TW202218599A - Beverage preparation station - Google Patents

Abstract

According to a one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coffee and/or tea preparation station comprising: a robotic arm arrangement; a control unit to operate the robotic arm arrangement to prepare coffee and/or tea steeped from its base, wherein the control unit is configured to: actuate the robotic arm arrangement to perform a motion sequence that effects transfer of content between a mixing canister and a filtering canister, wherein the mixing canister initially contains the base, and wherein the filtering canister comprises a filter to separate the base received from the mixing canister during the transfer, so that the filtering canister contains filtered coffee and/or tea and the base trapped by the filter.

Description

beverage maker

The present invention relates to a beverage brewer using robotics to automate the preparation of beverages.

The Western way of making a cup of coffee prefers to use espresso machine, aeropress, percolator, French press and other equipment to extract the The full flavor of Arabica coffee beans. However, these methods are not particularly suitable for making the traditional coffee favored by Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei, which is usually Robusta coffee beans roasted with cream or margarine and sugar. (robusta beans) to make.

The method used in these Southeast Asian countries to make traditional coffee is to brew ground coffee using a sock filter placed in a jug as an infuser. To drink, the brewed espresso is first mixed with milk, sugar, and diluted with water as needed before pouring into a cup. The coffee maker needs to adjust the grinding degree and water temperature of the coffee powder, decide when to replace it when the filter effect of the bag filter becomes poor, and also decide the amount of air introduced into the coffee. It takes experience to make the necessary adjustments to consistently produce good coffee even for tourists without strong taste preferences.

The present invention is directed to a beverage station that seeks to make coffee or tea that can be tailored to personal preferences.

One aspect of the present invention provides a coffee and/or tea brewing machine, comprising: a robotic arm device; a control unit for operating the robotic arm device to prepare coffee and/or coffee steeped from a base material tea, wherein the control unit is configured to actuate the robotic arm device to perform a sequence of actions to transfer contents between a mixing tank and a filter tank, wherein the mixing tank initially contains the base and wherein the filter tank includes a filter element for separating the beverage base received from the mixing tank during the transfer so that the filter tank contains filtered coffee and/or tea and is filtered by the filter The base material retained by the device.

In the following description, various embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings, wherein the same reference numerals in the different figures are generally used to refer to the same elements.

In general, the present application relates to a beverage preparation station, a system that facilitates the preparation of a beverage, preferably coffee and/or tea, from a base of the beverage. The "and/or" in the description of "coffee and/or tea" means coffee, tea, or both. In addition, "beverage" should be understood to refer to "coffee and/or tea" and these two terms are used interchangeably.

The beverage maker is configured to prepare coffee and/or tea by means of brewing or infusion. Examples of bases include, but are not limited to, any one or more of coffee beans, coffee powder, tea powder, and tea leaves. Any suitable liquid may be boiled or steeped, eg, hot water or a flavoured hot liquid (eg, hot tea or hot coffee in the context of a consumer preference for a combination of hot tea and coffee).

The process of preparation is aided by the coordinated operation of a mobile mechanism with a jar containing a base from which coffee and/or tea can be made to extract flavours from the base. The mobile mechanism refers to any suitable combination of mechanical devices, eg, one or more of a plurality of robotic arm devices and conveyor belt mechanisms. For example, the moving mechanism can be implemented in combination with vertical and horizontal belt conveyors and cooperating robotic arms. Alternatively, the moving mechanism can also be implemented using a robotic arm alone; or a belt conveyor alone can be implemented.

The robotic arm device refers to an embodiment utilizing one or more robotic arms. When two or more robotic arms are used, one of the ways to implement this is to have the individual robotic arms work independently, for example when each robotic arm is responsible for a specific stage in the beverage preparation process (for example, from a beverage base A brewing phase of a beverage concentrate, which involves soaking the beverage base in water; and a serving phase, which involves adding flavorings such as sugar and/or milk to the flavored in beverage concentrates). In another embodiment, two or more robotic arms can be used for interactive matching. For example, one of the robotic arms can grasp a can and empty its contents into another can grasped by the other robotic arm. Each of the one or more robotic arms has a design that can include a plurality of elements, and each element can be coupled to another element through a respective joint. Each link may allow the coupled elements to perform one or more of the following actions: yaw, pitch, and roll. The interconnection provides multiple degrees of freedom for each robotic arm, allowing the robotic arm to move along and/or around multiple axes such that the arm exhibits anthropomorphic articulation motion. One end of each robotic arm is connected to the base, and the other end has an end effector.

The beverage brewer has a control unit to operate the movement mechanism, for example, to control the robotic arm device to act when a beverage is to be prepared from a beverage base. The control unit may include at least one memory to store code for controlling actions required by the robotic arm to prepare the beverage, and one or more processors for executing the code. Execution of the code enables the control unit to actuate the robotic arm device to perform a series of actions during the brewing phase of the beverage preparation process for extracting a concentrate from a beverage base such as coffee or tea powder; and from the concentrate Another series of actions for preparing beverages from liquids. The code defines the movement trajectory of the beverage preparation process of the robotic arm device. An optimization algorithm can be programmed to provide the robotic arm device with x, y, z positions in space at each stage of beverage preparation, and automatically define the linear segments along which the robotic arm device moves. associated motion trajectories within, for example, to minimize the time it takes to prepare a beverage.

The control unit may execute a learning algorithm adapted to process input received from one or more sensors (including but not limited to optical-based sensors) that track the motion of the robotic arm device . The learning algorithm can learn which paths are the best paths when the robotic arm device operates, and cooperate with the optimization algorithm to provide real-time trajectory correction for the motion of the robotic arm device. The control unit may operate entirely based on such a learning algorithm, or may incorporate partial content of such a learning algorithm. In another embodiment, the control unit may receive instructions from a remote end (eg, from the cloud) to operate the robotic arm device, ie, the code does not necessarily have to be stored in the local memory of the control unit.

The concentrate preparation procedure involves transferring the contents, which are primarily beverages (more specifically beverage concentrates), between a mixing tank and a filter tank. When using the robotic arm assembly in this preparation procedure, one or more robotic arms will pour the beverage from the mixing tank into the filter tank while transferring the contents of the mixing tank to the filter tank. Similarly, the robotic arm device will pour the beverage from the filter tank into the mixing tank during the process of transferring the contents of the filter tank to the mixing tank. As such, the transfer process causes the contents to alternate back and forth between the mixing tank and the filter tank, while introducing air into the brew/pour process, thereby changing the flavor variables.

When a belt conveyor is used in the preparation of coffee or tea concentrates, a vertical lift conveyor lifts the mixing tank above the filter tank. A valve at the bottom of the mixing tank will open to allow its contents to fall into an opening in the filter tank during transfer from the mixing tank to the filter tank. The vertical lifting conveyor belt lifts the filter tank above the mixing tank during the aforementioned process of transferring the contents of the filter tank to the mixing tank. A valve at the bottom of the filter tank opens to allow its contents to fall into an opening in the mixing tank.

The aforementioned transfer process is important in view of the respective functions of the mixing tank and the filter tank in the brewing stage. The mixing tank serves as the initial container for mixing the beverage base with the liquid to infuse the beverage base to make the beverage. However, it is not desirable to use the beverage from the mixing tank as a concentrate due to the residue caused by the undissolved beverage base.

The filter canister is used to remove undissolved beverage base. This is achieved by using the filter element of the filter tank to separate the beverage base received from the mixing tank during the aforementioned transfer process. The filter canister will contain the filtered beverage as well as the beverage base retained by the filter element. The filtered beverage in the canister does not have any residue of beverage base and can therefore be used as a beverage concentrate.

Next, the content transfer procedure between the mixing tank and the filter tank can be repeated. That is, the contents of the filter tank will go back (with less sediment trapped by its filter element) to the mixing tank, which will dump its contents back into the filter tank. The cycle described above can be repeated depending on one or more factors (such as degree of grind of the base, desired coffee and/or tea strength, temperature of infusion liquid, yield), resulting in a final result comprising filtered coffee and/or Or filter jars for tea. From the mixing tank, the minimum cycle is to transfer the contents of the mixing tank to the filter tank once.

One of the purposes of transferring the contents between the mixing tank and the filter tank is to provide a beverage concentrate that is substantially free of the beverage base that would be present in the filter tank. Another purpose is that the aforementioned transfer action allows recirculation of the filtered beverage from the filter tank for rinsing the beverage base remaining in the mixing tank during an earlier transfer procedure. Furthermore, the aforementioned recirculation extends the infusion time of the beverage base. Another purpose is to introduce air into the coffee or tea, thereby enhancing the flavor of the coffee or tea concentrate.

It should be understood that filter tank and mixing tank are terms coined to convey the respective functions of each in brewing a beverage from a beverage base. The jars originally used to hold beverage bases and infusion liquids were "mixing jars". Cans from which beverage bases can be removed are "strainers". Jars used as filters and mixing tanks can be any type of storage device with an open top and spout.

The operation of the beverage maker will be described in more detail below.

FIG. 1 is a top view 102 of a beverage maker 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The beverage maker 100 includes the following components: a robotic arm device 104, an ingredient station 106, a seasoning station 110, a collection station 112, a cleaning station 114, a filter element holder (not shown), and a beverage reservoir ( not shown). The functions of individual components are described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 10 .

The robotic arm device 104 is involved in various stages of preparing a beverage from a beverage base, preferably coffee and/or tea from a beverage base. In each stage, the control unit 120 controls the action of the robotic arm device 104 . FIG. 1 shows two robotic arms 102 and 103 . However, it should be understood that other configurations (not shown) are also possible, for example, there may be only one robotic arm or more than two robotic arms.

Figures 2 to 5 illustrate the operation of the robotic arm device 104 during the brewing phase, which can prepare a beverage concentrate from a beverage base.

Figure 2 depicts the first part of the brewing stage in which the robotic arm device 104 assists in collecting the beverage base and liquid to infuse the beverage base. In step 202, an end action part of the robotic arm 103 collects the empty cans to be used for containing the mixture of beverage base and liquid. This tank is hereinafter referred to as mixing tank 201 . The mixing tank 201 may be taken from the cleaning station 114 , however the robotic arm 103 may also take the mixing tank from another storage location under the direction of the control unit 120 .

Next, the robotic arm 103 is actuated to place the mixing tank 201 on the batching station 106 . The dosing station 106 will dispense the beverage base and liquid to the mixing tank 201 to infuse the beverage base in the mixing tank 201 . In FIG. 2 , the beverage base is stored in the powder storage container 205 and the liquid comes from the water outlet 208 . As such, the robotic arm 103 may actuate the mixing tank 201 to the powder storage container 205 in step 204 to collect the beverage base. The powder storage container 205 can communicate with the cloud which determines the dosage of the base material. The dose can also be controlled by one of a user interface on the beverage maker 100, a remote computing device (eg, a smartphone), or a remote ordering kiosk. Next, the robotic arm 103 moves the mixing tank 201 in step 206 so that the mixing tank 201 is close to the water outlet 208 to collect the liquid. The liquid may be hot water into which the flavour of the beverage base is to be extracted, or flavoured water such as hot tea or coffee.

The control unit 120 is arranged to cause the beverage base and liquid dispensed into the mixing tank 201 to be stirred together. In Figure 2, such agitation is accomplished by having the robotic arm 103 actuate the robotic arm device to use the agitator to agitate the beverage base and liquid. In step 210 , the robotic arm 103 places the mixing tank 201 on a suitable space in the beverage maker 100 . The placement space can be predefined, and its coordinates are programmed into the control unit 120 . Alternatively, a suitable sensor (eg, an optical sensor such as a camera) can detect an area with sufficient area to place the mixing tank 201 and designate it as the placement space. For example, in FIG. 2, the cleaning station 114 may have a bay as a placement space. After letting go of the mixing tank 201, the robotic arm 103 may be actuated in step 212 to retrieve the agitator from storage (eg, retrieve the agitator soaked therein from a water bath). The robotic arm 103 then extends the stirrer into the mixture of beverage base and liquid in the mixing tank 201 and performs a circular motion that stirs the mixture. This stirring action helps to further extract the flavor of the beverage base into the liquid so that the mixing tank 201 contains the beverage concentrate and the beverage base.

In the alternative (not shown), the beverage maker 100 may have a dedicated mechanism (eg, a vibrator) to perform this stirring action. After collecting the dispensed beverage base and liquid from the ingredient station 106, the robotic arm 103 may, under the direction of the control unit 120, place the mixing tank 201 on the shaker for a stirring action in step 210.

After the mixture in the mixing tank 201 is agitated, the robotic arm 103 returns the agitator to the storage area in step 214 . Next, the robotic arm 103 can be used for the second part of the brewing stage, which will be described in conjunction with FIG. 3 .

Figure 3 depicts the second part of the brewing stage, wherein the robotic arm assembly 104 assists in preparing a jar to receive the contents of the mixing jar 201; and filtering the received contents to remove the beverage base. The robotic arm device 104 inserts a filter element in the can before the can receives the beverage in the mixing tank 201, and removes the filter element after the beverage is made.

In step 302 , an end action part of the robotic arm 102 will collect an empty tank, and the empty tank will be used to filter the contents poured over from the mixing tank 201 . This empty tank will be referred to as filter tank 340 below. The filter tank 340 may be retrieved from the cleaning station 114 , however the robotic arm 102 may also retrieve the mixing tank from another storage location under the direction of the control unit 120 . The robotic arm 102 will place the canister 340 on the appropriate space in the beverage maker 100 . This placement space can be predefined, and its coordinates are programmed into the control unit 120 . Alternatively, a suitable sensor (eg, an optical sensor such as a camera) can detect an area with sufficient area to place the canister 340 and designate it as the placement space. For example, the cleaning station 114 may have a bay as a placement space. In another embodiment, as opposed to the robotic arm 102 , the control unit 120 may control the robotic arm 103 to pick up and place the filter tank 340 for receiving the contents from the mixing tank 201 .

In step 304 , the robotic arm 103 retrieves a filter element from the filter element holder under the instruction of the control unit 120 . Next, the robotic arm 103 manipulates the filter element in step 306 to insert it into the canister 340 and place it in the position described in step 302 . After the filter element is placed, the filter element will cover the opening of the filter tank 340 and receive the contents from the mixing tank 201 through the opening. The robotic arm 103 may wet the filter element (eg, by dipping into a water tank or spraying the filter element with water) prior to placement into the filter canister 340, as this facilitates insertion of the filter element. The robotic arm 103 releases the filter element after inserting the filter element. Furthermore, either of the robotic arms 103, 102 may be actuated by the control unit 120 to replace the filter element, eg after making a beverage.

FIG. 4 shows the third part of the brewing stage, where the robotic arm device 104 facilitates the transfer of the contents between the mixing tank 201 and the filter tank 340 . During this part of the brewing phase, the control unit 120 will actuate the robotic arm arrangement 104 to carry out a sequence enabling the transfer of the contents between the mixing tank 201 and the filter tank 340 . Referring to Figure 2 and its associated description, the mixing tank 201 initially contains a mixture of a beverage base and a liquid to infuse the beverage base to make a beverage.

In step 402 , the robotic arm 103 grabs the mixing tank 201 from the placement space of the mixing tank 201 on the beverage maker 100 . As can be seen from the description of the first part of the brewing stage, the robotic arm 103 will therefore retrieve the mixing tank 201 from the compartment of the cleaning station 114 and manipulate the spout of the mixing tank 201 close to the opening of the filter tank 340 . Then, during the process of transferring the contents of the mixing tank 201 to the filter tank 340, the robotic arm 103 will pour the contents of the mixing tank 201 into the filter tank 340, where the contents are the beverage concentrate and the beverage base. The robotic arm 103 then returns the mixing tank 201 to its resting position, which is empty except for the beverage base that has not been poured into the filter tank 340 .

It can be known from FIG. 3 and related descriptions that the filter tank 340 has a filter element. During the transfer of the contents of step 402, the filter element separates the beverage base received from the mixing tank 201. Thus, step 402 results in the filter canister 340 containing filtered beverage, as well as beverage base retained by the filter element.

In step 404 , the robotic arm 103 grabs the canister 340 from the space where the canister 340 is placed on the beverage maker 100 . From the previous description of the second part of the brewing phase, the robotic arm 103 will therefore retrieve the canister 340 from the compartment of the cleaning station 114 and manipulate the spout of the canister 340 to be close to the opening of the mixing tank 201 . Then, during the process of transferring the content of the filter tank 340 to the mixing tank 201, the robotic arm 103 will pour the content of the filter tank 340 into the mixing tank 201, and the content is the filtered beverage without the beverage base . The beverage base will not be carried into the mixing tank 201 during the pouring of the contents because the beverage base will be trapped by the filter elements in the filter tank 340 . The robotic arm 103 will then return the canister 340 to its resting position, which is empty except for the filter element that retains the beverage base. It should be understood that the control unit 120 may actuate the robotic arm 102 instead of the robotic arm 103 to perform steps 402 and 404 .

The control unit 120 is arranged to actuate the robotic arm device 104 (ie any one of the robotic arms 102, 103) to repeat steps 402 and 404, ie to repeat the transfer of the contents between the mixing tank 201 and the filter tank 340 , and ends with a canister 340 containing the filtered beverage. In one embodiment, the number of times to be repeated may be preprogrammed into the control unit 120 . In another embodiment, the number of repetitions depends on one or more factors (eg, ground level of the base, desired coffee and/or tea strength, temperature of infusion liquid, throughput), and The number of repetitions can be determined using a learning algorithm that has been fed with values for each factor. It is contemplated that each subsequent iteration will result in the contents poured from the mixing tank 201 into the filter tank 340 in step 402 with a smaller amount of beverage substrate.

The content transfer process between the mixing tank 201 and the filter tank 340 is used to extract more flavor of the beverage base into the beverage concentrate. In addition, the transfer process flushes the beverage base material remaining in the mixing tank 201 so that it becomes trapped on the filter element of the filter tank 340 .

Figure 5 provides an overview of the procedures involved in the brewing stage. Steps 202, 204, 206, 212, 302, 304, and 306 already described in Figures 2-4 will not be described in further detail. From FIG. 5 , when the contents are to be poured into the filter tank 340 , the robotic arm device 104 tilts the mixing tank 201 toward the filter tank 340 in step 402 . When the contents are to be poured into the mixing tank 201 , the robotic arm device 104 tilts the filter tank 340 toward the mixing tank 201 in step 404 .

During step 402, that is, during the transfer of the contents of the mixing tank 201 to the filter tank 340, the control unit 120 sets the robotic arm device 104 to perform an action sequence, which includes: 201 is tilted so that its spout is adjacent to an opening in canister 340. A subsequent stage follows, in which the mixing tank 201 is tilted so that its spout is removed from the opening of the filter tank 340 . This optional spout shifting creates a pulling motion that oxygenates the beverage concentrate, which is believed to enhance the flavor of the beverage concentrate.

Furthermore, during the transfer of the contents of the mixing tank 201 to the filter tank 340 , the control unit 120 sets the robotic arm device 104 to rotate the mixing tank 201 before pouring the contents of the mixing tank 201 into the filter tank 340 . We have found that this rotational action reduces clogging caused by the accumulation of beverage base at the spout entrance of the mixing tank 201 , which is located at the bottom of the inner wall of the mixing tank 201 .

Although the robotic arm device 104 has two robotic arms 102 and 103 , FIG. 1 to FIG. 5 illustrate that only the robotic arm 103 is used during the content transfer in steps 402 and 404 , and the robotic arms 103 will alternate. The action of grasping the mixing tank 201 is the same as the action of grasping the filter tank 340 . When the robotic arm 103 pours the contents from one can (eg, the mixing can 201 ), the other can (ie, the filter can 340 ) remains stationary on its resting surface on the beverage maker 100 without being blocked by another mechanical Arm 102 holds. However, another embodiment (not shown) would use two robotic arms 102 and 103 simultaneously during the content transfer process. During the transfer of the contents, one robotic arm will grasp the mixing tank 201 and the other robotic arm will grasp the filter tank 340 .

In the embodiment (not shown) in which the robotic arm device has only one robotic arm, when transferring the contents in steps 402 and 404 , the only robotic arm also alternately performs the action of grasping the mixing tank 201 and grasping the mixing tank 201 . The action of holding the canister 340.

Returning to Figure 4, after steps 402 and 404 have been repeated and completed, the canister 340 will contain the filtered beverage concentrate, as well as the beverage base entrapped on its filter element. Either of the robotic arms 102 and 103 will remove the filter element from the filter canister 340 before bringing the filter canister 340 to the staging area 405 . The escrow area 405 may have a heated base upon which the canister 340 may be placed to keep the filtered beverage warm. The beverage can thus be made from the beverage concentrate in the canister 340 . Alternatively, the filter element may be removed after the canister 340 is placed in the escrow area 405, or until all of the beverage concentrate in the canister 340 has been consumed.

The beverage maker 100 may also have a beverage reservoir (not shown). Under the direction of the control unit 120, either of the robotic arms 102 and 103 will move the canister 340 to a position adjacent to the beverage reservoir to empty the filtered beverage therein. The beverage reservoir may be a thermal reservoir with thermal insulation to keep the filtered beverage warm. The beverage maker 100 may use embodiments of the heating base or the beverage reservoir. The beverage reservoir may have a cover mechanism that opens to receive filtered beverage and closes after the canister 340 is emptied. Either of the robotic arms 102 and 103 can remove the filter element from the filter tank 340 before or after the filtered beverage is poured into the beverage reservoir. After the filter element is removed, the canister 340 can be moved to the cleaning station 114 for cleaning (described later in conjunction with FIG. 8). The duration for which the coffee and/or tea is stored can be monitored. After the expiration date, the beverage reservoir is emptied to receive a new batch of filtered coffee and/or tea from the canister 340 .

4, the filtered beverage obtained at the end of the third part of the brewing stage is also called a beverage concentrate, and the beverage can be prepared by diluting the beverage concentrate or adding flavoring to the beverage concentrate . The filtered beverage is stored in the canister 340 on the heated base of the escrow area 405, or in the beverage reservoir; or both. The manner in which beverages are made from beverage concentrates is illustrated in FIG. 6 .

Figure 6 illustrates a serving phase in the beverage preparation process. During this serving phase, either of the robotic arms 102 , 103 will be actuated to place the cup in place to collect the dispensed seasonings from the seasoning station 110 of the beverage maker 100 . Examples of flavorings include sugar, creamer, milk, or flavorings. Additionally, the seasoning station 110 may have a water dispenser 609 to dilute the beverage. The type and amount of seasoning and the amount of water vary according to taste. Beverage brewer 110 may have a user interface configured to receive input regarding the manner in which the seasonings are mixed and communicate the mixing manner to seasoning station 110 . Alternatively or additionally, the seasoning station 110 may also receive information about the mixing method of the seasoning from a remote computing device (eg, a smartphone or a remote ordering kiosk). The user interface and other equipment (remote computing device, remote kiosk) used to receive the mixing method may be the same as the device used to control the amount of base powder, as previously described with respect to the powder storage container 205 in FIG. 2 as described. The mixing can be performed on an application resident in the remote computing device, which provides an icon or text for each condiment available from the condiment station 110, and provides an Select the icon for the thickness of the beverage (to represent the amount of water used to dilute the beverage concentrate). The seasoning and water dispensed depend on which text or icon is selected, and their respective quantities.

The robotic arm 102 is used during this serving phase and is positioned closer to the seasoning station 110 than the robotic arm 103 is. In step 602 , the robotic arm 102 retrieves empty cups (eg, paper cups) from the cup dispenser 603 . In steps 604 and 606, the robotic arm 102 actuates the cup to the seasoning station 110 to collect one or more of the seasonings: sugar, creamer, milk, or any other seasoning. After the seasoning has been collected, the robotic arm 102 will place the cup in a suitable space in the beverage maker 100 , such as adjacent the seasoning station 110 , in step 608 . The robotic arm 102 will lift the canister 340 from the staging area 405 in step 610 to pour its beverage concentrate into the cup. The robotic arm 102 will return the canister 340 to the staging area 405 so that the robotic arm 102 is free to grasp the cup containing the seasoning and beverage concentrate mix and move the cup to the water dispenser in step 612 609. Although not shown, if a beverage with ice cubes is required, the robotic arm 102 can move the cup to an ice dispenser 611 . The robotic arm 102 will finally move the cup containing the flavored beverage to the collection area for collection in step 614 .

In the case where the beverage concentrate is held in the beverage reservoir, the robotic arm 102 will follow steps 602 to 606, ie, take an empty cup and place the cup into the flavoring station 110 to collect the flavoring that is dispensed. The robotic arm 102 will then place the cup (not shown) in the beverage station to collect the beverage concentrate. The robotic arm 102 will move the cup containing the flavored beverage to the collection area for collection.

FIG. 7 provides a general illustration of the procedures involved in the serving stage. Steps 602, 604, 606, 610, 612, and 614 already described in Figure 6 will not be described in further detail. 7 illustrates that after adding hot water in step 612, the robotic arm 102 can stir the mixture in the cup in step 702 and cover the cup in step 704. The robotic arm 102 will then bring the cup to the collection area in step 614 .

FIG. 8 shows a schematic view of the appearance of the cleaning station 114 . When the canister 340 and mixing tank 201 become empty (eg, after beverage preparation is complete), they are brought by the robotic arm assembly 104 to the cleaning station 114 for cleaning and are ready for another round of beverage preparation. The cleaning station 114 has at least one nozzle 804 that sprays a stream of water to rinse the filter tank 340 and the mixing tank 201 . When the jars 340 and 201 are moved back to the washing station 114 by the robotic arm device 104, they are turned upside down so that the opening of each jar faces the water outlet of the nozzle 804. The flushing of the filter tank 340 and the mixing tank 201 need not necessarily occur simultaneously, that is, the cleaning station 114 may be arranged to clean whichever of the tanks 340 and 201 returns first.

Returning to FIG. 1 , the collection station 112 is where the robotic arm device 104 places the cup containing the prepared beverage (ie, the filtered beverage to which the dispensed flavor has been added). The collection table 112 may have one or more collection areas, wherein the control unit 120 is configured to actuate the robotic arm arrangement 104 to place the cups in a designated collection area. The collection station 112 further includes at least one sensor to monitor the availability of the one or more collection areas from which the designated collection area is selected.

9A and 9B are schematic views of the appearance of a collection area of the collection table 112 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The collection table 112 has a rotating bottom 904 on which the cup 902 containing the beverage is placed after step 614 of FIG. 6 . The rotating base 904 has a panel 908 sized to conform to the cross-section of a peripheral barrier 906 that is erected during operation of the robotic arm device 104 to avoid touching the robotic arm device 104 to prevent injury. Activation of the rotating base 904 causes the cup 902 to be rotated out of the perimeter barrier 906, where the cup 902 can be accessed.

FIG. 10 is a schematic external view of the mechanism 1002 of the rotating bottom 904 in FIGS. 9A and 9B . Essentially, the mechanism 1002 has a rotor 1004 that is rotated by a conveyor belt 1006 . However, it should be understood that any other suitable mechanism may also be used.

Other embodiments of the collection table 112 for the robotic device 104 to place cups containing filtered beverages and dispensed flavorings are possible. For example (not shown), each collection area of the collection station may further include a display to display a queued number of beverages being served. When a collection area is detected as available (eg, after a cup has been removed) and designated to place the beverage being held by the robotic arm device 104, the display will update to reflect the upcoming The number of drinks queued.

FIG. 11 shows a belt conveyor mechanism 1100 used as an alternative to the robotic arm device 104 described in FIGS. 1-10 to effect transfer of contents between the mixing tank 1101 and the filter tank 1140 .

The belt conveyor mechanism 1100 includes a vertically elevated conveyor belt 1102 having a member 1106 for engaging the mixing tank 1101 or the filter tank 1140. FIG. 11 shows the filter tank 1140 being engaged. As shown in FIG. 11 , when the contents of the canister 1140 are ready to be transferred to the mixing tank 1101 , the member 1106 of the vertical lift conveyor 1102 pulls and lifts 1110 the canister 1140 . Next, a turntable 1104 will rotate 1108 the mixing tank 1101 to the bottom of the filter tank 1140 . With the mixing tank 1101 under the filter tank 1140, a valve at the bottom of the filter tank 1140 is opened to allow its contents to fall into an opening of the mixing tank 1101 during the transfer of the contents of the filter tank 1140 to the mixing tank 1101. After the canister 1140 is emptied, the turntable 1104 will rotate the mixing tank 1101 away so that the vertical lift conveyor 1102 can lower 1110 the canister 1140 for the member 1106 to release it onto the turntable 1104 . Next, the turntable 1104 is rotated 1108 to allow the mixing tank 1101 to be carried and raised by the member 1106 of the vertical lift conveyor 1102. As the mixing tank 1101 is raised, the turntable 1104 will rotate 1108 the canister 1140 below the mixing tank 1101. A valve at the bottom of the mixing tank 1101 will be opened to allow its contents to fall into an opening of the filter tank 1140 during the transfer of the contents of the mixing tank 1101 to the filter tank 1140 . This cycle is then repeated according to the method employed by the robotic arm device 104 . When one of the two jars 1101, 1140 is placed under the other, the turntable 1104 will rotate 1108 clockwise or counterclockwise.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of a beverage maker 1200 according to another embodiment. Similar to the beverage maker 100 in FIG. 1 , the beverage maker 1200 has a robotic arm device 104 , an ingredient station 106 , a seasoning station 110 , a collection station 112 , a cleaning station 114 , and a filter element rack 1240 . and a beverage reservoir 1242. As such, only the differences are briefly mentioned below.

In contrast to the beverage maker 100 of FIG. 1 , the beverage maker 1200 does not have a temporary storage area 405 and uses a beverage reservoir 1242 to store filtered coffee and/or tea. In addition, the collection table 112 does not use the rotation mechanism shown in FIGS. 9A , 9B, and 10 . Also, each collection area of the collection table 112 has a display showing the queue number of beverages being served. When a collection area is detected as available (eg, after a cup has been removed) and designated to place a beverage being held by the robotic arm device 104, the display will update to show that it may reflect the upcoming the number of drinks in the queue.

Each of the robotic arms 103 and 102 of the robotic arm arrangement 104 may be assigned to be responsible for a particular stage of the beverage preparation process. The robotic arm 103 may be designated as a first robotic arm responsible for preparing the filtered beverage. As shown in FIG. 4 , when transferring the contents between the mixing tank 340 and the filter tank 201 , the first robotic arm will alternately perform the action of engaging the mixing tank 340 and the action of driving the filter tank 201 . action. As shown in FIG. 6, the robotic arm 102 may be designated as a second robotic arm responsible for driving the cups containing the flavored beverages. The designation of the first robotic arm or the second robotic arm of the robotic arm arrangement 104 may depend on the proximity of its robotic arm to the elements used by the beverage maker 100 at each stage of beverage preparation.

In this application, unless expressly stated otherwise, the terms "comprising", "comprise" and their grammatical variants are intended to express an "open" or "inclusive" grammar such that the semantic The recited elements are included, but the inclusion of additional, non-expressly stated elements is also permissible.

While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for relevant elements thereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In addition, modifications may be made to adapt the teachings of the invention to a particular situation and material without departing from the essential scope of the invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed in this specification, but includes all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

100: beverage preparation station

102: robotic arm

103: robotic arm

104: Robotic arm arrangement

106: ingredient station

110: Condiment station

112: collection counter

114: washing station

120: control unit

201: mixing canister

202: Step

204: step

205: powder repository

206: Step

208: Water outlet (tap)

210: step (step)

212: step (step)

214: step (step)

302: step

304: step

306: Step

340: filtering canister

402: step

404: step

405: staging area

602: step (step)

603: cup dispenser

604: step

606: step

608: Step

609: water dispenser

610: Step

611: ice dispenser

612: Step

614: step (step)

702: Step

704: Step

804: Nozzle

902: cup (cup)

904: swivelling bottom

906: Perimeter barrier

908: Panel

1002: Mechanism

1004: rotor

1006: conveyor belt (conveyor belt)

1100: belt conveyor mechanism

1101: mixing canister

1102: Vertical lift conveyor

1104: turntable

1106: member

1108: rotate

1110: Raise, lower (raise, lower)

1140: filtering canister

1200: beverage preparation station

1240: filter rack (filter rack)

Representative embodiments of the invention are described herein, by way of example only, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a beverage maker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 depicts the first part of the brewing phase of preparing a beverage from a beverage base.

Figure 3 shows the second part of the brewing stage.

Figure 4 shows the third part of the brewing stage.

Figure 5 provides an overview of the procedures involved in the brewing phase.

Figure 6 illustrates a serving phase in the preparation of the beverage.

Figure 7 provides an overview of the procedures involved in the serving stage.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the appearance of a cleaning station of the beverage maker of FIG. 1 .

9A and 9B are schematic views of the external appearance of the collecting table of the beverage brewing machine of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 10 is a schematic external view of the mechanism of the rotating bottom in FIGS. 9A and 9B .

Figure 11 illustrates the manner in which the contents are transferred between two jars by means of a belt conveyor.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of the appearance of a beverage maker according to another embodiment.

100: Beverage Maker

102: Robotic Arm

103: Robotic Arm

104: Mechanical arm device

106: Dosing Station

110: Seasoning Station

112: Collection table

114: Cleaning Station

120: Control unit

Claims (25)

A coffee and/or tea maker comprising: a mechanical arm device; A control unit for operating the robotic arm device to prepare coffee and/or tea infused from its base, wherein the control unit is configured to: actuating the robotic arm device to perform a sequence of actions for the transfer of contents between a mixing tank and a filter tank, wherein the mixing tank initially contains the beverage base, and wherein the filter canister includes a filter element for separating the base material received from the mixing tank during transfer of the contents such that the filter canister contains filtered coffee and/or tea, and is The binder retained by the filter element. The coffee and/or tea brewer of claim 1, wherein the robotic arm device tilts the mixing tank toward the filter tank during the transfer of the content of the mixing tank into the filter tank, and during the transfer of the content of the mixing tank into the filter tank During the transfer of the contents of the filter tank into the mixing tank, the filter tank is tilted towards the mixing tank. The coffee and/or tea brewer of claim 2, wherein, during transferring the contents of the mixing tank into the filter tank, the control unit sets the sequence of actions performed by the robotic arm device, including tilting the mixing the canister with its spout close to an opening of the filter canister. The coffee and/or tea brewer of claim 3, wherein the sequence of actions further comprises subsequently moving the mixing tank so that its spout is moved away from the opening of the filter tank. A coffee and/or tea brewer as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the control unit sets the sequence of actions to be performed by the robotic arm device during the transfer of the contents between the mixing tank and the filter tank , including rotating the mixing tank. A coffee and/or tea brewer as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the control unit is arranged to repeat the transfer of the contents, ending with the filter tank containing the filtered coffee and/or tea . The coffee and/or tea maker as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a dosing station for dispensing the base material and liquid to soak the base material, wherein the control unit is further configured to: The robotic arm arrangement is actuated to place the mixing tank into the dosing station when the mixing tank is emptied to collect the dispensed base and the dispensed liquid. A coffee and/or tea brewer as claimed in claim 7, wherein the control unit is further arranged to cause the dispensed base and the dispensed liquid in the mixing tank to be agitated. A coffee and/or tea brewer as claimed in claim 8, wherein the control unit is further arranged to actuate the robotic arm device to agitate the dispensed base and the dispensed liquid using a stirrer. If the coffee and/or tea maker of claim 8, it also includes a vibrator for performing the stirring, and after the mixing tank has collected the dispensed base material and the dispensed liquid, the robotic arm device will place the mixing tank under the instruction of the control unit to the vibrator. A coffee and/or tea brewer as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the control unit is further arranged to actuate the robotic arm arrangement to replace the filter element of the filter tank. The coffee and/or tea brewer of claim 11, wherein the robotic arm device inserts the filter element in the filter tank before the filter tank receives the contents from the mixing tank, and inserts the filter element in the filter tank before the filter tank receives the contents from the mixing tank The filter element is removed after the coffee and/or tea has been made. If the coffee and/or tea maker of claim 11 or claim 12, further include: A filter element holder, and the robotic arm device will obtain the filter element from the filter element holder under the instruction of the control unit. The coffee and/or tea maker as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising A beverage reservoir, and the robotic arm device will empty the filtered coffee and/or tea in the filter tank into the beverage reservoir under the instruction of the control unit. The coffee and/or tea maker of claim 14, further comprising: A seasoning station for dispensing seasoning, wherein the control unit is further arranged to actuate the robotic arm arrangement to place a cup into the seasoning station to collect the dispensed seasoning. The coffee and/or tea brewer of claim 15, wherein the control unit is further arranged to actuate the robotic arm device to place the cup into the beverage reservoir to collect the filtered coffee and/or tea. If the coffee and/or tea maker of claim 15 or 16, further include: A user interface configured to receive input regarding a mixing method of the seasoning and communicate the mixing method to the seasoning station. A coffee and/or tea brewer as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the seasoning station is arranged to receive a mix of the seasoning from a remote computing device. The coffee and/or tea maker according to any one of claims 15 to 18, further comprising: A collection table, and the robotic arm device will place the cup containing the filtered coffee and/or tea and the dispensed seasoning on the collection table under the instruction of the control unit. The coffee and/or tea brewer of claim 19, wherein the collection station comprises one or more collection areas, wherein the control unit is arranged to: The robotic arm device is actuated to place the container in a designated collection area. The coffee and/or tea brewer of claim 20, wherein the collection station further comprises at least one sensor to monitor the availability of the one or more collection areas, and wherein the designated collection area is obtained from the one or more collection areas selected from the collection area. The coffee and/or tea maker according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising: a cleaning station, and the robotic arm device will move the canister and the mixing can back to the cleaning station after the coffee and/or tea has been made, wherein the cleaning station is configured to rinse the removed canister and mixing tank. The coffee and/or tea brewing machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the robotic arm device comprises a robotic arm; the robotic arm will alternately drive the mixing tank and drive the mixing tank when transferring the contents. The action of the filter canister. The coffee and/or tea brewing machine of any one of claims 1 to 22, wherein the robotic arm device comprises: a first robotic arm; and A second robotic arm, wherein when transferring the content, the first robotic arm drives the mixing tank and the second robotic arm drives the filter tank. The coffee and/or tea brewing machine of any one of claims 15 to 22, wherein the robotic arm device comprises A first robotic arm for preparing the filtered coffee and/or tea, the first robotic arm will alternately drive the mixing tank and drive the filter tank when transferring the contents action; and A second robotic arm for driving the cup containing the filtered coffee and/or tea.

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