NL2007126C2

NL2007126C2 - Ground coffee pressing device.

Info

Publication number: NL2007126C2
Application number: NL2007126A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Laurens Meijndert Pluimers
Original assignee: Barista Technology B V
Priority date: 2011-07-18
Filing date: 2011-07-18
Publication date: 2013-01-21

Description

Ground Coffee Pressing Device

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a ground coffee pressing device, comprising a holder system 5 for retaining a container for ground coffee, said holder system comprising a lower holder with a lower contacting region for supporting the container along a lower container contact portion, and comprising a ramming portion for imparting a compressive force on the ground coffee while the container is retained by the holder system.

10 Furthermore, the invention relates to a ground coffee pressing assembly, comprising a container for ground coffee, and a ground coffee pressing device.

BACKGROUND

American patent US6260475 discloses a manually operated coffee bean press for 15 ensuring proper extraction of coffee. The coffee bean press has a lower holder or shelf for supporting a container with a cup portion for containing a quantity of coffee beans. This container is removably positionable in a U-shaped lower contacting region or channel of the shelf. A ramming portion is manually driven by a cylinder and lever assembly, for imparting a compressive force on the coffee beans in the cup portion, 20 while the container is placed into the channel of the shelf.

Such a coffee bean press can in principle also be used for imparting a compressive force on an amount of ground coffee in the cup of a container like a commonly known portafilter. The problem with the coffee bean press in US6260475 is that the configuration still allows the container to slightly tilt or slide on the shelf under 25 the effect of the compressive force imparted by the ramming portion on the ground coffee.

SUMMARY

It is an object to provide a coffee ground pressing device in which the 30 homogeneity of the compressive force imparted by the ramming portion on the ground coffee in the container is improved.

This object is achieved by providing, in a first aspect, a ground coffee pressing device according to the preamble of claim 1, characterized in that the holder system 2 comprises an upper holder having an upper contacting region for contacting the container along an upper container contact portion, and having a lateral contacting region for contacting the container along a lateral container contact portion, wherein the lower contacting region, the upper contacting region, and the lateral contacting region 5 are arranged for cooperatively retaining the container in a fixed position wherein compressive force is impartable on the ground coffee.

As a result, the three contacting regions (i.e. the upper contacting region, the lateral contacting region, and the lower holding region) will enclose the container with ground coffee on its top, lateral, and bottom surfaces. By providing three contacting regions, 10 the container with ground coffee can be securely held in the fixed position so that no shifting or tilting of the container with respect to the holder system and ramming portion is allowed. This fixation is beneficial for obtaining a uniform compressive force imparted by the ramming portion on the coffee ground, resulting in an improved quality for the coffee beverage that is subsequently extracted from the homogeneously pressed 15 puck of ground coffee.

According to an embodiment of the ground coffee pressing device, the upper contacting region, the lateral contacting region, and the lower contacting region define a guideway with an entry region for entering the container into the guideway, and 20 moving the container along the guideway toward a fixing region for retaining the container in the fixed position.

The guideway defined by the upper contacting region, the lateral contacting region, and the lower contacting region provides a physically restricted path along which the container with ground coffee can be moved from an unimpeded position outside of the 25 pressing device, through the entry region, into the fixed position. This allows for easy positioning of the container into the fixed position.

According to yet a further embodiment, the ground coffee pressing device comprises a rigid frame connected to the holder system and the ramming portion, the 30 rigid frame being arranged for positioning the ground coffee pressing device on a supporting surface.

The rigid frame provides a construction with sufficient strength in order for the compressive forces acting between the ramming portion, the container, and the holder 3 system. Furthermore, the rigid frame keeps the ramming portion, the container, and the holder system in a fixed orientation with respect to the supporting surface.

According to a further embodiment of the ground coffee pressing device, the lower 5 holder comprises at the entry region a lower diverging projection that, along the guideway and from the fixing region to the entry region, diverges away from the longitudinal axis.

The lower diverging projection that diverges along the guideway provides an entry region for the container with an entrance cross section that converges to a smaller 10 fixing cross section of the fixing region. Thus, the cross section of the guideway is bigger than the container at the entrance of the holder system, providing easier placement of the container into the guideway.

According to a further embodiment of the ground coffee pressing device, the upper 15 holder comprises at the entry region an upper diverging projection that diverges away from the longitudinal axis.

As alternative or in addition to the diverging lower projection, the upper diverging projection may diverge upward along the guideway. This also provides an entry region for the container with an entrance cross section that converges to a smaller fixing cross 20 section of the fixing region, providing easier placement of the container into the guideway.

According to a further embodiment of the ground coffee pressing device, the upper holder comprises a U-shaped downward projecting rim, and is located around the upper 25 contacting region, wherein the lateral contacting region is provided on an inner side of the downward projecting rim.

An upper holder with a downward projecting rim having an at least partially circular (i.e. U-)shape allows for easy placement of circularly shaped containers for coffee ground, e.g. a portafilter.

According to a further embodiment, the ground coffee pressing device comprises a pressing actuator for moving the ramming portion toward the container along a compression direction.

30 4

The pressing actuator is provided for actuating the ground coffee pressing device and compressing the ground coffee in the container. This pressing actuator may be a manual lever pressing arrangement with a gripping member at one end, or a motor driven system with a power unit.

5

According to a further embodiment of the ground coffee pressing device, the lower holder is adjustable in the compression direction with respect to the upper holder.

By this vertical adjustability, the vertical dimensions of the holder system can be adjusted to ground coffee containers of various sizes, making the ground coffee 10 pressing device suitable for the many available container types.

Furthermore, according to another aspect and with corresponding advantages and effects, there is provided a ground coffee pressing assembly comprising a container for ground coffee, and a ground coffee pressing device as described above.

15

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings in which corresponding reference symbols indicate corresponding parts, and in which: 20 FIG. 1 schematically shows a perspective view of a ground coffee pressing device according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 presents a frontal view of a holder system of the ground coffee pressing device according to an embodiment; FIG. 2A presents a detailed frontal view of contact regions of an upper holder and a 25 container; FIG. 2B presents a detailed frontal view of contact regions of a lower holder and a container; FIG. 3 shows a detailed side view of a holder system of the ground coffee pressing device according to a further embodiment of the invention; 30 The figures are only meant for illustrative purposes, and do not serve as restriction of the scope or the protection as laid down by the claims.

5

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 schematically shows a perspective view of a ground coffee pressing device 100 according to a first embodiment. The ground coffee pressing device 100 comprises a holder system 130 for retaining a container 120 having a storage region for 5 ground coffee 122. The ground coffee 122 may be obtainable by a known coffee beans grinding device (not shown), used for grinding a coffee beans at a predetermined grain size. In FIG.1, the container 120 has a container opening 121 at its top side. The ground coffee pressing device 100 is designed for optimally pressing the ground coffee 122 to a homogenous dense puck of ground coffee 122 in the container 120. The container 120 10 with pressed ground coffee 122 may be subsequently placed in a known coffee extraction device, and an optimal desired extraction of coffee can then be obtained.

The holder system 130 comprises an upper holder 132 and a lower holder 150 between which the container 120 is retainable. The ground coffee pressing device 100 in FIG.1 has a ramming portion 110 for imparting a compressive force on the ground coffee 122 15 while the container 120 is kept in a fixed position between the upper holder 132 and the lower holder 150 of the holder system 130. The ramming portion 110 shown is connected to a rod 108 that can be vertically displaced in a compression direction A. The shape of the ramming portion 110 is designed to match the inner contour of the container opening 121. As a result, downward vertical motion of the ramming portion 20 110 will compress ground coffee 122 inside the container 120 in the fixed position, without ground coffee 122 spilling over near the edge of the container opening 121.

The ground coffee pressing device 100 in FIG.1 has a pressing actuator 112 comprising an electric motor for driving a gear 124 that engages a row of teeth 126 provided on the rod 108 (forming a rack), for bringing about this vertical motion of the ramming 25 portion 110 toward the container 120. By this vertical motion, the ramming portion 110 and rod 108 may be moved between a highest position and a lowest position, whereby the ramming portion 110 and rod 108 move through an opening 138 located in the upper holder 132. The ground coffee pressing device 100 shown is provided with a control unit 114 for controlling the pressing actuator 112, by regulating an actuator 30 current for driving the electric motor. The ground coffee pressing device 100 may be configured to rely on the electric mains as a power source for the electric motor and control unit 114, and provided with an AC/DC converter and power chord for this purpose. A pressing force exerted by the ramming portion 110 on the ground coffee 6 122 can be set via an interface provided by the control unit 114. For example, the maximal pressing force (or rather the equivalent weight) may be a value selected from a range of 15 - 30 kg. Depending on the grain size of the ground coffee 122, a pressing force of 25 kg may yield a satisfactory extraction result. Larger grain sizes require 5 larger pressing forces for obtaining the desired density and homogeneity of the puck of ground coffee 122. A display unit 116 is provided on the front side of the device 100, which may show relevant operational information, like the set value for the pressing force, settings for a particular type of container 120, etc. The display unit 116 may have input functionality for manually entering the desired value for the pressing force, which 10 information will be stored by the control unit 114. The control unit 114 is arranged to measure the actuator current provided to the electric motor, and to reverse a rotational direction of the electric motor once the maximal pressing force by the ramming portion 110 has been achieved. The interface of the control unit 114 also provides means for manual repositioning of the ramming portion 110 and rod 108 between the highest 15 position and the lowest position, for allowing easy removal of ground coffee 122 and/or dirt. Replacement of the ramming portion 110 is facilitated while in its lowest position. As an alternative to the electric motor and control unit 114, a manual lever pressing arrangement (not shown) with a gripping member at one end may be provided.

The ground coffee pressing device 100 shown comprises a rigid frame 102 to 20 which the holder system 130 and the ramming portion 110 are mechanically connected. The frame 102 has sufficient strength for holding the ramming portion 110, the holder system 130, and the container 120 in a desired mutual orientation, while the compressive forces are acting between these elements. The frame 102 is arranged for positioning the ground coffee pressing device 100 on a supporting surface 106, thereby 25 keeping the ramming portion 110, the container 120, and the holder system 130 in a fixed orientation with respect to the supporting surface while in use.

FIG. 2 presents a frontal view of a holder system of the ground coffee pressing device 100 according to an embodiment, and FIGs. 2A and 2B present detailed frontal 30 views of contact regions of the container 120 and an upper holder 132 or a lower holder 150 respectively. The lower holder 150 of the holder system 130 shown comprises a lower contacting region 206 for supporting the container 120 along a lower container contact portion 212. Furthermore, the upper holder 132 of the holder system 130 has an 7 upper contacting region 202 for contacting the container 120 along an upper container contact portion 214. The upper holder 132 also has a lateral contacting region 204 for contacting the container 120 along a lateral container contact portion 216. During use, the lower contacting region 206, the upper contacting region 202, and the lateral 5 contacting region 204 cooperate in retaining the container 120 in a fixed position while a compressive force is imparted on the ground coffee 122 by the downward motion of the ramming portion 110. The upper contacting region 202 and the lateral contacting region 204 of the upper holder 132 are designed to enclose an upper side of the container 120 with ground coffee 122 on the upper contact portions 214 and lateral 10 contact portions 216 of the container 120. As a result, the container 120 retained by the upper holder 132 is bounded from moving sideways or upward, preventing rotation (i.e. tilting) of the container 120 with respect to the upper holder 132 and the ramming portion 110 during pressing operation. In this way, the ground coffee 122 is prevented from undergoing a skewed pressing force. Instead, the pressing force applied to the 15 ground coffee 122 will be fully directed vertically, improving the desired homogeneous density of the puck of ground coffee 122, and thus the extraction results.

Here, the upper contacting region 202, the lateral contacting region 204, and the lower contacting region 206 enclose the container 120 with ground coffee 122 on the upper, lateral, and lower contact portions 214, 216, 212 of the container 120, resulting in a 20 tight fit. The three contacting regions 202, 204, 206 securely hold the container 120 with ground coffee in the fixed position, which is centered with respect to the vertical motion and compression direction A of the ramming portion 110, resulting in a uniform compressive force that is exerted by the ramming portion 110 on the ground coffee 122.

25 FIG. 3 shows a detailed side view of a holder system 130 of the ground coffee pressing device 100 according to a further embodiment of the invention. The upper contacting region 202, the lateral contacting region 204 and the lower contacting region 206 define a guideway 160. This guideway 160 has an entry region 302 for entering the container 120 into the guideway 160. After entering, the container 120 can be moved 30 along the guideway 160 toward a fixing region 304 wherein the container 120 is retained in the fixed position by the holder system 130. The guideway 160 shown in FIG.3 is substantially linear along a longitudinal axis B between the entry region 302 and the fixing region 304. A transversal cross section of the guideway 160 in FIG.2 8 shows that the upper contacting region 202, the lateral contacting region 204, and the lower contacting region 206 of the holder system 130 are provided translationally symmetric along at least a substantial portion of the holder system 130 in the direction of the longitudinal axis B. This translational symmetry provides a uniform clamping 5 action along the guideway by the holder system 130 on the upper, lateral, and lower contact portions 214, 216, 212 of the container 120, and allows easy manual positioning of the container 120 into the fixed position.

The lower holder 150 in FIG.3 comprises a lower diverging projection 152 at the entry region 302. This lower diverging projection 152 diverges away from the 10 longitudinal axis B, as seen from the fixing region 304 and facing the entry region 302. The diverging projection 152 in FIG.3 diverges downward with respect to the longitudinal axis B. Also according to FIG.3, the upper holder 132 has an upper diverging projection 134 at the entry region 302. The upper diverging projections 134 shown in FIG.3 diverges upward from the longitudinal axis B. In general, the upper and 15 lower diverging projections 134, 152 may be provided individually or in combination, and the directions of divergence of the diverging portions 134, 152 are outward with respect to the longitudinal axis B and each other (i.e. any combination of vertical outward divergence between the upper and lower diverging projections 134, 152, and horizontal outward divergence between the left and right projection of the pair of upper 20 projections 134 and/or of the pair of lower projections 152). The upper and/or lower diverging projections 134,152 in the entry region 302 of the guideway 160 cause a guideway entrance cross section to be relatively larger than a guideway further cross section in the fixing region. In this way, the guideway entrance cross section is bigger than a container’s cross section at the entry region 302 of the holder system 130, 25 providing easier placement of the container 120 into the guideway 160.

The upper holder 132 in FIG.3 furthermore has a downward projecting rim 136 with an at least partially circularly shaped web, resulting in an U-shape. This downward projecting rim 136 is located around the upper contacting region 202. Furthermore, the 30 lateral contacting region 204 is provided on an inner side 208 of the downward projecting rim 136. The upper contacting region 202 and the lateral contacting region 204 may thus cooperate to enclose a cylindrical shaped object, and the resulting rim configuration allows for easy placement of a circularly shaped container 120 for ground 9 coffee 122, like a known portafilter. The upper holder 132 may be mechanically connected to the frame 102 in a detachable manner, using known releasable connection means, and allowing replacement by a further upper holder 132. In this way, the upper holder 132 may be substituted by the further upper holder 132 having different 5 dimensions for the upper contacting regions 202, lateral contacting regions 204, and/or the opening 138 for the ramming portion 110. (In the latter case, the ramming portion 110 may also be substituted by a further ramming portion of suitable size.) In this way, the holder system 130 can be adapted to containers 120 of various sizes.

Alternatively or in addition, the downward projecting rim 136 may be separately 10 releasably connected to the upper holder 132, allowing substitution by a further downward projecting rim 136. In yet another alternative, the upper holder 130 is provided with a fixed largest downward projecting rim 136 to which one or more further downward projecting rims 136 with smaller diameters may be connected. In any case, a further downward projecting rim 136 may be used in the ground coffee pressing 15 device 100 in order to accommodate for circular portafilter of various diameters.

In FIG. 3, the position of the lower holder 150 is adjustable in the compression direction A with respect to the upper holder 132, to adapt to containers 120 of various vertical sizes. For this purpose, the lower holder 150 is provided with a holder actuator 306. In general, any or both of the upper holder 132 and the lower holder 150 may be 20 provided with holder actuators 306. In this way, the vertical distance between the upper holder 132 and the lower holder 150 may be set prior to using the ground coffee pressing device 100 at a value that matches a known vertical size of a particular container 120, for example by entering dimensional information of the container 120 via the interface of the control unit 114. Alternatively, the vertical distance may be 25 manually changed and matched to the container’s 120 vertical size, while being held between the upper holder 132 and the lower holder 150. Information on the container type and vertical distance may be reflected by the display unit 116.

The descriptions above are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. It will be 30 apparent to the person skilled in the art that alternative and equivalent embodiments of the invention can be conceived and reduced to practice, without departing from the scope of the claims set out below.

10 LIST OF FIGURE ELEMENTS 100 ground coffee pressing device 102 frame 104 housing 5 106 supporting surface 108 rod 110 ramming portion 112 pressing actuator 114 control unit 10 116 display unit 120 container 121 container opening 122 ground coffee 124 gear 15 126 teeth 130 holder system 132 upper holder 134 upper diverging projection 136 downward proj ecting rim 20 138 opening 150 lower holder 152 lower diverging proj ection 160 guideway A compression direction 25 202 upper contacting region 204 lateral contacting region 206 lower holding region 208 inner rim side 210 upward proj ecting rim 30 212 lower container contact portion 214 upp er container contact portion 216 lateral container contact portion 302 entry region 11 304 fixing region 306 holder actuator B longitudinal axis 5

Claims

A ground coffee pressing device (100), comprising - a holder assembly (130) for holding a ground coffee container (120), the holder assembly (130) comprising a lower holder (150) with a lower contact area (206) for supporting the container (120) along a lower container contact part (212); - a pressure member (110) for transferring a pressure force to the ground coffee (122) while the container (120) is held by the container assembly (130); characterized in that the holder assembly (130) comprises a higher holder (132) with a higher contact area (202) for hitting the container (120) along a higher container contact part (214), and with a lateral contact area (204) for hitting the container (120) along a lateral container contact part (216), the lower contact area (206), the higher contact area (202), and the lateral contact area (204) being arranged for cooperatively holding the container (120) ) in a fixed position in which the compressive force can be transferred to the ground coffee (122).

Ground coffee pressing device (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the higher contact area (202), the lateral contact area (204) and the lower contact area (206) define a guide (160) with an input area (302) for inserting the container (120) into the guide (160), and moving the container (120) along the guide (160) to a securing area (304) for holding the container (120) in the fixed position.

The ground coffee pressing device (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the guide (160) is substantially linear along a longitudinal axis (B) between the infeed region (302) and the securing region (304).

4. Ground coffee pressing device (100) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a rigid frame (102) connected to the holder assembly (130) and the pressing part (110), the rigid frame (102) being adapted to supporting surface (106) of the ground coffee pressing device (100).

The ground coffee pressing device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lower holder (150) in the infeed area (302) comprises a lower divergent protrusion (152) that runs along the guide (160) and from the securing area (304) diverges away from the longitudinal axis (B) toward the input region (302). 5

The ground coffee pressing device (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the higher holder (132) in the input area comprises a higher diverging protrusion (134) that diverges away from the longitudinal axis (B).

The ground coffee pressing device (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the higher holder (132) comprises a U-shaped downwardly projecting edge (136), and is located around the higher contact area (202), the lateral contact area ( 204) is provided on an inside (208) of the downwardly projecting edge (136). 15

Ground coffee pressing device (100) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a press actuator (112) for moving the pressure part (110) along a pressing direction (A) towards the container (120).

The ground coffee pressing device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lower holder (150) is adjustable in the pressing direction (A) and relative to the higher holder (132).

10. Ground coffee press assembly, comprising a container (120) for ground coffee (122), and a ground coffee press device (100) according to one of the preceding claims.