Espresso coffeemaker with removable water reservoir

DESCRIPTION

EXHAUST WATER RESERVOIR EXPRESS COFFEE MACHINE The present invention relates to espresso-type coffee machines comprising a cold water reservoir, an electric pump, a boiler assembly and a filter element for receiving the coffee mixture which is used. will be introduced by hot water under pressure from the boiler.

The boiler assembly, herein referred to as the term block, is generally comprised of an electric heating element in thermal relationship with a water circuit, the water being put into circulation upon commissioning of the pump. At the end of the coffee brewing cycle, a reduction in pressure is required in the machine's hydraulic circuit. This expansion is carried out for most coffee machines by directing the flow of pressurized water into the water reservoir. cold water that thus receives the return flow.

Such a coffee machine is known from FR 2 316 901 where a pump is mounted on the base of the machine and a cold water reservoir in the vertical column that links the base to the top of the machine. O

Reserv1513434 The tank is removably mounted and positioned on a frame belonging to the base of the machine. The frame that receives the removable reservoir has a cylindrical perforation at the top for communicating with the reservoir outlet port and a bottom communicating with two downwardly facing nozzles connected, one to a pump suction duct, and the other to a return conduit in the reservoir. Working satisfactorily, it has been found that, in the event that the user removes the reservoir from its seat in an untimely manner when a pressurized water flow arrives at the reservoir, the return is in the form of a powerful jet and hot and the projected splashes then risk burning the user. In addition, there is an evacuation on the work plan of a significant amount of hot water.

In order to alleviate this problem, some solutions have been envisaged, for example by making use of an electronic circuit using a reservoir presence sensing pickup, and then the pickup information used by this circuit to control the duty cycle. of the machine. These solutions complicate the making of a coffee machine and increase the manufacturing cost.

A simplified solution is described in FR 2 544 604 where the weight of the reservoir pushes a control lever which activates a switch of the

ΡΕ1513434 electrical circuit of the machine, making it possible to operate the machine only from a preset weight. However, simply sensing the weight of the reservoir is not sufficient to ensure a correct return of the pressurized water flow to the reservoir, and it must still be correctly placed in place. In the absence of proper communication of a removable reservoir with its seat ensuring tightness, backflow overflows build up around the reservoir seat causing dirty leakage and consequently cleaning problems.

It is the object of the present invention to remedy the aforementioned drawbacks and to propose an effective operating removable reservoir type espresso machine, always ensuring increased user protection when using the machine.

Another object of the invention is an easy-to-maintain espresso-type coffee machine, avoiding any uncontrolled water overflow or runoff problems when the removable reservoir is handled by the user.

A further object of the invention is an espresso type coffee machine of simple and inexpensive construction, yet reliable in operation.

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These objectives are met with an espresso-type coffee machine featuring a removable reservoir connected to a main hydraulic circuit comprising a pump that draws water from the reservoir and sends it to a term block and thereafter through the coffee mixture contained in a port. -filter, said reservoir also being connected to a hydraulic circuit allowing the return of water leaving the term block, characterized in that the device for connecting said reservoir to said hydraulic circuits comprises means for expanding the water jet which, via the return hydraulic circuit, reaches the reservoir and means for orienting said jet to a storage area. .

Thus, the connecting device first ensures a tight communication between the cold water reservoir of the machine and the rest of the hydraulic circuit. This watertight connection may be effected by means of a O-ring belonging to said connecting device or to the reservoir, which joint is located between two recessed lines of the two communicating pieces. The reservoir tubing also includes an automatic valve that automatically closes access to the reservoir when it is lifted from its seat and opens the passageway to the machine's hydraulic circuit when the reservoir is replaced in its place.

connecting device also has the role of

Por1513434 of communicating the cold water reservoir with the main hydraulic circuit, which connects it to the pump suction duct, as well as to the return circuit to the reservoir by an expansion duct.

According to the invention, the connecting device comprises a first means of expanding the water jet returning to the reservoir. When operating the machine, particularly at the end of the coffee brewing cycle, the pressure must be lowered in the hydraulic circuit leaving the term block and for this reason the hot water flow is resent via the expansion into the reservoir. If the reservoir is in communication with the expansion duct, this flow returns to the reservoir. On the contrary, if the reservoir is not in place, the powerful return flow is nevertheless cut off by said first means, which has the effect of obtaining a tranquil jet and thus protecting the user against splashing hot water. under pressure.

The connecting device of the invention further comprises second means for guiding the return water flow to a storage zone. Thus, the quiet jet obtained by the first means is then directed to a zone which allows this return flow to be received, in particular in the event that the reservoir is absent or misplaced or, for any reason, the tightness. between the latter and the

ΡΕ1513434 connecting device has been broken. This prevents overfilling to the outside of the machine or prevents the accumulation of stagnant water inside the machine in areas that are difficult to access for cleaning.

Advantageously, the expansion means directs the water jet in a direction different from the direction of the main axis of the connection device of said reservoir with the hydraulic circuits of the machine.

The main axis of the reservoir connector means in particular the axis of the reservoir tubing where the valve is situated, in fact the valve axis. This axis is for most applications vertical or normal to the working plane, but it can also be located in another direction. 0 orienting the return water jet in a direction different from the direction of the main axis of the reservoir connection device causes the powerful jet to be subjected to a pressure drop and at the same time is diverted from the normal direction to the or the seating plan of the connecting device, thereby protecting the user when the jet is in the absence of the reservoir.

Preferably, the connecting device comprises a central bore by placing it in communication on one side with said reservoir, on the other side the bore into two holes, communicating a

131513434 with the main hydraulic circuit and the other with the return hydraulic circuit, wherein said water jet expansion means are situated at the extension of the orifice axis communicating with the return hydraulic circuit.

Thus, the turbulent jet that arrives through the return circuit through the hole provided for this purpose in the connecting device is calmed by the expansion means which are situated on the axis of this hole, thus having a direct effect on the powerful jet under pressure. This return jet suffers a pressure drop upon contact with the expansion means, which makes it less dangerous for the user.

Usefully, said expansion means comprise a plurality of parallel vanes situated alternately about a common axis.

These fins constitute a buffer device for the powerful return jet and, because of their arrangement on an axis that flows into the return orifice of the return water jet, force this jet to follow a winding path resulting in a significant pressure drop. and obtaining a water jet sufficiently calm to be oriented or recovered thereafter.

Advantageously, said common axis comprises a deflector located on the axis of the shut-off valve of the

131513434 reservoir when the latter is connected to the connecting device.

Thus, with a deflector located on the shaft that supports the fins that assure the expansion of the water flow, namely on the upper part of this axis that faces the water reservoir, an opening of the reservoir closing valve is ensured when it is placed. in place in the connecting device in a simple manner, without the use of an additional part to communicate the reservoir with the rest of the hydraulic circuit of the machine.

Preferably, said water jet orienting means is arranged downstream of said water jet expanding means in the flow direction of the latter.

One could imagine first directing the turbulent water jet into a recovery zone and then expanding it, but it was found to be more advantageous to expand it first because a calm water jet is more easy to channel then into a recovery or storage zone.

Advantageously, said water jet guiding means comprises at least one passageway communicating the interior of the perforation of the connecting device with a funnel surrounding said perforation.

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Thus, the expanded water jet within the central bore of the connecting device is oriented to a space close to this bore and concentric with the latter, and a passage is provided to establish communication between said spaces containing the returning fluid. to the reservoir.

Preferably, said coffee jet water jet orienting means of the invention comprises a first passageway downstream of a O-ring which seals between the reservoir and the perforation of the connector as seen in the flow direction. from the return water jet to the reservoir.

Thus, when the reservoir is put in place and the O-ring seals between the reservoir and the central perforation of the connecting device, the return jet is drawn back into the reservoir. On the other hand, if the reservoir is missing or misplaced, the sealing gasket no longer assures its role, which causes the return water jet to be directed through a passageway located right next to and downstream of the sealing gasket. tightness in a storage area consisting of a funnel surrounding said perforation. This first passage may be disposed at the upper edge of said bore or by making an opening closer to the sealing gasket deployment to prevent the jet of

Retorno1513434 return to travel long distances before reaching the storage area.

Preferably, said first passage is made between the top of the borehole and the inner face of a plate placed over the funnel.

In this configuration, a plate is provided at the top of the funnel, and at least one opening is provided between the two, which causes the return water jet to follow this opening to reach the interior of the funnel. The water jet is thus easily channeled through the funnel closed by said plate, which avoids any overflowing or splashing within the latter, for example following projections by touching the walls. inner walls of the funnel, etc. Usefully, said water jet orienting means comprise a second passage in the form of an opening provided in the plate, which opening is downstream of the first passage as seen in the flow direction of the return water jet to the reservoir. .

Thus, in the event that the return water jet is not sufficiently blocked by the expansion means, the overflows may rise and exceed this first passage. These overflows are then collected by said opening at a higher level than said first passage in the direction of flow of the water jet, which further ensures the

ΡΕ1513434 control of the return water jet, allowing channeling to the funnel even in the event of an unexpected increase in pressure from the latter.

Advantageously, said water jet guiding means comprises channeling ribs located on one side and the other side of a hole in the plate communicating with the perforation of the connecting device, ribs approaching the proximity of said opening.

Thus, said eventual overflows that pass through the perforation of the connecting device, reach the upper face of the plate provided with channeling ribs that collect these overflows and channel them to said opening that flows into the funnel that captures these overflows.

Usefully, said water jet orienting means communicates via a funnel evacuation hole with a recovery vessel removably mounted on the machine.

Thus, the overflows temporarily stored inside the funnel are returned to a recovery vessel larger than those of the funnel and which, in addition, is removably mounted relative to the machine body, allowing the user to empty it easily. Said recovery vessel comprises a drip extension forming a

131513434 hearth that comes under a hearth to which a funnel evacuation conduit is attached.

Advantageously, said recovery vessel holds the infusion collection vessel holder.

The holder of the infusion collection container is in the form of a grid held on its periphery by the rim of the recovery vessel. This allows any drops resulting from the coffee to be infused into the same pot. This allows to keep the space in the vicinity of the machine clean and to facilitate cleaning.

The invention will be better understood by studying non-limiting embodiments illustrated in the accompanying figures, in which:

Figure 1 is a partial sectional view of a coffee machine according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the rear of the machine with the water tank removed from its seat and shown alongside;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the bottom of the machine base, a part of the parts constituting the outer casing of the machine being elevated for easy viewing;

Figure 4 is an axial sectional view of the reservoir connection portion with the corresponding part of the machine base.

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Figure 1 illustrates a coffee machine according to the invention comprising a body 1 whose lower part comprises a base 2 which is connected to the upper part of the body 1 by a vertical riser 3 supporting cold water reservoir 4. Body 1 contains the hydraulic circuit of the machine comprising reservoir 4, a pump 5, a thermo block 6, a dispenser 7 and a coffee grinding compression jack 8.

The coffee grinder is placed inside a small bowl provided with a filter wall called the filter holder 9 which is, in the described example, mounted slidably in a horizontal direction into the slots of a fixed brew head holder 10.

The jack 8 has a vertically slidable nose relative to the machine body 1, adapted to penetrate the filter holder 9 during each operating cycle in order to compress the grinding. Water supplied by the pump 5 drives the hydraulic jack 8 which pushes the nose against the grinding. From a predefined pressure value, a valve within said nose allows water to flow from the term block 6 to the filter holder 9 from which the infusion flows into a collecting vessel located above the base 2 support 11.

The coffee machine has a boiler or thermo block 6 to heat the pressure water supplied.

1513434 by the pump 5 before injecting it into the coffee grinder of the filter holder 9. The term block 6 comprises heat exchanger channels 17 which allow water to circulate within the term block 6 which further comprises a heating element 12 and a temperature pickup 13. Water from the pump 5 arrives through an inlet channel 14 of the term block 6 and can exit in two ways therefrom, according to the position of the distributor 7. Either water comes out cold through an outlet channel 15, which forms inlet channel 14 a very short circuit not allowing water to heat up within the term block, or water comes out hot through an outlet channel 16 after having circulated in the heat exchanger channels 17 of the term block 6.

At the end of the coffee beverage extraction, the dispenser 7 is brought back to its resting position by the user, which causes the hot pressurized water of the hydraulic circuit to be sent by an expansion channel to the reservoir 4.

The reservoir 4 is removably mounted on the machine of the invention and it comprises, as shown in Figure 2, hooks 20 which can engage the eyelets 21 provided for this purpose on the front wall vis a vis with the upright 3. The reservoir 4 has a generally parallelepiped shape open at its top for ease of filling and closed at its bottom by a valve 23 (FIG. 4) located on the

131513434 inside a column 22. Valve 23 is normally closed by a call spring 24 which holds its upper part 23 against the bottom of the reservoir 4 by means of a sealing ring 26. When the reservoir 4 is In place, the column 22 rests in a perforation 29 of base 2, means being provided in the base for opening valve 23 and communicating

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hopper 30 supported by fixing contacts 31 to the base 2 of the machine. The funnel base 30 has several holes for communicating with the machine's hydraulic circuit ducts. Thus, two holes 33 and 34 are drilled in the bottom of the perforation 29, one side and the other of the axis of the latter, and communicate, one with an expansion duct 37, and the other with a main circuit duct 38. A peripheral hole 35 is provided for communicating the funnel 30 with an evacuation conduit.

By main circuit conduit 38 is meant a conduit connecting the funnel 30, respectively the reservoir 4, to the pump 5, while expansion conduit 37 is meant a conduit connecting the outlet conduit of the term block 6 to the funnel 30 The evacuation conduit 39 in turn connects the funnel 30 to a recovery vessel such as

ΡΕ1513434 will be explained below.

The conduits 37, 38, and 39 are flexible hoses made, for example, of rubber, which are connected to vertical hollow ends materializing said holes 33, 34 and 35, as shown in Figure 4. Likewise, the opposite end each duct is communicated by connecting elements of the same type with its respective hydraulic circuit element.

The perforation 29 is defined by the inside diameter of a cylindrical wall 40 formed approximately at the center of the funnel 30. As is best shown in Figure 3, the funnel 30 has an oblong shape having along its main axis a front wall. 42 curved and an opposite wall 42 'flat.

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The upper surface of the cylindrical wall 40 (Figure 4) has a groove 41 in which an O-ring 43 is placed. the joint having the role of ensuring the tightness between the reservoir 4 and the perforation 29 of the cylindrical wall 40 of the funnel 30, respectively between the reservoir 4 and the rest

131513434 of the hydraulic circuit of the machine. O-ring 43 is held in place by jaws 46 of a plate 45.

The plate 45 is positioned above the funnel 30 to close it at least partially, this plate 45 being fixed in turn by fixing contacts provided for this purpose in the base 2. The plate 45 has in its central part a through-hole 29 'extending through the bore 29 of the cylindrical wall 40 of the funnel 30 and having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the latter.

The inner surface of the plate 45 facing the funnel 30 has a crown with notches 46 surrounding the hole 29. The full portion of these notches 49 has the role of holding the O-ring 43 in place while the cutouts are located. between two jaws 46 form the passages 32 which have the role of communicating the interior of the perforation 29 with its contour, therefore with the peripheral part of the funnel 30.

On the outside of the plate 45, facing the reservoir 4, two parallel guide ribs 47 are made, disposed on either side of the hole 29 'and perpendicular to the front walls 42, 42'. The plate 45 has along the ribs 47 an opening 48 which again allows, but at a higher level, communication with the peripheral part of the funnel 30. By upper level is meant a level downstream at

Relação1513434 with respect to teeth 46 in the direction of flow of the hot water return flow to the end of cycle reservoir.

On the other hand, and as shown in Figure 4, at the bottom of the perforation 29 is fixed a vertical jet break assembly 50 of longitudinal axis coaxial with that of the perforation 29 and respectively with the column 22 of the reservoir 4. The break assembly The jet has at its upper part a prominent baffle 51 which abuts the lower part 25 of the valve 23 to cause it to open when it is in place of the reservoir 4. The lower part of the jet breaker 50 comprises several vanes 52 disposed reciprocally, one above the other, along the longitudinal axis of the jet breaker 50.

As shown in Figure 4, two adjacent vanes touch with a part of their periphery the two opposite ends of the inner surface of the bore 29, thus forming a zigzag path between the two free ends, this path leading to the communicating hole 33. with expansion duct 37. The fins 52 may have a disc shape or any other flat or twisted shape adapted to the intended purpose. Such a positioning forces the water jet that reaches the bottom of the perforation 29 to have a winding path, grooving the baffles formed by the decal ends of the fins 52, which results in the loss of

Ou1513434 loading or pressure drop from return water jet to reservoir.

Referring to Figure 3, it is noted that the evacuation conduit 39 starts from the bottom of the funnel 30 and directs the liquid collected by the latter to a hearth 55 located below the hearth tip 54 and communicating with it the tip to which connects the evacuation conduit 39. With the funnel 30 being elevated relative to the hearth 55, the liquid collected by the funnel 30 flows rapidly to the hearth 55.

The recuperator 55 forms a common body with a recovery vessel 56 of which it constitutes a drip extension. The recovery vessel 56 is advantageously removably mounted with respect to the machine body 1 and for this purpose it has a recessed shape under the base 2. On the other hand, the recovery vessel 56 has a lip 57 on which the coffee cup holder 11 is installed, which is in the form of a grid which allows the possible flow resulting from the brewing to be collected in the same vessel 56. Coffee

In operation, when the coffee maker reaches the end of the coffee brewing cycle, the user returns the dispenser to the rest position, which causes the hot pressurized water flow still in the hydraulic circuit to exit the term block. 6 is sent via an expansion conduit 37 to reservoir 4.

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On its way, the turbulent hot water flow is broken by the vanes 52 of the jet break assembly 50 and is channeled to an area provided for this purpose. This zone may be the reservoir 4 when the latter is securely in place so that it communicates tightly with the bore 29 of the funnel 30.

On the contrary, if in the course of the return of the hot water flow to the reservoir 4, the user raises the reservoir 4 in an untimely manner, or equally if he elevates it slightly so that his valve 23 forced by the call spring 24 closes communication of the reservoir 4 with the funnel 30, the return flow will be channeled by the device of the invention to the peripheral zone of the funnel 30. This channeling takes place through indentations between the jaws 46 of plate 45 by a turbulent jet soothed by the vanes 52 of the jet 50. In case the return or expansion flow is not sufficiently blocked by the jet assembly 50, it arrives over the upper face of plate 45 and the overflows are re-channeled by channeling ribs 47 of plate 45 into opening 48 and hence into funnel 30. From the funnel 30, overflows arrive through the evacuation duct 39 to the recovery vessel where they are stored before emptying the vessel.

Other embodiments of the invention may be considered without departing from the scope of these claims.

131513434

Thus it can be imagined that the O-ring 43 is biased by a groove in the inner wall of the perforation 29, the passage between the perforation 29 and the funnel 30, in the absence of the reservoir 4, and can be made by a space created between the upper edge of the perforation 29 and the inner face of the plate 45.

In a toric 43 is reservoir tightness reservoir device of another variant, it can be imagined that the joint bent by the wall

4 It can also frontal between the base and a connecting surface 28.

of column 22 and one of column 22 of the correspondent of the

In yet another embodiment, the use of other expansion means may be envisaged, namely in the form of flexible fins coming from a peripheral wall installed in the expansion duct or fins installed in the communication hole with the expansion duct of the connector. of the reservoir.