Search

KR-102963537-B1 - COFFEE MACHINE

KR102963537B1KR 102963537 B1KR102963537 B1KR 102963537B1KR-102963537-B1

Abstract

A coffee machine (10) including a main body is provided. The main body includes: a circuit for providing coffee, having an inlet that can be hydraulically connected to a water supply line; a central processing and control unit (20) configured to control at least the circuit for providing coffee; a communication interface (22) configured to be connected to a communication network (50); a sensor system for detecting parameters related to operational abnormalities or potential failures of the coffee machine (10) occurring inside the main body; and a peripheral processing unit (40) connected at least to the sensor system, wherein the peripheral processing unit is configured to perform a first local processing of data detected by the sensors (12, 13) and transmit the locally processed data to one or more remote servers (30) via the communication interface (22).

Inventors

  • 친골라니, 클라우디오 엔리코
  • 파리니, 마우로

Assignees

  • 시모넬리 그룹 에스.피.에이.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20201008
Priority Date
20191011

Claims (14)

  1. In a coffee machine (10) including a main body, The above main body is, A circuit for providing coffee, having an inlet that can be hydraulically connected to a water supply line; A power switch device (60) configured to allow or block the flow of power to a first electric heating element (105); At least a central processing and control unit (20) configured to control a circuit for providing the above coffee; A communication interface (22) connected to the central processing and control unit (20) and configured to be connected to a communication network (50); A sensor system for detecting parameters related to operational abnormalities or potential failures of the coffee machine (10) occurring inside the main body; At least a peripheral processing unit (40) connected to the sensor system above - the peripheral processing unit is configured to perform a first local processing of data detected by the sensors (12, 13) and transmit the locally processed data to one or more remote servers (30) via the communication interface (22) - Includes, The circuit for providing the above coffee is, A pump (102) configured to apply pressure to the water arriving from the above water supply line; A first boiler (104) that is directly or indirectly hydraulically connected to the pump (102) and includes at least the first electric heating element (105); and At least one dispensing group (107, 108) hydraulically connected to the first boiler (104) and controlled by each first solenoid valve (109) A coffee machine (10) including
  2. In paragraph 1, The above at least one providing group (107, 108) is, At least a second electric heating element (110) Includes, The above power switch device (60) is, Configured to allow or block the flow of power to at least one second electric heating element (203), Coffee machine (10).
  3. In paragraph 1, The above main body is, Circuit for providing steam and/or heated water Includes more, The circuit for providing the above steam and/or heated water is, A second boiler (201) hydraulically connected to the pump (102) - said connection is controlled by a fourth solenoid valve (209), and said second boiler (201) includes at least one third electric heating element (203) - ; One or more steam delivery ducts (205) hydraulically connected to the second boiler (201) - said steam delivery is controlled by each second solenoid valve (206) - ; One or more ducts (207) for delivering heated water, hydraulically connected to the second boiler (201) and the pump (102) so as to mix the water arriving from the water supply line and the water arriving from the second boiler (201) - the delivery of the heated water is controlled by each third solenoid valve (208) - Includes, The above power switch device (60) is, Configured to allow or block the flow of power to at least one third electric heating element (203), Coffee machine (10).
  4. In paragraph 1, The above sensor system is, One or more omnidirectional microphones (12) disposed inside the main body A coffee machine (10) including
  5. In paragraph 4, At least one of the above microphones (12) is, Sensitive to audible sound frequencies, Coffee machine (10).
  6. In paragraph 4, At least one of the above microphones (12) is, Sensitive to ultrasonic frequencies, Coffee machine (10).
  7. In paragraph 1, The above sensor system is, One or more vibration sensors (13) located in at least one component belonging to a group of components including the pump (102), the solenoid valves (109, 206, 208, 209), and the power switch device (60) A coffee machine (10) including
  8. In Paragraph 7, At least one of the above vibration sensors (13) is, accelerometer, Coffee machine (10).
  9. In Paragraph 7, At least one of the above vibration sensors (13) is, gyroscope Coffee machine (10).
  10. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 9, The above sensor system is, One or more temperature sensors (14) and/or one or more humidity sensors (15) disposed inside the main body A coffee machine (10) including
  11. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 9, A dedicated processing and control unit (23) connected to the central processing and control unit (20) and a provided display (21) Includes, The above communication interface (22) is, Connected to the above central processing and control unit (20) and/or the above dedicated processing and control unit (23), Coffee machine (10).
  12. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 9, The above peripheral processing unit (40) is, Directly connected to the above communication interface (22), Coffee machine (10).
  13. In any one of paragraphs 1 through 9, The above peripheral processing unit (40) is, Directly connected to the above central processing and control unit (20), Coffee machine (10).
  14. In Paragraph 11, The above peripheral processing unit (40) is, Directly connected to the dedicated processing and control unit (23) above, Coffee machine (10).

Description

Coffee Machine The present invention relates to a coffee machine, such as, for example, an espresso coffee machine, or a machine for dispensing coffee. As is known, coffee machines include a number of components and devices of hydraulic, electric, electric-mechanical, and electronic types that are subject to wear and failure, such as pumps, mixers, dispensers, valves, and contactors. To ensure the proper operation of the coffee machine, damaged or worn components and devices must be replaced. To perform these maintenance tasks, the machine must be stopped, and consequently, the machine will be in an unproductive state for a certain period. It is known that preventive maintenance interventions are scheduled at predetermined times, such as after a certain number of coffees have been served, or every three or six months after the machine has been in operation, in order to minimize the negative impact of maintenance on the productivity of the coffee machine. In the case of these scheduled preventive maintenance interventions, components that are subject to wear and potential damage are replaced regardless of their actual functional state. Preventive maintenance can limit the cost of loss of function due to breakdowns, allow for better planning of operator usage, organize a spare parts warehouse, and reduce machine downtime. However, preventive maintenance can lead to unnecessary adjustments at the expense of some of the useful life of components. Furthermore, due to time and cost constraints, preventive maintenance cannot cover all components of a coffee machine, and components with low actual risk are excluded from periodic replacement. A potential solution to these drawbacks is so-called preventive maintenance, in which maintenance adjustments are scheduled based on the analysis of data regarding the functional status of various components and devices. In particular, when such a mathematical model is the result of analyzing historical data collected from a large number of sample machines, a preventive maintenance program can predict possible failures or services by correlating a mathematical model representing the useful life of the component itself with data regarding the current functional state of the machine's components. Therefore, preventive maintenance leads to the optimization of maintenance services, reduction of maintenance costs, improvement of machine reliability, and reduction of standstills, as well as the automatic determination of the root cause of failures. Figure 1 is a hydraulic diagram of a coffee machine. FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c are three block diagrams relating to three alternative embodiments of a coffee machine according to the present invention connected to a remote server by a telecommunications network (50). Referring to the drawing, a coffee machine is shown and is displayed as 10 overall. This coffee machine (10) includes a main body that includes a circuit for dispensing coffee. The circuit for providing the coffee comprises an inlet that can be hydraulically connected to a water supply line, for example, by a tap (101). The supply line may be hydraulically connected to a tray containing water, or may be an end part of a hydraulic distribution system in a room where the coffee machine (10) is located. Additionally, the circuit for providing the coffee comprises a pump (102) downstream of the tap, which is configured to pressurize the water arriving from the supply line to a pressure between 1 and 15 bar, for example, and deliver it through a delivery duct (103) to a first boiler (104), also called a "coffee boiler." Thus, the coffee boiler (105) is hydraulically connected to the pump (102) either directly or indirectly. The coffee boiler (104) is partially filled with water, and at least a first electric heating element (105), such as a resistance, is provided, configured to heat the water contained in the coffee boiler (104). Additionally, the coffee boiler (104) may be provided with a thermostat or a temperature probe to control the temperature of the water, the latter being capable of substantially reaching a first predetermined temperature, such as 90°C. The circuit for providing the coffee includes at least one extraction tube (106) that draws heated pressurized water into the coffee boiler (104) to extract and transport it to each dispensing group. Thus, each dispensing group is hydraulically connected to the coffee boiler (104). Each dispensing group includes a diffuser (107) provided with a shower head (108) through which water outflows. The delivery of water through the dispensing group is controlled by a first solenoid valve (109). The shower head (108) is mechanically coupled to a filter and a filter holder in which coffee can be housed for extraction purposes. Additionally, each providing group may include at least a second electric heating element (110), such as a resistor, suitable for heating the diffuser (107) to maintain its temperature substantially constant, equal