HK1037857B - Device for extracting a substance for preparing a beverage - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for the extraction of a substance for the preparation of a beverage, as described in US 3 353 474.

A device for the extraction of closed flexible bags containing at least one substance for the preparation of a beverage is already known. The applicant's patent WO 94/02059 concerns such a device comprising an upper part with means for perforating the upper side of the bag, a lower part with raised and hollow elements constituting the flow area and fixing means making the upper and lower parts solid. The problem with this device is that the lower and upper parts are not connected together, which can cause the following problem: the moving part is lowered onto the fixed part, but it is lowered insufficiently, which can lead to the fixing elements not covering the upper-upper part. This leads to the impossibility of extracting bags.

The purpose of the present invention is to develop a substance extraction device for the preparation of a beverage, in which there is no longer any risk of failure of locking between the upper and lower parts, so as to guarantee with certainty an extraction with a good seal of the substance to be extracted.

The present invention relates to a device for the extraction of a substance for the preparation of a beverage, comprising: a first fixed part and a second moving part relative to the first according to a rotation axis arranged at the rear of the two parts, the front of each part providing a housing for the substance to be extracted,this device including in addition a closing and opening system for both parts,this system comprising a two-branch closing lever and two pulling handles, the two branches of the closing lever are fixed to rotate according to a first axis on either side of the second part, the pulling handles are fixed to rotate according to a second axis on either side of the first part, the ends of the two branches of the closing lever and the pulling handles are jointly located on a third axis, so that they cooperate to ensure the opening and closing of the moving part.

The advantage of the device according to the invention is that the first and second parts are in continuous contact, which means that when the opening and closing system is operated, the second moving part is brought gradually to the first fixed part until the two parts are completely locked in relation to each other.

A housing for the substance to be extracted is provided. This housing may be provided to accommodate a closed cartridge, e.g. a cartridge as described in EP 512'468 and EP 602'203 on behalf of the applicant. However, there is no limitation on the possibility of using the device of the invention also for other closed bags, capsules or cartridges. It is also possible to use the device of the invention for open cartridges, e.g. plastic cartridges or non-woven paper bags.

The substance contained in the closed, open or other cartridge is a powdered substance for the preparation of a beverage.This substance is preferably roasted and ground coffee, but can also be tea, soluble coffee, a mixture of ground coffee and soluble coffee, a chocolate product or any other dehydrated edible substance.

The description of the operation of the device according to the invention will be explained in more detail by reference to the figures. The cartridge is placed in its housing in the first part, which is fixed,the consumer then manipulates the closing system: he pulls the closing lever towards him, which straighten the traction handles and lower the second moving part towards the first part.At the end of the closing lever, the two parts are in the closing position.At this point, the first, second and third axes are essentially in the same vertical plane at the rear of the housing for the substance to be extracted.

In a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, in the position of closure of the two parts, the third axis connecting the two branches of the closing lever and the traction handles is significantly forward of the plane formed by the other two axes. This configuration makes it possible to guarantee with complete certainty a good locking and perfect sealing of the device according to the invention.

There is also a risk of a leakage failure when the device of the invention is closed, because the lower part of the housing in the second chamber is not always exactly parallel to the counterpart of the first fixed chamber. To compensate for this risk, it is envisaged that the second moving chamber includes a housing for the substance to be extracted which is mobile on a spherical ball. In this embodiment, the center of the spherical ball is significantly in the centre of the plane where the leakage is made and thus the housing of the substance to be extracted. Any leakage of parallelism can be compensated for and any risk of leakage can be eliminated.

If the device of the invention is used to extract closed cartridges, a needle for the entry of water must be provided in the second movable part and a pad with hollow and raised elements, such as those mentioned in the applicant's patents EP 512'470 and EP 604'615, in the first fixed part.

The following description is made with reference to the drawings on which the Fig. 1 is a side view of the device according to the invention in the open position,Fig. 2 is a side view of the device according to the invention in the closing position,Fig. 3 is a side view of the device according to the invention in the closing position andFig. 4 is a side view of the device according to the invention in the closing position,Fig. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are perspective representations of the closing steps of Fig. 1,2,3 and 4,Fig. 9 and 10 are partial cuts showing more precisely the spherical ball.

The device shall include: a first fixed part (1), a second part (2) moving relative to the first part along a rotating axis (3) arranged at the rear of the two parts, the front of each part (1,2) providing a housing (4) and (5) respectively for the substance to be extracted,this device including in addition a closing and opening system for the two parts,this system comprising a closing lever (6) with two branches and two pulling handles (7).The closing lever (6) comprises the grip part (8) and the actual lever part which has an angle of almost 90°.The traction belt can be straight or as shown in the figure with curved ends. The two branches of the locking lever (6) are fixed in rotation along a first axis (11) on either side of the second part (2) and the traction handles (7) are fixed in rotation along a second axis (12) on either side of the first part (1). The two ends of the two branches of the locking lever, opposite the grip part (8) and the two ends of the traction handles (7), are joined together along a third moving axis (13).so that the closing lever cooperates with the handles to ensure the closing and opening of the device according to the invention.

Using the sequences in Figures 1 to 4 and 5 to 8, the operation of the device according to the invention is as follows:

The consumer has in the housing (4) a capsule or cartridge to be removed (not shown): Figures 1 and 5. He then pulls forward in the direction of the A arrow the grip (8) of the locking lever (6) so as to rotate the lever around its axis (11), which then causes the traction pin (7) to move upwards along the axis (13) and brings down the moving part (2) (arrow B) to the fixed part (1): Figures 2,3 and 6.7.

The device according to the invention is integrated into a coffee machine comprising conventional components, namely a water tank, a heater, a pump to bring water to the house (5) and water supply channels. These different elements have not been shown in the figures. When the device is in the position of complete closure (Fig. 4 and 8), the pump can be activated to bring water into the houses (4.5): water then flows on the substance to be extracted, e.g. coffee and the drink flows under the room (1) into a cup (not shown)

At the end of the extraction, the consumer unlocks the device by lifting the closing lever (6) upwards, which causes the traction pin (7) to tilt along its axis of rotation (12) backwards and which lifts the moving part (2). The consumer can then remove the extracted cartridge and the device is ready for further extraction.

Figures 9 and 10 show a specific embodiment of the device according to the invention in the form of a schematic cut. The housing (1) was not shown on the fixed part, because the feature is mainly on the moving part (2). This part (2) shows a housing (5) with a lower peripheral edge (10). The capsule to be removed is shown in (20). The housing (5) is movable on a spherical ball (22), the centre of which (21) is significantly in the centre of the two housing (4.5). When the part (2) is closed, the housing (5) can move the contours of the capsule (20) and the edge (10) adapts well to support against the edge (9) of the housing (4).

Claims (6)

1. Device for extracting a substance for the preparation of a beverage, said device comprising

   - a fixed first piece (1) and

   - a second piece (2) which is movable in relation to the first in accordance with an axis of rotation (3) disposed at the rear of the said two pieces, the front of each piece (1, 2) providing a housing (4, 5) for the substance to be extracted,

   - the said device also comprising a system for closing and opening the two pieces, the said system having a closing lever (6) with two arms and two traction links (7), the two arms of the closing lever are fixed for rotation in accordance with a first axis (11) on either side of the second piece (2), the traction links (7) are fixed for rotation in accordance with a second axis (12) on either side of the first piece (1), the ends of the two arms of the closing lever and of the traction links are interlinked in accordance with a third movable axis (13) in such a way as to interact with one another in order to carry out the closing and opening of the device.
2. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the housing (4, 5) for the substance to be extracted is a housing for a closed pack, an open pack and any other packaging for the substance to be extracted.
3. Device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterised in that, when the two pieces are in the closing position, the first (11), second (12) and third (13) axes are substantially in the same vertical plane at the rear of the housing (4, 5) for the substance to be extracted.
4. Device according to claim 3, characterised in that, when the two pieces are in the closing position, the third axis (13) connecting the two closing lever arms (6) and the traction links (7) is substantially in front of the plane formed by the other two axes (11, 12).
5. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the second piece (2) comprises a housing (5) for the substance to be extracted which is movable on a spherical ball-and-socket joint (22).
6. Device according to claim 5, characterised in that the centre (21) of the spherical ball-and-socket joint (22) is substantially in the centre of the plane in which the sealing of the housing for the substance to be extracted is effected.