A MANUALLY OPERATED COFFEE-MAKING MACHINE

Abstract: This invention relates to a manually operated coffee-making machine which peculiarly comprises, within a free surface water storage reservoir (1), a hand-operated pumping element (2) which dips into said reservoir (1) and is actuatable from the exterior of said reservoir (1). The delivery side of the pumping element is connected to a percolator holder assembly (21) for the coffee powder accommodated in said reservoir (1) and in communication with a dispensing tap (50) opening to the exterior of said reservoir (1). Also provided is a hydraulic accummulator (40) branching off a conduit (20) connecting the delivery side of said pumping element (2) to said percolator holder assembly (21).

Description: This invention relates to a manually operated coffee machine, according to the preamble of the Claim 1. As is known, currently available on the market are various types of coffee makers which are based upon mutually different operating principles. In particular for household use, the so-called "moka-express" coffee maker is traditionally employed which has a water storage reservoir into which there dips the percolator holding funnel which is in communication with a collecting container usually placed on top of the water storage reservoir. With this embodiment form, it is arranged for the coffee percolate to form by the water raising under the thrust from the pressurized steam which is generated above the water within the storage reservoir, thereby it becomes necessary, for the coffee percolate to form, to supply the water under pressure, at a temperature which is consequently higher than the temperature of 100°C, which is the boiling temperature of water at atmospheric pressure. This design yields coffee which is not always of a high quality, both on account of its being permeated by water at a temperature other than optimum for the percolate to form, and because it is impossible to provide a sufficient backpressure opposing the water passage to generate, by the time the water flows through the coffee powder, a comparatively high pressure which can contribute materially to the production of a good quality coffee. FR-A-1,043,194 discloses such a coffee maker. Known are, on the other hand, coffee makers for household use, wherein a reservoir, usually intended to accommodate cold water therein, is provided from which a pump draws the water and deliver it to a small electrical heating boiler and hence to the percolator holder assembly for percolation to take place. GB-A-923.748 discloses a domestic coffee making machine, having a hand operated pumping element. With this embodiment form, one can obtain the desired water pressure without having to reach thermal levels that militiate against a proper coffee making procedure, but considerable difficulties are generally encountered with the thermal control of the assembly, because it is impossible or at least very difficult to achieve proper thermal balance of all the assemblies which contribute to the making of "espresso" coffee, with consequent variations in the quality of the resulting coffee, thereby the initial coffee dosages made are usually of inferior quality owing to the various assemblies being yet to reach a good thermal balance. Another drawback of prior coffee makers relates to control of the backpressure opposing delivery of the water under pressure, because of the backpressure, which is applied directly by the cake of powder coffee, being dependent on various external environment factors, such as the coffee grinding, humidity of air, atmospheric pressure, and so forth. It is the aim of this invention to obviate such prior drawbacks by providing a manually operated coffee-making machine which affords virtually immediate thermal balance of all the assemblies which make up the coffee-making machine, to thus uniform quality of the dispensed product. Within the above aim, it is a particular object of the invention to provide a manually operated coffee machine which affords for the user the faculty of controlling at will the backpressure during the dispensing step, to thus obtain an adjustable flow rate at the dispensing end yielding the best qualitative values at all times. A further object of this invention is to provide a coffee maker wherein the water heating is never allowed to exceed the boiling temperature at atmospheric pressure, thus eliminating the need to use thermostats and avoiding in a most absolute way the risk inherent to the presence of boilers under pressure. It is another object of the invention to afford an "espresso" coffee of excellent quality, even without resorting to electric power. A not least object of this invention is to provide a manually operated coffee maker which is simple construction-wise, easy to operate, and of curtailed cost. The above aim, as well as these and other objects to become apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a manually operated coffee machine, according to the characterizing portion of the claim 1. Further features and advantages will become apparent from a description of a preferred, though not exclusive, embodiment of a manually operated coffee-making machine, as illustrated by way of example and not of limitation in the accompanying drawings, where: Figure 1 shows schematically a coffee maker according to the invention, in elevation; Figure 2 is a sectional view of the coffee maker showing its component elements; Figure 3 is a sectional view of the pumping element; Figure 4 is an exploded sectional view of the control tap; Figure 5 is an enlarged scale, detail view, showing in section the pin-like extremity of the control tap; Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in Figure 4; and Figure 7 is view taken from the line VII-VII in Figure 4. With reference to the drawing figures, the manually operated coffee-making machine according to the invention comprises a free-surface water storage reservoir, generally designated with the reference numeral 1, into which heated water can be introduced, or which can be alternatively placed in contact with a heat source, such as a flame heater, or electric plate heater, or the like, to thereby have the water heated. The water inside the reservoir, which is in communication with the atmosphere at least at the top, can reach at most boiling temperatuire at atmospheric pressure, and consequently, is never allowed to become pressurized; it would be also possible, if desired, to arrange for a tight sealed closure in order to obtain steam delivery. Positioned inside the reservoir 1 is a hand-operated pumping element 2 which, in a preferred but not binding embodiment thereof, includes a cylindrical body 3 provided at the bottom with an intake valve 4 connected to a suction conduit 5 dipping into the reservoir 1 at the bottom thereof, and with a delivery valve 6; sealingly movable inside the body 3 is a piston 7 having a piston rod 8 projecting outwards and being urged elastically during the upward stroke by a spring 9 which acts between a Belleville washer 10, attached to the end of the cylindrical body 3, and a stop peg 11 provided on the rod 8. The pumping action can be exerted on the piston rod 8 by means of a lever-operated actuator 16 having a fixed lever 12 which practically forms the handgrip element or handle for the coffee maker and a movable lever 13 which is journalled scissors-like via a pivot pin 14 to the fixed lever 12 and has a thrust end 15 arranged to act by contact on the rod 8 end to produce the compressive action and consequent downward movement of the piston inside the body 3. From the delivery valve 6 there extends a connection conduit 20 which is in hydraulic communication with a percolator holder assembly for the coffee powder, generally designated with the reference numeral 21, which includes a percolator body 22 housing on its interior a small cup 23 for accommodating the coffee powder, generally indicated at 24. The percolator body 22 is formed with a dispensing channel 25 located underneath the perforated bottom 23a of the cup 23, which is sealed off the lateral region of the percolator cup by a seal 26 of the O-ring variety. The water supplied through the connecting conduit 20 reaches a distribution chamber 27 located above the cup 23 and defined in a cover 28 adapted to be mated sealingly with the percolator body 22 with the interposition of a seal 30 of the O-ring variety. Also connected to the cover 28 is a handgrip 31 of a thermally insulating material, which enables removal of the cover 28. Branching off the connecting conduit 20 is a hydraulic accumulator 40, wherein an accumulating piston 41 is provided which is biased by an elastic means comprising a calibrated spring 42, which would be generally calibrated for a preferred pressure value of 6-8 atmospheres, to accumulate water under pressure while the pumping element 2 is being operated, as will be explained hereinafter. The pumping element 2, percolator holder assembly 21, and hydraulic accumulator 40 are placed inside the reservoir 1 and in direct contact with the water contained therein, or swept by the vapors being generated, thereby they can immediately reach the same thermal level as the water, to thus provide perfect thermal balance of the coffee maker. The percolator holder assembly 21 is in communication with the outside through a dispensing tap, indicated at 50, which extends outwards from the end 25 with the interposition of a sealing gasket 51 on the wall of the reservoir 1. The control tap 50 has at its outward end dispensing spouts 52 and defines, on its interior, as shown best in Figure 4, a delivery chamber 53 of substantially cylindrical extent, wherein a shutter 54 of the control tap 50 is arranged to act. The shutter 54 is substantially comprised of a handgrip element 55, accessible from the outside, and connected to a threaded tang 56 adapted to engage with a threaded socket 56a defined at the extremity of the delivery chamber 53. The shutter 54 has a stem-like body 57 adapted to fit inside the chamber 53 and having in cross-section a substantially circular shape, matching the cross-section of the chamber 53, with a circumferential faceted formation 57a. The stem-like body 57 has, at its free end, a pin 58 which fits into a nozzle 59 whereby the dispensing channel 25 and delivery chamber 53 communicate with each other in flow rate control relationship. As brought out in Figure 7, the pin 58 engages the nozzle 59 with a clearance 60, thereby the coffee powder can be pre-soaked. In actual practice, it is arranged that with the tap in its closed position, i.e. with the shutter 54 threaded fully down into the socket 56a, the pin 58 will not cut the communication off completely but leave a very small passage open to bleed off air and any steam until the water is admitted completely through the mass of coffee powder to pre-soak it. To have the coffee dispensed, it will then be necessary, as explained hereinafter, to gradually open the tap so as to obtain a controlled flow through which can best govern production of a real coffee "cream"; if desired, the tap may be arranged to open automatically on a preset pressure level being reached, using suitable devices known per se. In this machine type, the tap is of fundamental importance because it is the throttled "espresso" coffee flow that yields coffee having optimum characteristics. The flow of "cream" coffee or "espresso" coffee is to be regarded as a fluid consisting of chemical substances derived from the dissolved soluble portions plus water, suspended solid particles, and a dense and frothy portion resulting from emulsification of heavy essential oils with the gases released by vaporization of more volatile essential oils retained in the form of gas bubbles. Taking into consideration the suspended solid particles, these will flock with the liquid flow and may vary in size from tiny to the largest ones whose maximum diameter is substantially the same as the holes in the percolator cup which holds the coffee powder. If, with an ordinary tap, a sufficient small opening were selected to ensure the required flow rate for "espresso" coffee making, the outlet cross-section area would be but few hundredths of a millimeter high and several millimeters long, and exemplifiable in practice as an elongate slit. In this hypothetical case, the larger diameter solid particles would not be admitted therethrough, and would shortly clog up the window, preventing the liquid from flowing out. As the tap is opened further, there would occur another selection and subsequent tap clogging when the window freshly opened becomes occluded completely by the larger particles. As the tap is opened still further, all of the built-up particles could suddenly move through, thereby the coffee-making pressure value would drop completely since backpressure is only provided by the cake of coffee powder. To obviate this problem in the embodiment just described, the pin 58 is formed with a substantially cylindrical recess 70, provided in a peripheral portion thereof, which has tapering cross-sectional area from the pin free end toward the stem-like body 57. Thus, a cross-sectional shape is obtained which is as close as possible to the circular one which affords a minimal flow passage for the liquid while allowing maximum flow passage of solid particles through the larger hole. The pin, despite its uncovering a compact and better than tiny cross-sectional area, is not liable to being clogged up because it is a trough rather than a hole and consequently cannot retain foreign matter and is,hence, self-cleaning. A similar reasoning applies to the stem-like body 57 which defines a curtailed passage cross-section for the coffee being made, in cooperation with the chamber 53, by virtue of the faceted formation 57a provided on the stem-like body 57. The faceted formation is also effective to make the tap self-cleaning, in that the stem rotation, as produced to open and close the tap, arranges automatically for the chamber cleaning. In the actual use of the coffee maker according to the invention, one can introduce water into the reservoir 1 and then arrange for it to be heated, e.g. by taking it close to a heat source which could be a flame heater or the like. On the water reaching the desired thermal level, one can begin to pump the water by means of the pumping element 2, acting on the scissors levers 12 and 13, drawing water from the reservoir 1 and moving it under pressure toward the percolator holder assembly 21. At this stage, the dispensing tap would be closed and, as explained hereinabove, the only passage is afforded by the clearance between the pin 58 and the nozzle, thereby the coffee powder is pre-soaked with the water being delivered. Furthermore, the provision of the hydraulic accumulator 40 results in the water being accumulated under pressure within the accumulator 40 by overcoming the spring bias of the spring 42, thereby the accumulating piston 41 is moved upwards and it is, therefore, unnecessary to keep on pumping because, once the dispensing tap is opened gradually, the required pressure to dispense the coffee can be supplied directly by the accumulator, which becomes operative to supply the percolator holder assembly with the water accumulated therein during the manual pumping action. It should be also emphasized that all the assemblies which comprise the coffee maker immediately achieve the same thermal value, since they bathe in the same environment formed by the water present in the reservoir 1, or by the vapors released by that water. Of great importance, if a good quality coffee is to be produced, is adjustment of the tap, which, being closed at the start of the pumping action, permits pre-soaking of the coffee powder, and when open to the appropriate extent, allows controlled dispensing to afford "cream" coffee of the best quality. It should be emphasized that where the user seeks a coffee percolate, the tap can be kept open at once, thus greatly reducing the value of the backpressure opposing the water passage, the backpressure being solely provided by the powder coffee cake present in the cup 23. Another important aspect of the invention is that the pumping action can be applied with one hand, without requiring reactive forces to steady the machine body statically and dynamically. Furthermore, the work related to the product of flow rate by pressure may be performed by successive operations of the pumping element, thereby the process can be carried out easily and effortlessly.

Claims: A manually operated coffee machine, comprising inside a free water storage reservoir (1), a hand operated pumping element (2) which dips with its inlet into said reservoir and is actuable from the exterior of said reservoir (1), the delivery side of said pumping element (2) being connected to the inlet of a percolator holder assembly (21) for the coffee powder, characterised in that said percolator holder assembly (21) is at least partway housed in said reservoir (1) and in that said delivery side of the pumping element is in communication with a control tap (50), through the inlet of said percolator holder assembly (21), opening to the exterior of said reservoir, a pressurized hydraulic accumulator (40) being also provided branching off the conduit (20) connecting the delivery side of said pumping element (2) to said percolator holder assembly (21). A coffee-making machine according to the preceding claim , characterized in that said pumping element (2) comprises a cylindrical body (3) provided, at one end thereof, with an intake valve (4) and a delivery valve (6), within said cylindrical body (3) there being movable in sealed relationship a piston (7) connected to a piston rod (8) projecting outwards from said reservoir (1), on said piston rod (8) there acting a lever actuator (16) having a fixed lever (12) connected to said reservoir (1) and a movable lever (13) journalled scissors-like to said fixed lever (12) and acting by contact on the free end of said piston rod (8). A coffee-making machine according to the preceding claims, characterized in that movable in sealed relationship within said hydraulic accumulator (40) is an accumulating piston (41) biased by an elastic means (42) adapted to be calibrated at a preset pressure value. A coffee-making machine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said dispensing tap (50) has a cylindrical delivery chamber (53) in communication, through a nozzle (59), with the delivery channel (25) formed in said percolator holder assembly (21), and at the other end, with small dispensing spouts (52), said delivery chamber (53) housing on its interior a stem-like body (57) terminating with a pin (58) in engagement with said nozzle (59), said stem-like body (57)being movable by rotation in said chamber to mate a threaded tang (56) rigid with said stem-like body (57) with a threaded socket (56a) defined at the end of said chamber (53). A coffee-making machine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said stem-like body (57) a substantially circular cross-sectional shape matching said cylindrical delivery chamber (53) and is provided with a faceted formation (57a) at the periphery thereof. A coffee-making machine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said pin (58) defines a circumferential clearance in cooperation with said nozzle (59). A coffee-making machine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises on said pin (58) a recess (70) formed substantially peripherally and defined by a cylindrical recess of decreasing depth toward said stem-like body (57). A coffee-making machine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said percolator holder assembly (21) includes a percolator body (22) accommodating on its interior a cup percolator (23) and being closed at the top by a cover (28) defining a distribution chamber (27) and being provided with a handgrip (31) of a thermally insulating material.

Inventors: PAOLETTI, LUCIANO
Applicants: SPIDEM S.R.L.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A47J31
IPC codes: A47J31