Patent Description:
In all domains of food and beverage preparation, the quality of the prepared food or beverage requires, at least: adequate quality of the raw product; right tools (machines, devices, etc.) and knowledge and skills to ensure the right preparation processes.

Hot beverage preparation, more particularly coffee preparation and its derivates, also obey the same rules.

Since the very first invention of a coffee extraction machine, the associated techniques have heavily evolved during the last decades. It is known in the state of the art that the first machine for making espresso was built and patented in <NUM> by Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy. An improved design was later patented on April <NUM>, <NUM>, by Luigi Bezzera. The founder of the La Pavoni company bought the patent and from <NUM> produced espresso machines commercially on a small scale in Milan. Multiple machine designs have been created to produce espresso. Several machines share some common elements, such as a group head and a portafilter. An espresso machine may also have a steam wand which is used to steam and froth liquids (such as milk) for coffee drinks such as cappuccino and caffe latte.

Fully Automatic machines using roasted beans to prepare a coffee beverage are widely known in the state of the art. In the <NUM>'s fully automated machines of diverse brands (Jura, Saeco, etc.) have followed the trend of automation.

Consequently, they have grouped all the functions done by a Barista (skilled person preparing coffee beverages) in a single machine, including grinding of coffee beans, dosing, tamping, as well as extraction of the coffee beverage. As a consequence, in these machines, the operator only needs to fill the bean hopper and, if the machine is not connected to a water line, add water to a reservoir. The rest is automatically done by the machine itself.

Fully Automatic machines are growing in the market as they simplify the extraction steps and can be used by a non-skilled person. However, they are bulky and complex, and more importantly, they are considered to be a compromise between preparation quality and convenience.

Fully automatic machines take away the ability to manually tamping and grinding the coffee, which may affect the quality of the espresso, as this setting cannot be changed from a beverage to another.

Typically, the grinder can be adjustable to get the right grind size for the desired beverage: however once adjusted, the same grind size is used for all the beverages. And most importantly, the machine is never adjusted by the user according to the different coffee beans used. This results in a compromise of quality and convenience of the final beverage delivered.

The system of the invention comes to solve these limitations, as it will be further explained.

The main object of the present invention is to achieve similar end results of the coffee beverage delivered than those obtained when using a capsule system without the need of using any single serve packaging, and without any specific skills being needed. The invention achieves this by building a system comprising several main-devices that communicate between themselves via accessory-devices, that transfer/communicate the required parameters in order to replace a Barista know-how by an artificial intelligence (AI) system.

The system of the invention adjusts the parameters of each main-device (the inputs), according to the outputs of the main-device used in the previous phase. The goal is to ensure the integrity of the procedure and the information by communicating the right parameters to be used.

Fully automatic beverage preparation machines are known in the state of the art and are widely used for preparing coffee beverages. These automatic machines provide a fully automatic process, starting with storing the roasted coffee beans and ending with the delivery of the coffee beverage into a cup. Patent Application <CIT> describes an apparatus for refilling the filter-holders provided with a code of an espresso coffee machine with selected doses of ground coffee. The operator can take the filter-holder with the ground coffee and move it to the dispensing unit of the machine which recognises the filter-holder via a sensor able only to recognize the presence of the filter-holder or type of the filter-holder, vie the code of the same.

Differently to a fully automated machine, the system of the invention allows more flexibility by using different accessory-devices, tailored to the right preparation, between the main-devices. Typically, these accessory-devices are devices for espresso, drip coffee, soluble coffee, etc..

Differently to single serve systems (typically those using capsules), the system of the present invention does not use a single packaging for each beverage preparation, but a multipack, and uses accessory-devices for extraction/processing.

These and other objects, which become apparent upon reading the following description, are solved by the subject matter of the independent claim. The dependent claims refer to preferred embodiments of the invention.

According to a first aspect, the invention relates to a grinding and extraction apparatus for roasted coffee beans according to claim <NUM>.

Preferably, in the grinding and extraction apparatus for roasted coffee beans of the invention, the beverage information comprises one or a plurality of the following data: beverage type, beverage volume, brewing temperature and/or brewing pump profile, brewing profile according to time.

According to a preferred embodiment, typically, the characteristics of the roasted coffee beans are one or a plurality of the following: coffee beans type, coffee beans origin, batch volume, recommended roasting level or levels, date of harvest, date of production, production data, farmer data, date of expiration, company and or marketing info.

According to a preferred embodiment, the product holder in the grinding and extraction apparatus of the invention comprises plugging means to be quickly plugged and/or unplugged onto the grinding device and onto the extraction device so it is freely exchangeable.

Preferably, the product holder in the apparatus of the invention is locked on the grinding device and on the extraction device to allow firm fix of it during the grinding and the extraction operations, respectively.

Typically, the coffee beans received by the grinding device comprise identification means with the characteristics of these roasted coffee beans, to be read by the reading means in the grinding device, these identification means being optical, such as a barcode, OID and/or a QR code, and/or electromagnetically read identification means such as a RFID tag.

In the apparatus of the invention, preferably, the quantity of coffee to be grinded, the grinding size and the blend in the grinding device are adapted as a function of the type of beverage to be prepared from the roasted and grinded coffee beans in combination of the product parameters of the roasted coffee beans of the one or plurality of beans containers connected to the grinding device.

Typically, the one or plurality of coffee beans containers have an embedded dosing device to dose only the needed quantity of roasted coffee beans in the grinding device. In the grinding and extraction apparatus for roasted coffee beans of the invention, typically, the grinding device comprises a motor and a drive to control the embedded dosing device of the one or plurality of coffee beans containers to dose only the needed dose of roasted coffee beans to the grinding device.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the grinding device comprises a RFID tag reader to obtain the information of the product parameters of the roasted coffee beans of the one or more beans containers connected to it.

According to a second aspect, the invention further relates to a method for grinding roasted coffee beans and preparing a beverage from according to claim <NUM>, using a grinding and extraction apparatus according to any of the claims <NUM> or <NUM>.

Preferably, in the method of the invention, where a certain coffee blend is produced in the grinding device and is put in the product holder, the method comprises the following further steps:.

Yet according to a third aspect, the invention further relates, according to claim <NUM>, to the use of a grinding and extraction apparatus according to any of the claims <NUM>-<NUM>.

Further features, advantages and objects of the present invention will become apparent for a skilled person when reading the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments of the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings.

In the following, the invention is described exemplarily with reference to the enclosed figures, in which.

The main goal of the present invention is to achieve similar end results as the ones achieved with a capsule system without using any single serve packaging, and without specific skills needed. The goal of the invention, as it will be explained in more detail in what follows, is to build main-devices that communicate among them via accessory-devices, that transfer/communicate parameters in order to replace the Barista (skilled person) know-how by an Al (Artificial Intelligence) system.

The system of the present invention adjusts each main-device parameters (inputs), according to the outputs of the main-device used in the previous phase. The goal is to ensure the integrity of the procedure and of the information by communicating the right parameters to be used.

In difference to fully automated machines, the system of the invention further allows more flexibility by using different accessory-devices (tailored to the right preparation: typically accessory devices for Espresso, Drip coffee, Soluble Coffee, etc.) between the main-devices.

In difference to single serve systems (typically preparing a beverage from a capsule or single-dose container), the system of the invention does not use a single packaging for each preparation, but a multipack, and uses accessory-devices for the extraction/processing.

Looking at <FIG>, it shows a roasting device <NUM> comprising a reader <NUM> and an encoder <NUM>. The reader <NUM> is able to retrieve the information on the identification means <NUM> of a container <NUM> comprising coffee beans: these coffee beans can be green or partially roasted or a mixture of the two. The identification means <NUM> comprise the Information <NUM> of the coffee beans in the container <NUM>, as represented schematically in <FIG>. This Information <NUM> can comprise one or a plurality of the following information: coffee beans type, coffee beans origin, batch volume, recommended roasting level, date of expiration, etc. The identification means <NUM> in the container <NUM> can be optical (barcode, QR code, OID) or electromagnetically readable codes (typically, a RFID code). The roasting device <NUM> further comprises a control unit configuring the roasting profile of the beans according to the characteristics retrieved from the reading means <NUM> and/or from the characteristics of the beans in a database <NUM> in this control unit and/or according to the user's input. The roasting device <NUM> therefore makes the roasting of the green beans, partially roasted beans or the mixture of the two based on this information, and then delivers the roasted coffee beans into a beans container <NUM>, <NUM>. The beans container <NUM>, <NUM> comprises programmable identification means <NUM> where product parameters of the roasted coffee beans of a certain type are encoded on it by an encoder <NUM> in the roasting device. Th information encoded on the beans containers <NUM>, <NUM> is named as Information <NUM> in the schematic diagram of <FIG>, and this Information <NUM> comprises one or a plurality of the following information: Information <NUM> as explained above and roasting level, date of roasting, coffee origin, roasting profile, roasting date, etc..

The system of the invention further comprises a grinding device <NUM> comprising one or more housings for receiving one or more beans containers <NUM>, <NUM>. The grinding device <NUM> comprises a reader <NUM> to obtain the information of the product parameters (Information <NUM>) of the roasted coffee beans of the one or more beans containers <NUM>, <NUM>. The grinding device <NUM> further comprises a control unit configured to adapt the grinding size and the quantity of roasted coffee beans to be delivered from the coffee beans containers <NUM>, <NUM> for obtaining a certain coffee quantity and/or a certain coffee blend quantity from each beans container to be grinded according to these product parameters (Information <NUM>) and/or according to a recipes database <NUM>, and/or according to the user's input.

The grinded coffee is delivered from the grinding device <NUM> into a product holder <NUM>: this product holder <NUM> comprises programmable identification means <NUM>, where the encoder <NUM> in the grinding device <NUM> can encode the beverage information (called Information <NUM>). This information will comprise one or a plurality of the following: beverage type, volume of the beverage to prepare, beverage temperature, pump profile, etc. The product holder <NUM> comprising the beverage information (Information <NUM>) with the grinded coffee, will then be transferred to a preparation or extraction device <NUM>, where the final beverage (the coffee beverage) will be prepared and delivered into a cup. The preparation device <NUM> comprises reading means <NUM> able to retrieve the beverage information (Information <NUM>) from the identification means <NUM> in the product holder <NUM> and therefore make the beverage preparation (beverage extraction) according to this information.

Looking now at <FIG>, an embodiment of the system of the invention is shown, particularly referring to a food product comprised in container <NUM> in the form of a powder. Similarly, the container <NUM> will be provided with identification means <NUM>, optical (barcode, QR code, OID) or electromagnetically readable codes (typically, a RFID code) comprising the product information (Information <NUM> of the product type, such as coffee or milk, etc, and the date of expiration, for example). The system will comprise a dispensing device (<NUM>) comprising a reader <NUM> to retrieve the information on the product from the container <NUM> and therefore make the dosing according to this information (Information <NUM>). The dispensing device <NUM> can also be a grinding device, as explained in the previous Figure. According to a preferred embodiment, the powdered product will be comprised in a container <NUM>, <NUM>. The dispensing device <NUM> further comprises a control unit configured to dispense a certain amount of powdered food or beverage product from a container (either <NUM> or <NUM>, <NUM>) according to these product parameters (Information <NUM>) and/or according to a recipes database <NUM> as a function of the beverage to be prepared. The dispensing device <NUM> further comprises an encoder <NUM> to encode the beverage information (Information <NUM>) on programmable identification means <NUM> on a product holder <NUM> in the dispensing device <NUM>, to where the dispensed powdered food or beverage product is sent. Similarly as to the embodiment described in <FIG>, the product holder <NUM> will be transferable into an extraction or preparation device <NUM> to prepare and dispense the final food or beverage product. The preparation device <NUM> will comprise a reader <NUM> to retrieve the beverage information (Information <NUM>) from the identification means <NUM> in the product holder <NUM>, and prepare the beverage accordingly. This Information <NUM> will comprise one or a plurality of the following: beverage type, volume of the beverage to prepare, beverage temperature, pump profile, etc..

The embodiment represented functionally in <FIG> is shown schematically in <FIG>: a dispensing device <NUM> receives a certain product container <NUM> comprising a certain type of a powder product (milk in powder, for example). The dosing device <NUM> reads the identification means in this container <NUM> and so retrieves the product information, therefore knowing which amount of milk powder has to be delivered into the product holder <NUM> for a certain beverage to be prepared (according to the user's input and/or to the information retrieved in a recipes database <NUM>). A container <NUM> with another type of powdered product (coffee, for example) is plugged into the dosing device <NUM>. The dosing device will read the information on this product and will deliver the amount needed on the product holder <NUM> for the beverage to be prepared (according to the user's input and/or to the information retrieved in a recipes database <NUM>). The encoder <NUM> in the dosing device <NUM> will then encode the beverage information (Information <NUM>) on the product holder <NUM> according to the user's input and/or to a recipes database <NUM>. When the product holder <NUM> will be plugged in a preparation device <NUM>, for the beverage preparation, the Information <NUM> for the certain beverage extraction will be retrieved by the device <NUM> so the preparation will be done according to certain parameters.

The functional diagram in <FIG> is represented schematically in <FIG>. A container <NUM> with coffee beans (green and/or partially roasted) dispenses the beans into a roasting device <NUM>. The Information <NUM> is read by the roasting device <NUM> so the roasting takes place according to certain parameters. The roasted coffee beans are delivered in a container <NUM>. Similarly, a different type of coffee beans can be roasted in the roasting device <NUM> according to different parameters and can be delivered in a container <NUM>. The containers <NUM>, <NUM> can be plugged into a grinding device <NUM> where a certain amount of each one of the roasted beans from each of the containers <NUM>, <NUM> can be sent into a product holder <NUM>. This product holder <NUM> will be encoded with the beverage information (Information <NUM>) so, when transferred into a dispensing or extraction device <NUM>, the beverage preparation will take place according to certain parameters. The final beverage will be delivered into a cup <NUM>, for example.

Still another embodiment of the system of the invention is represented in <FIG>. The roasting device <NUM> is configured for receiving coffee beans of a certain type from a container <NUM>: these beans will be roasted. The roasting device <NUM> comprises reading means <NUM> to identify the characteristics of the coffee beans dispensed to it, and further comprises a control unit configuring the roasting profile of the beans according to the characteristics retrieved from the reading means and/or from the characteristics of the beans in a database in this control unit and/or according to the user input. The roasted coffee beans are sent into a container <NUM> and are then transferred into a processing device <NUM>. The processing device <NUM> can be a grinding device where the beans will be grinded (also another certain amount from a different container <NUM>), sent to a product holder <NUM> that will then be transferred into a beverage preparation device <NUM> for the final beverage dispensing, or the processing device (not shown) can be a grinding device and a preparation or extraction device (functionalities of the device <NUM> and <NUM> together).

The roasting device <NUM> comprises a data transfer function to communicate product parameters of the roasted coffee beans of a certain type to the coffee processing device (grinding device or grinding and extraction device).

An schematic representation of the system of the invention is shown in <FIG>. The container <NUM> comprises coffee beans (green and/or partially roasted) that will be roasted in the device <NUM> and sent into containers <NUM>, <NUM> for different types of coffee beans. The containers <NUM>, <NUM> will be plugged in a grinding device <NUM> to deliver a certain blend into a product holder <NUM> that, when plugged in a preparation device <NUM>, will deliver the coffee beverage into a cup <NUM>.

<FIG> represents the main components and connections of the system represented in <FIG>, namely the roasting device <NUM>, the containers <NUM>, <NUM>, the dispensing or grinding device <NUM> and the preparation or extraction device <NUM>.

<FIG> shows the identification means <NUM> in the container <NUM> comprising the coffee beans. These identification means <NUM> will comprise the information on the coffee beans type and/or origin and/or the batch volume and/or date of expiration and/or recommended roasting level, amongst other information. The reading means <NUM> in the roasting device <NUM> will retrieve this information and will consequently do the roasting according to certain parameters.

<FIG> shows the beans from the container <NUM> being delivered into the roasting device <NUM> for being roasted, before being sent to one of the containers <NUM>, <NUM> and then to the grinding device <NUM>. <FIG> shows the roasting step of the beans (green and/or partially roasted) in the roasting device <NUM>.

The roasting device <NUM> opens (<FIG>) and one of the containers <NUM> or <NUM> plugged in the grinding device <NUM> is unplugged from it (<FIG>) so it can receive the roasted beans coming from the roasting device <NUM> (<FIG>). Typically, the roasting device <NUM> will comprise a removable basket to where the unroasted and/or partially roasted beans are delivered from the container <NUM> and where they are later roasted. The basket will be able to be removed from the roasting device <NUM> and then the roasted beans can be sent into a container <NUM> or <NUM> that will be later plugged into a grinding device <NUM> (<FIG>).

<FIG> shows schematically the roasting step in the system of the invention. Once the roasting is finished, grinding takes place (<FIG>) and the grinded coffee (coffee blend) is sent into a product holder <NUM> (<FIG>) that will be then plugged into a preparation or extraction device <NUM>: the beverage preparation in the preparation or extraction device <NUM> and its delivery into a cup <NUM> is sown in <FIG>.

<FIG> and <FIG> show schematically different types of coffee beans that can be in different containers <NUM>, <NUM> so different coffee blends can be prepared. The system of the invention allows a high versatility and the containers <NUM>, <NUM> can be quickly plugged and unplugged in the grinding or dispensing device <NUM> (plug and play type system).

According to a second object, the invention relates to a method for roasting and grinding coffee beans according to claim <NUM>, using a roasting and grinding apparatus according to any of the claims <NUM> or <NUM>.

According to a third object, the invention relates, according to claim <NUM>, to the use of a roasting and grinding apparatus according to any of the claims <NUM>-<NUM>.

Claim 1:
Grinding and extraction apparatus for roasted coffee beans comprising a grinding device (<NUM>) and an associated extraction device (<NUM>);
the grinding device (<NUM>) comprising one or more housings for receiving one or more beans containers (<NUM>, <NUM>) with roasted coffee beans of the same or different types; the grinding device (<NUM>) comprising a control unit configured to adapt the grinding size and the quantity of roasted coffee beans for obtaining a certain coffee blend from each beans container to be grinded according to a recipes database (<NUM>) comprising the beverage information associated to the beverage to be prepared;
the extraction device (<NUM>) being configured for receiving a product holder (<NUM>) and comprising reading means (<NUM>) to identify the beverage information in a product holder identification means (<NUM>), the extraction device (<NUM>) further comprising a control unit to extract the beverage according to the beverage information retrieved and/or from the beverage information retrieved from a beverage database in this control unit,
the grinding and extraction apparatus for roasted coffee-beans is characterized in that the grinding device (<NUM>) further comprising an encoder (<NUM>) to encode the beverage information on programmable identification means (<NUM>) on the product holder (<NUM>) in the grinding device (<NUM>), to where the grinded coffee is sent.