US-12622542-B2 - Automatically adjustable coffee grinder for a coffee brewing system

Abstract

A grinder for grinding whole coffee beans into coffee grounds with automatically adjustable coarseness. The grinder comprise a burr assembly for grinding whole coffee beans, which comprises an inner burr having a side surface that is slanted and abrasive or serrated, and an outer burr surrounding the inner burr. The side surface of the inner burr and the outer burr define a gap. The grinder comprise a main motor configured to provide a first rotational movement to the inner burr. A second motor is configured to adjust a vertical position of the inner burr relative to the outer burr, wherein changes in the vertical position of the inner burr relative to the outer burr changes the gap between the inner burr and the outer burr. A coarseness of the coffee grounds depends on the gap between the inner burr and the outer burr.

Inventors

• Qiliang Xu
• Rui Zhou

Assignees

• TBDx Inc.

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20230313

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A grinder for grinding whole coffee beans into coffee grounds with automatically adjustable coarseness, comprising: a burr assembly for grinding whole coffee beans, comprising: an inner burr having a side surface that is slanted and abrasive or serrated; and an outer burr surrounding the inner burr, wherein the side surface of the inner burr and the outer burr define a gap; a main motor configured to provide a first rotational movement to the inner burr; a main shaft having one end attached to the inner burr, wherein the main shaft is configured to transfer the first rotational movement provided by the main motor to the inner burr; a second motor configured to adjust a vertical position of the main shaft and the inner burr relative to the outer burr, wherein changes in the vertical position of the inner burr relative to the outer burr cause changes in the gap between the inner burr and the outer burr; and a controller configured to control the main motor and the second motor; wherein a coarseness of the coffee grounds depends on the gap between the inner burr and the outer burr.
2. 2 . The grinder of claim 1 , wherein the second motor is a stepper motor configured to provide a second rotational movement used for adjusting the vertical position of the main shaft and the inner burr.
3. 3 . The grinder of claim 2 , further comprising: a plurality of gears configured to transfer the second rotational movement into a linear movement for adjusting the vertical position of the main shaft and the inner burr.
4. 4 . The grinder of claim 1 , wherein the inner burr and the main shaft rotate along an axis of the main shaft.
5. 5 . The grinder of claim 1 , wherein the outer burr is stationary and fixed to a housing.
6. 6 . The grinder of claim 1 , wherein the burr assembly is configured to receive the whole coffee beans from above and output the coffee grounds through an opening below the burr assembly.
7. 7 . The grinder of claim 1 , wherein the inner burr is configured to move downward relative to the outer burr to increase the coarseness of the coffee grounds.
8. 8 . The grinder of claim 1 , wherein the inner burr is configured to move upward relative to the outer burr to decrease the coarseness of the coffee grounds.
9. 9 . The grinder of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to calibrate the grinder by causing the inner burr to return to a zero position where the gap is at a minimum.
10. 10 . The grinder of claim 1 , wherein the inner burr has a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the bottom surface is larger than the top surface.
11. 11 . The grinder of claim 1 , wherein the inner burr has a conical shape.
12. 12 . The grinder of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to automatically adjust the vertical position of the inner burr relative to the outer burr based on a brewing recipe specifying a desired coarseness of the coffee grounds.
13. 13 . The grinder of claim 12 , wherein the brewing recipe is selected based on an identification tag associated with a capsule holding the whole coffee beans.
14. 14 . The grinder of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to automatically adjust the vertical position of the inner burr relative to the outer burr based on an input provided by a user through a user interface.
15. 15 . The grinder of claim 14 , wherein the user interface is provided by an application installed on a user device.
16. 16 . The grinder of claim 1 , wherein the burr assembly has a layer of nitride compound.
17. 17 . The grinder of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to cause a capsule dock to be positioned underneath the grinder before initiating a grinding operation, wherein the capsule dock is configured to hold a capsule for catching the coffee grounds output by the grinder.
18. 18 . The grinder of claim 17 , wherein the controller is configured to cause the capsule dock to be positioned underneath a water dispenser after a completion of the grinding operations.
19. 19 . The grinder of claim 1 , wherein the grinder is integrated within a coffee brewing system.
20. 20 . The grinder of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to measure an output torque of the main motor to detect whether the gap between the inner burr and the outer burr is at a correct position.

Description

PRIORITY The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/319,723, filed on Mar. 14, 2022. Additionally, the present application is a continuation-in-part under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/890,803, filed on Aug. 18, 2022, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/319,723, filed on Mar. 14, 2022. Additionally, the present application is a continuation-in-part under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/890,812, filed on Aug. 18, 2022, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/319,723, filed on Mar. 14, 2022. All of the applications identified above are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND Existing capsule-based coffee machines extract coffee from coffee grounds that are pre-packaged in a capsule (or “pod”) with only one or a few fixed brewing settings/options. These brewing options cannot be adjusted or optimized for the particular coffee grounds used. Therefore, their ability to extract the flavors of many different coffee varieties to the full extent is limited. This limitation, combined with the lack of freshness in pre-ground coffee, has contributed to a large difference in quality between a black coffee served in a boutique café and one prepared by a conventional capsule-based coffee machine. For example, in a boutique café, a barista often perfects the cup of coffee with their understanding of the coffee beans and a unique choice of extraction parameters, including grind size, water temperature, coffee-to-water ratio, pouring methods, etc. Therefore, there is no easy, affordable and convenient solution on the market that enables the complete customization of brewing recipes and produces café-quality black coffee at home. It is now recognized that a need exists for a capsule-based brewer capable of providing customized brewing recipes to produce high quality brewed beverages, such as coffee, in any environment where a high-quality beverage is desired. SUMMARY The present disclosure is directed to a single-serving beverage brewing system that includes an electronic reader to read an identification tag that may correspond to a brewing recipe, a grinder to grind a brewing agent (e.g., coffee beans) into ground powder (e.g., coffee grounds) with adjustable coarseness, a capsule dock to move the ground powders in a pod or a reusable dripper, a brewer to dispense water for brewing the single-serving beverage from the ground powders, and a pod or a useable dripper to hold the ground powder during the extraction process. This system is designed to provide a convenient and efficient way of brewing coffee. Particular embodiments are directed to an automatically adjustable coffee grinder that includes a main motor configured to provide and output a rotational movement, a main gearbox configured to output a rotational movement to be coupled with the movement output from the main motor, a main shaft configured to transfer the coupled movement output by the main motor and the main gearbox, and a burr assembly configured to receive the coupled movement through the main shaft. The coffee grinder is configured to automatically grind and make powders of coffee beans with adjustable grind sizes. The main gearbox includes a stepper motor, a plurality of gears, and a secondary shaft that connects the stepper motor and the gears. The burr assembly comprises an inner burr that rotates along the axial of the main shaft and an outer burr that is stationary and encases the inner burr. The inner burr has a conical shape, and the burr assembly is made of stainless steel treated with nitriding. To adjust the grind size, the inner burr is configured to move upwards or downwards together with the main shaft resulting in an adjustment of the gap between the inner burr and the outer burr, and any stray particles that escape during the grinding process are collected by a magnetic tunnel situated below the outer burr. Particular embodiments are directed to a coffee brewing system, comprising: a grinder configured for grinding whole coffee beans into coffee grounds with adjustable coarseness, wherein the grinder is configured to receive the whole coffee beans through a first opening above the grinder and dispense the coffee grounds through a second opening below the grinder; a brewer configured to dispense water for brewing coffee through a third opening below the brewer, wherein the brewer is positioned laterally relative to the grinder; a capsule dock configured to (a) hold a capsule containing a coffee filter and (b) translate the capsule from a first position under the second opening of the grinder to a second position under the third opening below the brewer; and a controller configured to control the grinder, brewer, and capsule dock. In particular embodiments, the capsule dock comprises a haptic sensor, and