Patent ID: 7603945
Filing Date: 2009-10-20
Classification: A47J

Abstract:
1. An apparatus constituted by a plurality of dispensing assemblies for automatically preparing and dispensing espresso coffee, each assembly of the plurality comprising: a cylinder member which has a chamber for containing a predetermined measure of coffee grounds, which has a closed base and which is provided with an open top, and a piston member, which are provided, in alternative, either with an opening for dispensing the prepared beverage or with means for supplying heated pressurized water to the cylinder member in the chamber for preparing a beverage; said cylinder member and said piston being pivotable relative to each other between a position for charging and discharging a measure of coffee grounds, before and after a beverage is dispensed, respectively, and a position in which the cylinder member and the piston member are in alignment; said piston member being movable to close and open the chamber by moving into and out of the cylinder member; a pair of mutually opposing and spaced-apart walls defining an intermediate space in which the cylinder member and the piston member are housed and supported; a kinematic arrangement having a connecting rod and crank for causing said cylinder member or said piston member to swing and for moving either the piston member or the cylinder member in a prescribed operating sequence, said kinematic arrangement comprising a pair of connecting rods which are connected, at one end, to the sides of the piston member or of said cylinder member and, at the opposite end, to a respective crank which is supported by a respective wall of said opposing walls, the cranks being rotationally rigidly connected to each other; and motor means for actuating at least one of the cranks for the angular displacement of the cylinder member or the piston member, wherein the dispensing assemblies are beside each other and are operationally connected to each other by bar-like connecting elements, each acting at the same time as a connecting rod for two adjacent assemblies; wherein the bar-like connecting element comprises a connecting rod of an assembly, which is provided with means which can function as the connecting rod of the adjacent assembly and transfer the rotational movement to the relevant crank so that all the dispensing assemblies may be actuated at the same time by means of a single motor to dispense coffee from the dispensing assemblies in a predetermined optimum time to ensure the quality of the coffee.