U.S. patent application number 13/350083 was filed with the patent office on 2012-07-26 for beverage machine.
This patent application is currently assigned to WMF WUERTTEMBERGISCHE METALLWARENFABRIK AG. Invention is credited to Peter Arndt, Michael Jaeger, Armin Startz.
Application Number | 20120187269 13/350083 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45507464 |
Filed Date | 2012-07-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120187269 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Startz; Armin ; et
al. |
July 26, 2012 |
BEVERAGE MACHINE
Abstract
A beverage machine (1), in particular a fully automatic coffee
machine has an adjusting device (2) for height-adjusting a cup
platform (3). The adjusting device (2) encompasses two parallel,
vertical toothed belt/chain drives (4, 4'), which are connected to
one another in a torque proof manner at an upper/lower end via a
shaft (5) and that the cup platform (3) encompasses two lateral
guide carriages (6, 6'), which can be coupled to the respectively
assigned toothed belt/chain drive (4, 4').
Inventors: |
Startz; Armin;
(Weidenstetten, DE) ; Arndt; Peter; (Blaustein,
DE) ; Jaeger; Michael; (Kuchen, DE) |
Assignee: |
WMF WUERTTEMBERGISCHE
METALLWARENFABRIK AG
Geislingen/Steige
DE
|
Family ID: |
45507464 |
Appl. No.: |
13/350083 |
Filed: |
January 13, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/346.06 ;
248/346.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47J 31/4482
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
248/346.06 ;
248/346.01 |
International
Class: |
A47F 7/28 20060101
A47F007/28 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 24, 2011 |
DE |
10 2011 003 070.0 |
Claims
1. A beverage machine (1), comprising an adjusting device (2) for
height-adjusting a cup platform (3), characterized in, that the
adjusting device (2) encompasses two parallel, vertical toothed
belt/chain drives (4, 4'), which are connected to one another in a
torque proof manner at an upper/lower end via a shaft (5), that the
cup platform (3) encompasses two lateral guide carriages (6, 6'),
which can be coupled to the respectively assigned toothed
belt/chain drive (4, 4').
2. The beverage machine of claim 1, characterized in, that the two
guide carriages (6, 6') in each case encompass two rollers (7), by
means of which they are guided in corresponding guide tracks (8,
8').
3. The beverage machine of claim 2, characterized in, that the cup
platform (3) can be removed from the adjusting device (2) together
with the guide carriages (6, 6') and/or that the adjusting device
(2) can be removed from the beverage machine (1).
4. The beverage machine of claim 2, characterized in, that the
guide tracks (8, 8') are located in an area, which can be accessed
for cleaning purposes, whereas the vertical toothed belt/chain
drives (4, 4') are arranged so as to be covered.
5. The beverage machine of claim 1, characterized in, that a
gripper element (10) is arranged at each guide carriage (6, 6'), by
means of which a connection to the corresponding toothed belt/chain
drive (4, 4') can be established in that the gripper element (10)
engages with a recess at the corresponding toothed belt or at a
corresponding chain of the toothed belt/chain drive (4, 4').
6. The beverage machine of claim 1, characterized in, in that the
adjusting device (2) can be adjusted manually or by means of a
motor.
7. The beverage machine of claim 1, characterized in, that
provision is made in the area of the toothed belt/chain drive (4,
4') for a magnetic brake (14), which decelerates a downwards
movement of the cup platform (3).
8. The beverage machine of claim 7, characterized in, that the
magnetic brake (14) encompasses a freewheel assembly (18) in a
direction of rotation, so that an unbraked upwards movement of the
cup platform (3) is possible.
9. The beverage machine of claim 7, characterized in, that the
magnetic brake (14) is flange-mounted to the shaft (5) of the
toothed belt/chain drive (4, 4').
10. The beverage machine of claim 7, characterized in, that the
magnetic brake (14) encompasses a gear mechanism (15) and a
flywheel mass (16).
11. An adjusting device (2) for the beverage machine (1) of claim
7.
12. A magnetic brake (14) for the adjusting device (2) of claim 11.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The instant invention relates to a beverage machine, in
particular a fully automatic coffee machine, comprising an
adjusting device for height-adjusting a cup platform according to
the preamble of claim 1. The invention furthermore relates to an
adjusting device for such a beverage machine as well as to a
magnetic brake for such an adjusting device.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Different cup sizes and an increasing variety of beverages,
which are to be prepared, make it necessary to design an outlet
level of beverage machine, in particular of a coffee machine, to be
adjustable. Most of the beverage machines or coffee machines,
respectively, thus operate with height-adjustable outlets. However,
these outlets become more and more complex, because lines of steam
boilers, milk containers, mixed chocolate beverages, syrup or
coffee increasingly lead to the outlet area of the beverage
machine. The height adjustment of such complex outlets thus becomes
more and more difficult and more susceptible to breakdowns, because
parts of the outlets must partly be cleaned every day by the
customer, which additionally increases the complexity. New
generations of beverage machines thus already operate with
height-adjustable cup platforms.
[0005] The invention relates to an improved beverage machine that
provides simple handling.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The instant invention is based on the general idea of
providing a beverage machine comprising an adjusting device for
height-adjusting a cup platform, which is known per se, with two
parallel, vertical toothed belt/chain drives, which are connected
to one another in a torque proof manner at an upper/lower end via a
shaft. The corresponding height-adjustable cup platform encompasses
lateral guide carriages, which can be coupled to the respective
assigned toothed belt/chain drive. The beverage machine according
to the invention thus provides for an adjustment of the cup
platform, which does not jam, because it is guided twofold, wherein
the lateral guiding of the cup platform additionally keeps clear an
area of a set-up surface of the cup platform, which typically
contains a container for the grounds and which must partly be
emptied several times a day by the customer. To empty the container
for the grounds, the user of the beverage machine must thus only
move the cup platform downwards and must not remove it laboriously,
as was necessary before. By means of the bilateral guiding and the
connection of the two toothed belt/chain drives via the shaft,
which is preferably located on top, a jamming can additionally be
avoided, even in response to a one-sided actuation of the cup
platform, whereby the use and handling of the beverage machine
according to the invention and of the adjusting device according to
the invention as a whole are simplified considerably.
[0007] In the case of an advantageous further development of the
solution according to the invention, the cup platform together with
the guide carriage can be removed from the adjusting device and/or
the adjusting device can be removed from the beverage machine. Both
embodiments ensure a simple removal of the respective component for
cleaning purposes, whereby the use and in particular also the
maintenance of the beverage machine according to the invention is
simplified considerably, in particular for laypersons. The easy
removability of the cup platform or of the adjusting device is
indispensable, because contaminations, for example when beverage
container overflow, can occur easily, in particular in the area of
the cup platform. The use of the beverage machine is thus
facilitated considerably for the customer by means of the flexible
disassembly possibility of the cup platform or of the adjusting
device, respectively.
[0008] Advantageously, provision is made in the area of the toothed
belt/chain drive for a magnetic brake, which decelerates a movement
of the cup platform downwards. In response to the downward
movement, this magnetic brake applies a holding torque, which means
that the lowering of the cup platform is avoided up to a
predetermined force, for example up to 20 N. The magnetic brake
thereby works such that a magnetic detent torque (holding torque)
is generated. In the event a shaft of the magnetic brake starts to
move when this detent torque is exceeded, the magnetic forces of
attraction and repulsion of the magnetic brake are approximately
cancelled out or reduce the braking torque to a considerably
smaller value than the detent torque, respectively. To be able to
reduce the necessary torques from the shaft of the toothed
belt/chain drive to the magnetic brake, provision can be made
within the magnetic brake for a gear mechanism. In addition,
provision can be made for a freewheel assembly, which provides for
a free upwards movement of the cup platform and which releases the
magnetic brake in response to an upwards movement of the cup
platform, because a holding torque and also a braking torque are
not required here. To improve a surface feel in response to the
adjusting movement, an additional flywheel mass, which acts like a
friction drive in the case of toy vehicles, for examples, can be
arranged in/at the magnetic brake, and can thus ensure a
significant start-up as well as a smooth stop.
[0009] In the case of a further advantageous embodiment of the
solution according to the invention, the adjusting device can be
adjustable manually or by means of a corresponding motor. Depending
on the equipment line of the beverage machine or of the
corresponding adjusting device, respectively, a purely manual or a
motor-supported height adjustment of the cup platform can thus take
place.
[0010] Further important features and advantages of the invention
follow from the subclaims, from the drawings and from the
corresponding figure description by means of the drawings.
[0011] It goes without saying that the above-mentioned features and
the features, which will still be specified below, cannot only be
used in the respectively specified combination, but also in other
combinations or alone, without leaving the context of the instant
invention.
[0012] Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are
illustrated in the drawings and will be defined in more detail in
the following description, wherein the same reference numerals
refer to the same components or to similar or functionally equal
components.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 shows an adjusting device according to the invention
for a beverage machine.
[0014] FIG. 2 shows a detailed illustration of a guide carriage in
a corresponding guide track.
[0015] FIG. 3 shows an illustration as in FIG. 2, but from a
different perspective.
[0016] FIG. 4 shows a sectional illustration through a magnetic
brake according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0017] According to FIG. 1, the beverage machine 1 according to the
invention, which can be embodied as a fully automatic coffee
machine, for example, encompasses an adjusting device 2 for
height-adjusting a cup platform 3. The adjusting device 2 according
to the invention has two parallel, vertical toothed belt/chain
drives 4 and 4', which are connected to one another in a torque
proof manner at an upper end via a shaft 5. The shaft 5 thereby
ensures a steady adjustment of the two toothed belt/chain drives 4
and 4'. In addition, the cup platform 3 has two lateral guide
carriages 6 and 6', which can be coupled to the respectively
assigned toothed belt/chain drive 4, 4'. The two guide carriages 6,
6' thereby have two rollers 7 in each case (see also FIG. 3), by
means of which they are guided in corresponding guide tracks 8, 8'
of the adjusting device 2.
[0018] By means of the bilateral guiding of the cup platforms 3 via
the two guide carriages 6, 6', an adjustment of the cup platform 3
can be obtained without tilting, even if it is only lifted or
lowered on one side, respectively. At the same time, the embodiment
and storage of the cup platform 3 according to the invention via
the two lateral guide carriages 6, 6' provides the large advantage
that a space 9, which is arranged behind it and in which a
container for the grounds is typically arranged, remains freely
accessible, so that the adjusting device 2 or the cup platform 3,
respectively, must no longer be removed laboriously for emptying
the container for the grounds, as was necessary before. In the case
of the adjusting device 2 according to the invention, the cup
platform 3 can be adjusted by hand as well as by means of a
non-illustrated motor, that is, in a motor-driven manner. At the
same time, the cup platform 3 can be removed from the adjusting
device 2 together with the guide carriages 6 and 6', in that the
guide carriages 6, 6' are moved out of the corresponding guide
tracks 8, 8'. In addition or in the alternative, the adjusting
device 2 can also be removed from the beverage machine 1, whereby a
particularly simple cleaning and thus simple handling become
possible.
[0019] When considering FIGS. 1 and 2, it can be seen that the
guide tracks 8, 8' are located in an area, which can easily be
accessed from the front for cleaning purposes, whereas the vertical
toothed belt/chain drives 4, 4' (see FIG. 3) are arranged so as to
be covered, that is, they are not easily accessible, but can
instead be arranged so as to be protected against
contamination.
[0020] It can be seen according to FIG. 3 that a gripper element 10
is arranged at each guide carriage, here at the guide carriage 6',
by means of which a connection to the corresponding toothed
belt/chain drive 4, 4' can be established in that the gripper
element 10 engages with a recess 11 at the corresponding toothed
belt 12 or at a corresponding chain of the toothed belt/chain drive
4, 4'. The gripper element 10 is thereby embodied like a catch nose
and passes only through a comparatively small groove 13 (see FIG.
2) between the guide track 8, 8' and the toothed belt/chain drive
4, 4'. Generally, in its lowermost position, the guide carriage 6,
6' can simply be swiveled out of the corresponding guide track 8,
8' and the cup platform 3 can thus be removed. By means of a simple
screw it can hereby be determined optionally whether the removal is
to be made possible for the customer or only by a service
technician.
[0021] In the event that the corresponding toothed belt 12 is
meanwhile in a different position for the assembly of the cup
platform 3 via the guide carriages 6, 6', for example due to a
motor-driven adjustment or an adjustment in response to cleaning,
the guide carriage 6, 6' can be inserted into the guide track 8, 8'
and can be moved upwards by hand. Due to the geometry of the
gripper element 10 arranged at each guide carriage 6, 6' and due to
the fact that the toothed belt 12 can be moved downwards, an
engagement in each belt position is possible again. In any case,
the geometry between the recess 11 at the toothed belt 12 or the
chain, respectively, and the gripper element 10, is designed such
that a disengagement is possible only by swiveling out the guide
carriage 6, 6' in its lowermost position.
[0022] The adjusting device 2 according to the invention and the
corresponding cup platform 3 according to the invention provide for
a simple cleaning, in particular by means of a simple removal of
these components from the beverage machine 1, as well as for a
height adjustment of the cup platform 3 without jamming, because a
tilting of the guide carriages 6, 6' by means of the two toothed
belt/chain drives 4, 4', which are coupled to one another via the
shaft 5, can be avoided reliably. This is so, because, in the event
that the cup platform 3 is moved on one side, the movement force is
transmitted via the common shaft to the other side, that is, to the
other guide carriage 6, 6'.
[0023] Diverse holding and drive components, e.g. a magnetic brake
14, as is illustrated according to FIG. 4, motors, gear mechanisms,
warp spring clutches, etc., can now also be realized via the common
shaft 5. Provision can thus be made in the area of the toothed
belt/chain drive 4, 4' and in particular in the area of the shaft
5, for the afore-mentioned magnetic brake 14, which decelerates a
downwards movement of the cup platform 3. In the opposite direction
of rotation, the magnetic brake 14 encompasses a freewheel assembly
18, so that an unbraked upwards movement of the cup platform 3 is
possible. The magnetic brake 14 is thereby preferably
flange-mounted to the shaft 5 of the toothed belt/chain drive 4,
4'.
[0024] The magnetic brake 14 can furthermore encompass a gear
mechanism 15, in particular a transmission gear, as well as a
flywheel mass 6. An increase of the speed as compared to a shaft
speed is obtained by means of the gear mechanism 15. The integrated
magnetic brake 14 applies a holding torque in response to the
downwards movement of the cup platform 3, that is, the lowering the
cup platform 3 is to be avoided up to a certain force, for example
up to 20 N. The magnetic brake 14 thereby works such that a
magnetic detent torque (holding torque) is present, wherein the
driven shaft 5 starts to move when this holding torque is exceeded
and the magnetic forces of attraction and repulsion of a detent
brake 17 are approximately cancelled out through this or reduce a
braking torque to a considerably smaller value than a detent
torque, respectively. The necessary torques from the shaft 5 of the
toothed belt/chain drive 4, 4' to the magnetic brake 14, that is,
the detent brake 17, can additionally be reduced by means of the
gear mechanism 15. To improve the surface feel in response to the
adjustment, provision can additionally be made for the flywheel
mass 16, which is mentioned above, which reacts like a friction
drive and which thus ensures a significant start-up as well as a
smooth stop.
[0025] Such a magnetic brake 14 can generally also be used at a
different location of the beverage machine 1, in particular for
holding and/or braking a front baffle, doors, flaps or covering
parts, for instance. Advantageously, such a magnetic brake 14 is
used in such parts, which are to be held against the force of
gravity and/or which are to be braked. The magnetic brake 14 can
thereby encompass detent steps, but also an increasing or
decreasing brake effect in one direction.
* * * * *