5 face each other and must ensure that the device has a high degree of tightness.

Figures 2 and 3 show a control device which is not present in Figure 1. This device is located in area C of Figure 1 on the movable element 2. Identical elements have been given the same reference numerals. The movable element 2 comprises a cover 15 for the cartridge to be extracted and a rim 10. The valve 14 makes it possible to direct hot water flowing through channel 16 to be discharged through channel 17 or towards a reservoir through channel 21 or to generate steam. This operation is possible thanks to the control device 15. For this purpose, the control device 15 is integrated with a disc having a switching slot, which disc, depending on its position, connects the main hot water supply 23 either to an outlet 19 for removing water or to an outlet 18 in the direction of the reservoir to be extracted or also with an outlet 20 to generate steam.

The device works as follows. The cartridge is placed in the cover 4 and the user closes the movable element 2 by lowering it using the handle 8. In the resting state, the device is in the position shown in Fig. 2: the cartridge is in the cover 5 and the needle 22 punctures the top of the cartridge. . The user then pulls the control device 15 towards him, bringing it to the position shown in Fig. 3: hot water flows through channels 16 and 22 and enters needle 22 for extraction of the cartridge. The extraction process is known and described in the patent application WO 94/02059, therefore there is no need to describe it again as this process is not the subject of the present invention. Coffee flows into the cup below the cover 4.

PL 196 358 B1

When the user deems the amount of coffee sufficient, he pushes the control device 15 back to return to the position of Fig. 2. The residual water is then discharged through the channel 17.

As mentioned above, the water that is standing when the machine is not in use is only present in channel 21, which corresponds to a volume in the order of 1-3 ml. Such a small amount has no major effect on the final coffee temperature obtained, i.e. it does not significantly lower the temperature of the full cup.