Patent ID: 7178452

Claim:
In an espresso machine having a rotating ceramic disk valve as a selective water-steam distributor, a drive motor connected to the ceramic disk valve via a driving connection to rotate the ceramic disk valve to a desired angular positioning, and a control device for controlling the drive motor, the improvement comprising: a Geneva gear incorporated into the driving connection between the drive motor and the rotating ceramic disk valve, with the Geneva gear setting the position of the rotating ceramic disk valve in make-and-break cycles, and the control device including means for switching off the drive motor after at least one make-and-break cycle of the Geneva gear, wherein the Geneva gear includes: a Geneva disk having a plurality of radially extending drive slots distributed about its circumference, a rotating drive element connected to the drive motor and having a drive pin formed such that the drive pin extends into one of the drive slots over the course of only a portion of a revolution of the drive element and carries the Geneva disk along for one make-and-break cycle when the drive element rotates, a fixing latch disposed on the circumference of the Geneva disk between each two respective adjacent drive slots, and a fixing element disposed on the drive element and engaging a respective latch in the rotational positions of the Geneva disk when a make-and-break cycle ends.