GB2584997A

GB2584997A - Beverage maker

Info

Publication number: GB2584997A
Application number: GB1908728.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Cain Matthew; Hribar-Green Ashley
Original assignee: Hribarcain Ltd
Current assignee: Hribarcain Ltd
Priority date: 2019-06-18
Filing date: 2019-06-18
Publication date: 2020-12-30
Also published as: GB201908728D0; WO2020254808A1; EP3986215A1

Abstract

A beverage maker comprises a piston 10 slidingly arranged in a cylinder, a water tank 6 in fluid connection with the cylinder through a first valve 28 located outside the cylinder and a removable solids container 14 in fluid connection with the cylinder through a second valve 30. The piston is movable in a first direction in which water flows from the water tank through the first valve into the cylinder and in a second direction in which water flows from the cylinder through the second valve into the solids container and out of the beverage maker. The piston may be moved using a handle 8, which may be removable. The beverage maker may be at least partially fabricated from stainless steel. The beverage maker is especially suited for making espresso coffee.

Description

Beverage Maker The present invention relates to beverage makers, in particular manually operated beverage makers. More particularly, the present invention relates to manually operated coffee makers especially for making espresso-type coffee.

Beverages of various kinds may be made by percolating water (usually hot water) through beverage solids such as cocoa, tea or coffee grounds. One of the more popular beverages is coffee and, in particular, espresso. Espresso may be made by roasting and grinding coffee beans, compacting the coffee grounds by tamping and percolating hot water, under pressure, through the compacted coffee. The espresso method emulsifies the oils in the ground coffee into a colloid and results in a syrupy crema. According to the Italian Espresso National Institute a number of parameters are important to obtain good espresso, including an exit temperature of water from the espresso making device (which is generally of 88 ± 2 °C in powered espresso devices) and water pressure of 9 ± 1 bar (0.9 ± 0.1 IMPa). Espresso is often made in commercial premises using powered devices.

Espresso was originally made using lever espresso machines and such devices are still sometimes in use. US-A-2018/0055274, US-A-2018/0125285, US-A-2005/0172828 and US-A-2018/0360257 disclose manual lever presses for coffee making. There have been some attempts to provide espresso devices suitable for small scale commercial or domestic use that may involve a manually operated piston design, such devices are disclosed in US-A-2016/0227958, US-2017/0360240, US-A-2012/0260806, and US-A2010/0116143.

Unfortunately, known piston type devices for manual operation have problems in producing good quality beverages, especially problems in producing espresso comparable to commercial coffee machines, often because the design of these devices does not provide parameters within the appropriate ranges.

There is, therefore, a need for improved beverage makers that address these problems. It is an aim of the present invention to address this need.

The present invention accordingly provides, in a first aspect, a beverage maker comprising a piston slidingly arranged in a cylinder, a water tank in fluid connection with the cylinder through a first valve located outside the cylinder, and a removable solids container in fluid connection with the cylinder through a second valve, the piston being movable in a first direction in which water may flow from the water tank through the first valve into the cylinder, and a second direction in which water may flow from the cylinder through the second valve into the solids container and out of the beverage maker.

Preferably, the beverage maker further comprises a body to which the cylinder is connected. Usually, the body may be between the cylinder and the solids container.

The second valve may be located in the body between the cylinder and the solids container, in particular the second valve may be located below the cylinder, optionally arranged so that water flows directly (and more preferably without change of direction of flow that may result in cooling of the water) from the cylinder through the second valve.

The first valve may usually be located in the body.

For compactness, the piston, cylinder and water tank may be substantially concentric.

For convenient and comfortable operation, the piston may comprise a handle and preferably the handle is detachable.

Advantageously, the handle may be designed so as to form a lid, preferably substantially when at the limit of movement in the first direction. Conveniently, there may be at least one fitting on the handle to detachably connect the handle to the cylinder and/or water tank to form the lid. Preferably, therefore the handle does not substantially project beyond the body (e.g. the handle preferably projects less than 30% of the diameter of the body beyond the sides of the body).

A great advantage of the present invention is that a lever is not generally required to operate the piston enabling a more compact and convenient device. Thus, preferably, the beverage maker does not comprise a lever-operatable piston.

The solids container preferably comprises mesh to retain solids. The gauge and size of the mesh is preferably selected so as to provide appropriate flow and pressure to form a high quality beverage.

Various designs of valve may be used, however usually the first valve and / or the second vale may independently comprise a ball valve, a slit valve, or a membrane valve.

The volume of the stroke of the piston in the cylinder may be in the range 2 to 25 ml, preferably in the range 3 to 17 ml, more preferably in the range 4 to 13 ml and most preferably in the range 6 to 10 ml. The water pressure (passing) through the solids in the solids container may be in the range 0.7 to 1 91V1Pa, preferably in the range 0.9 to 1.1 MPa.

The beverage maker may be of a convenient size for manual use and portability. Thus, the maximum dimension of the beverage maker may be in the range 4 cm x 4cm to 15 cm x 15 cm, more preferably in the range 7 cm x 7 cm to 11 cm x 11 cm.

The materials of the beverage maker may be selected for the appropriate price range and intended use. Preferably, however, the water tank may comprise glass, the piston and/or the cylinder may comprise a plastic, optionally HDPE, and the body may comprise a plastic, optionally HDPE.

The beverage maker may be used to produce many different beverages (e.g. tea, cocoa). However, preferably, the beverage maker is a coffee maker, more preferably an espresso coffee maker and the solids comprise ground coffee.

The beverage maker of the invention may be used to make beverages.

Thus, in a second aspect, the present invention provides a method of making a beverage, the method comprising, providing a beverage maker according to the first aspect, providing beverage solids in the solids container, placing water in the water tank, and moving the piston in the second direction thereby causing water to flow from the cylinder through the solids in the solids container and from the beverage maker.

Preferred and optional aspects of the second aspect of the invention are as set out above in relation to the first aspect, with appropriate modification.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the following figures, in which: Figure 1 shows perspective views of the beverage maker according to the invention, in (a) open position and (b) closed position.

Figure 2 shows side views of the beverage maker in (a) closed position and (b) open position.

Figure 3 is a schematic section of the beverage maker on A -A of Figure 2(b).

Figure 4 shows sections of the beverage maker illustrating water flow when (a) water is driven out of the maker to make a beverage and (b) when water recharges into the cylinder.

Figures 1 and 2 show perspective (Figure 1) and side views (Figure 2) of a beverage maker 2 according to the invention in open (Figure 1(a) and Figure 2(b)) and closed (Figure 1(b) and Figure 2(s)) positions. The beverage maker 2 comprises a water tank 6 for holding hot water (in use) above a main body 4. Below the main body 4 there is a beverage solids container 14 for holding beverage solids (e.g. ground coffee, tea, cocoa or other solids for preparing beverages). Above the main body 4, a piston 10 is fixed to a handle 8 and slidingly arranged in cylinder 12 inside the water tank 6 so the piston 10, cylinder 12 and water tank 6 are substantially concentric. The piston 10, cylinder 12 and water tank 6 are all of generally circular horizontal cross section in the embodiment although other cross sections may also be used including generally square, rectangular, elliptical, polygonal, etc. In the open position, the handle 8 is raised above the water tank 6 ready to be manually depressed/forced down. In the closed position, the handle 8 sits on the top edge of the water tank 6.

Figure 3 is a section on A -A of Figure 2(b) showing the internal workings of the beverage maker 2. The handle 8 is removably fixed to the top of the piston 10. The handle 8 has a handle male bayonet fitting 16 on its lower edge which is adapted to fit into the handle female bayonet fitting 18 at the top of the cylinder 12. When the handle 8 is depressed to the closed position so that the handle 8 sits on the top of the water tank 6, rotation of the handle 8 and piston 10 relative to the cylinder 12 fits the handle male bayonet fitting 16 into the handle female bayonet fitting 18 so that the handle 8 stays in place on top of the water tank 6, forming a lid.

The piston 10 is slidingly fitted into the cylinder 12. The cylinder 12 has at least one low friction piston runner 20 (that may be made of a low friction material, for example PTFE) and sealed with piston rings 22. The piston 10 is biased by piston spring 44 located at the lower portion of the cylinder which resists depression of the piston 10. The piston and cylinder may be of stainless steel.

The main body 4 (which may be of stainless steel) is fixed to the water tank 6 (which may be of glass) and sealed with water tank seal 24. The inside of the water tank 4 is in fluid connection via cylinder inlet ball valve 28 with the inside of the cylinder 12.

The cylinder inlet ball valve 28 is located outside the cylinder 12 in the main body 4 to enable a longer stroke of the piston 10 in the cylinder 12 and to aid manufacture/repair (e.g. by avoiding the need to form an additional aperture in the wall of the cylinder 12) and cleaning. The cylinder inlet ball valve 28 is sealed into the main body 4 by cylinder inlet ball valve seal 26 and biased into cylinder inlet ball valve seal 26 by cylinder inlet ball valve spring 29.

The inside of the cylinder 12 is in fluid connection via cylinder outlet ball valve with the inside of the beverage solids container 14. The cylinder outlet ball valve 30 is located below the cylinder 12 so the water flow into the beverage solids container 14 is as direct as possible. A direct water flow path tends to reduce heat loss as the hot water flows through the device and enables greater flow pressure to be achieved. The cylinder outlet ball valve 30 is sealed into the cylinder 12 by cylinder outlet ball valve seal 33 and biased into cylinder outlet ball valve seal 33 by cylinder outlet ball valve spring 32.

Pressure is achieved by manually pressing on a primed piston. As the piston diameter is generally relatively small (e.g. generally in beverage makers according to the invention around 10 to 17 mm, usually about 14 to 15 mm, for example in the illustrated embodiment 14.3 mm) the amount of force required to generate high pressure is relatively small (generally in beverage makers according to the invention less than 250 N, usually around 150 N).

Heat loss is reduced by using a majority of plastic parts especially any part that is in contact with the heated water.

The volume of the piston stroke is approximately 6 ml to 10 ml (for example 8m1).

The dimensions of the device are generally convenient for portability and manual use. Thus, the embodiment as illustrated has a dimension of around 90mm x 90mm x 100mm.

The beverage solids container 14 is removably fixed to the main body 4 by a bayonet fitting comprising beverage container male bayonet fitting 40 and beverage container female bayonet fitting 38. Rotation of the main body 4 with respect to the beverage solids container 14 connects or disconnects the bayonet fittings. The bayonet fitting is designed with beverage container seal 42 so that there is an effective seal between the main body 4 and beverage solids container 14. At the bottom of the beverage solids container 14, the beverage solids are retained by beverage mesh 35 held in place by beverage container mesh retaining clip 34 and sealed by beverage container mesh seal 36.

The beverage mesh 35 is of an appropriate size mesh to allow water to flow out under correct pressure and flow rate.

Water flow during use of the beverage maker 2 is illustrated in Figure 4. The flow of hot water is illustrated by arrows.

Figure 4(a) shows the pressure stroke wherein the handle 8 is manually depressed with force B. Hot water flows from the cylinder 12 causing the cylinder outlet ball valve to open and water to flow through the beverage solids container 14 (containing in use the beverage solids, for example ground coffee) and out of the beverage mesh 35 and into a beverage cup (not shown). The cylinder inlet ball valve 28 is sealed by cylinder inlet ball valve spring 29 and water pressure from the downward stroke of the piston 10 preventing water flowing from the water tank 6.

When the handle 8 is released (unless it has been rotated to engage the handle male bayonet fitting 16 and handle female bayonet fitting 18), the piston spring 44 biases C the handle upwards causing a partial vacuum in the cylinder 12 and causing hot water to flow from the water tank 6 through the cylinder inlet ball valve 28 and into the cylinder 12 thus charging the cylinder 12 for a further downward stroke. The cylinder outlet ball valve 28 is sealed by cylinder outlet ball valve spring 29 and partial vacuum in the cylinder from the upward stroke of the piston 10 preventing water flowing back from the beverage solids container 14.

Reference Numerals 2 beverage maker 4 main body 6 water tank 8 handle piston 12 cylinder 14 beverage solids container 16 handle male bayonet fitting 18 handle female bayonet fitting piston runner 22 piston ring 24 water tank seal 26 cylinder inlet ball valve seal 28 cylinder inlet ball valve 29 cylinder inlet ball valve spring cylinder outlet ball valve 32 cylinder outlet ball valve spring 33 cylinder outlet ball valve seal 34 beverage container mesh retaining clip beverage mesh 36 beverage container mesh seal 38 beverage container female bayonet fitting 40 beverage container male bayonet fitting 42 beverage container seal 44 piston spring

Claims

Claims 1. A beverage maker comprising a piston slidingly arranged in a cylinder, a water tank in fluid connection with the cylinder through a first valve located outside the cylinder, and a removable solids container in fluid connection with the cylinder through a second valve, the piston being movable in a first direction in which water may flow from the water tank through the first valve into the cylinder, and a second direction in which water may flow from the cylinder through the second valve into the solids container and out of the beverage maker.
2. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a body to which the cylinder is connected.
3. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 2, wherein the body is located between the cylinder and the solids container.
4. A beverage maker as claimed any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second valve is located in the body between the cylinder and the solids container.
5. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 4, wherein the second valve is located below the cylinder, optionally arranged so that water flows directly from the cylinder through the second valve.
6. A beverage maker as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the first valve is located in the body.
7. A beverage maker as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the piston, cylinder and water tank are substantially concentric.
8. A beverage maker as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the piston comprises a handle A beverage maker as claimed in claim 8, wherein the handle is detachable.10. A beverage maker as claimed in either claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the handle may form a lid, preferably substantially at the limit of movement in the first direction.11. A beverage maker as claimed in claim 10, further comprising at least one fitting on the handle to detachably connect the handle to the cylinder and/or water tank to form the lid.12. A beverage maker as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the solids container comprises mesh to retain solids.13. A beverage maker as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first valve and / or the second vale independently comprise a ball valve, a slit valve, or a membrane valve.14. A beverage maker as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the volume of the stroke of the piston in the cylinder is in the range 4 ml to 19 ml.15. A beverage maker as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the maximum dimension of the beverage maker is in the range 8 cm to 25 cm.16. A beverage maker as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the water tank comprises glass.17. A beverage maker as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the piston and/or the cylinder comprise a metal, optionally stainless steel 18. A beverage maker as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the body comprises a metal, optionally stainless steel.19. A beverage maker as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the beverage maker is a coffee maker, preferably an espresso coffee maker and the solids comprise ground coffee.20. A method of making a beverage, the method comprising, providing a beverage maker as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 19, providing beverage solids in the solids container, placing water in the water tank, and moving the piston in the second direction thereby causing water to flow from the cylinder through the solids in the solids container and from the beverage maker.