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EP-4739178-A1 - KITCHEN DISPENSING ASSEMBLY

EP4739178A1EP 4739178 A1EP4739178 A1EP 4739178A1EP-4739178-A1

Abstract

Provided is a kitchen dispensing assembly (100) having a brewing vessel (102) and a granular material dispenser for dispensing granular material (105) into the brewing vessel. A closure member is provided for closing the brewing vessel containing the granular material. A closing system is configured to cause relative movement of the closure member and the brewing vessel so that the closure member closes the brewing vessel. A user-actuatable element (LEV) is manually moveable by a user. The closing system is configured so that, in an operational mode of the kitchen dispensing assembly, the relative movement of the closure member and the brewing vessel to close the brewing vessel is implemented automatically in a delayed closing operation that is delayed relative to the movement of the user-actuatable element, to allow the dispensing of the granular material into the brewing vessel before the brewing vessel is closed by the closure member.

Inventors

  • BRUINSMA, RODIN ENNE
  • RIJSKAMP, PETER
  • HOLWERDA, Simon Renze
  • DE VRIES, Joahnnes Hotze Bernhard

Assignees

  • Versuni Holding B.V.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20250911

Claims (15)

  1. 1. A kitchen dispensing assembly (100) comprising: a brewing vessel (102) mountable in, and demountable from, the kitchen dispensing assembly; a granular material dispenser for dispensing granular material (105) into the mounted brewing vessel; a closure member for closing the brewing vessel containing the granular material, a closing system being configured to cause relative movement of the closure member and the brewing vessel so that the closure member closes the brewing vessel; and a user-actuatable element (LEV) that is manually moveable by a user, relative to the mounted brewing vessel, from a first position to a second position, the closing system being configured so that, in an operational mode of the kitchen dispensing assembly, the relative movement of the closure member and the brewing vessel to close the brewing vessel is implemented automatically in a delayed closing operation that is delayed relative to the movement of the user-actuatable element to allow the dispensing of the granular material into the brewing vessel before the brewing vessel is closed by the closure member, wherein the kitchen dispensing assembly is configured to require demounting of the brewing vessel from the kitchen dispensing assembly by the user to enable emptying of the granular material from the brewing vessel, characterized in that the kitchen dispensing assembly comprises a mechanical energy store (MES) configured to store mechanical energy from the user’s movement of the user-actuatable element (LEV), the mechanical energy store being arranged to release the stored mechanical energy automatically to implement the delayed closing operation.
  2. 2. The kitchen dispensing assembly (100) according to claim 1, wherein the mechanical energy store comprises a resilient member (RM) deformable to store the mechanical energy.
  3. 3. The kitchen dispensing assembly (100) according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the granular material dispenser is configured to dispense the granular material (105) into the mounted brewing vessel (102) subject to the user-actuatable element (LEV) being moved by the user. 2024PF00012 11.09.2025 23
  4. 4. The kitchen dispensing assembly (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a locking mechanism configured to lock the kitchen dispensing assembly in a filling configuration in which the granular material dispenser is able to dispense the granular material (105) into the brewing vessel (102), the locking mechanism being automatically unlockable to implement the delayed closing operation.
  5. 5. The kitchen dispensing assembly (100) according to claim 4 as according to claim 2, wherein the mechanical energy store (MES) is configured to release the stored mechanical energy when the locking mechanism is unlocked.
  6. 6. The kitchen dispensing assembly (100) according to claim 4 or claim 5, comprising an electromechanical, motorized, pneumatic and/or hydraulic system arranged to automatically unlock the locking mechanism to implement the delayed closing operation.
  7. 7. The kitchen dispensing assembly (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the user-actuatable element (LEV) comprises a lever moveable by the user between the first position and the second position.
  8. 8. The kitchen dispensing assembly (100) according to claim 7, wherein the lever is moveable in a downwards or upwards direction, when the kitchen dispensing assembly is orientated for use, when being moved between the first position and the second position; optionally wherein the lever is moveable in the downwards direction when being moved from the first position to the second position.
  9. 9. The kitchen dispensing assembly (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the closing system is configured so that, in a further operational mode of the kitchen dispensing assembly, the relative movement of the closure member and the brewing vessel (102) to close the brewing vessel is implemented without delay relative to the movement of the user-actuatable element (LEV), or with less delay than that used to delay the delayed closing operation.
  10. 10. The kitchen dispensing assembly (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the closure member comprises a tamper head (106), and the closing system is configured to drive relative movement of the tamper head and the brewing vessel (102) to tamp 2024PF00012 11.09.2025 24 the granular material (105) received in the brewing vessel during the relative movement of the closure member and the brewing vessel.
  11. 11. The kitchen dispensing assembly (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the granular material dispenser comprises a grinding assembly for grinding material to form the granular material (105).
  12. 12. The kitchen dispensing assembly (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, comprising one or more of an electromechanical system, a motorized system, a hydraulic assembly, and a pneumatic system configured to enable relative movement of the closure member and the brewing vessel (102) so that the closure member closes the brewing vessel.
  13. 13. The kitchen dispensing assembly (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, comprising a liquid dispenser (110) for delivering liquid into the brewing vessel (102) containing the granular material (105).
  14. 14. The kitchen dispensing assembly (100) according to claim 13 as according to claim 6, comprising the hydraulic system (112) arranged to automatically unlock the locking mechanism to implement the delayed closing operation, the hydraulic system being further arranged to deliver the liquid into the brewing vessel containing the granular material (105).
  15. 15. The kitchen dispensing assembly (100) according to claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the liquid dispenser (110) is arranged to deliver the liquid into the brewing vessel (102) containing the granular material (105) while the brewing vessel remains mounted in the kitchen dispensing assembly, and wherein the kitchen dispensing assembly is configured to require demounting of the brewing vessel from the kitchen dispensing assembly by the user to enable emptying of the granular material from the brewing vessel following the delivery of the liquid into the brewing vessel containing the granular material; or wherein the kitchen dispensing assembly is configured to require demounting of the brewing vessel, containing the granular material, therefrom, and remounting of the brewing vessel containing the granular material in the kitchen dispensing assembly in a brewing position that enables the liquid dispenser to deliver the liquid into the brewing vessel containing the granular material.

Description

2024PF00012 11.09.2025 1 KITCHEN DISPENSING ASSEMBLY FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a kitchen dispensing assembly, for example a beverage machine or a ground coffee dispenser. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There are many different types of commercially available kitchen dispensing assemblies, e.g. beverage machines and ground coffee dispensers. Such kitchen dispensing assemblies can vary in terms of how much a user is required to interact with the beverage machine during use. In a manual espresso machine, the user fills a brewing vessel, which brewing vessel is included in a so-called portafilter, with coffee grounds. The user then tamps the coffee grounds within the brewing vessel with sufficient pressure to create a so-called puck of ground coffee. The brewing vessel containing the puck is mounted to the coffee machine, usually via a bayonet-type coupling. Next, the coffee machine drives hot water through the puck and the resulting coffee is dispensed via a spout that is typically integrated in the portafilter. After brewing, the user is required to disconnect the portafilter from the coffee machine, and empty the portafilter, throwing away the used coffee grounds. There are also manual espresso machines with an integrated grinder. In such machines, the portafilter may be movable by the user between a first position where it receives ground coffee and a second position where coffee is brewed. Tamping may be done manually or via a manually operated lever. In a fully automatic espresso machine, all of the above-mentioned steps are done automatically, in one and the same machine. The machine comprises a bean container and a grinder, to make the coffee grounds. These grounds are transported into a brewing vessel and tamped automatically, via a piston that may be hydraulically actuated or actuated via an electromotor. Next, hot water is driven through the coffee grounds in the brewing vessel, coffee is brewed and dispensed, and the used coffee grounds are discharged from the brewing vessel into a waste bin within the machine. By these steps being implemented automatically, the fully 2024PF00012 11.09.2025 2 automatic espresso machine can save the user time. Moreover, consistent results are achievable due to the machine being capable of implementing the steps more repeatably than a user. In some kitchen dispensing assemblies, for example so-called semi-automatic espresso machines, a portafilter may be manually mounted in the assembly, and a lever is provided for lowering a piston to close the portafilter and/or tamp the ground coffee therein. The user may need to wait until the portafilter has been filled with ground coffee before she/he can operate the lever, which can be inconvenient. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is defined by the claims. According to examples in accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided a kitchen dispensing assembly comprising: a brewing vessel mountable in, and demountable from, the kitchen dispensing assembly; a granular material dispenser for dispensing granular material into the mounted brewing vessel; a closure member for closing the brewing vessel containing the granular material, a closing system being configured to cause relative movement of the closure member and the brewing vessel so that the closure member closes the brewing vessel; and a user-actuatable element that is manually moveable by a user, relative to the mounted brewing vessel, from a first position to a second position, the closing system being configured so that, in an operational mode of the kitchen dispensing assembly, the relative movement of the closure member and the brewing vessel to close the brewing vessel is implemented automatically in a delayed closing operation that is delayed relative to the movement of the user-actuatable element to allow the dispensing of the granular material into the brewing vessel before the brewing vessel is closed by the closure member, wherein the kitchen dispensing assembly is configured to require demounting of the brewing vessel from the kitchen dispensing assembly by the user to enable emptying of the granular material from the brewing vessel. By requiring demounting of the brewing vessel by the user to enable emptying of the granular material from the brewing vessel, the kitchen dispensing assembly can be regarded as requiring demounting of the brewing vessel following each dispensing cycle performed using the kitchen dispensing assembly. Following demounting of the brewing vessel, the user can empty the used granular material from the brewing vessel, e.g. into a suitable waste container. The user can also clean the demounted brewing vessel while it is demounted from the kitchen dispensing assembly, thereby helping to ensure that the brewing vessel is 2024PF00012 11.09.2025 3 appropriately clean prior to initiating a new dispensing cycle by remounting the brewing vessel in the kitchen dispensing assembly. The delayed closing ope