Automatic single-serving beverage brewing system
A brewing system comprises a grinder, a brewer, a capsule holder, and a controller. The grinder is configured to grind whole coffee beans into coffee grounds with adjustable coarseness. 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. The brewer is configured to dispense water for brewing coffee through a third opening below the brewer, wherein the brewer is positioned laterally relative to the grinder. The capsule dock is 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. The controller is configured to control the grinder, brewer, and capsule dock.
1 . A coffee brewing system, comprising:
a grinder configured for grinding whole coffee beans into coffee grounds with adjustable coarseness, the grinder 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, the brewer positioned laterally relative to the grinder, the brewer comprising:
a stationary nozzle configured to dispense a laminar flowing water stream of the water in a downward direction, and
one or more electrodes disposed adjacent to the water stream, the one or more electrodes configured to generate an electrical field which bends the water stream according to a selected pouring pattern;
a capsule dock configured to hold a capsule containing a coffee filter;
a linear positioning stage configured to linearly translate the capsule dock between a first position under the second opening of the grinder and a second position under the third opening below the brewer; and
a controller configured to control the grinder, the brewer, the capsule dock, and the linear positioning stage, wherein the selected pouring pattern is determined based on a type of the coffee beans being used.
2 . The coffee brewing system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to initiate a brewing process when an integrated force sensor detects a force applied to a front end of the capsule dock.
3 . The coffee brewing system of claim 1 , further comprising an electronic reader configured to read an identification tag on the capsule, wherein the controller is further configured to adjust one or more settings of at least one of the grinder or the brewer based on information associated with the identification tag.
4 . The coffee brewing system of claim 3 , wherein at least one setting of the one or more settings adjusts a coarseness of coffee ground by the grinder.
5 . The coffee brewing system of claim 3 , wherein at least one setting of the one or more settings adjusts a temperature, a volume, or a pouring pattern of the water stream.
6 . The coffee brewing system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to cause the capsule dock to translate from the first position to the second position based on an indication of a completion of a grinding operation.
7 . The coffee brewing system of claim 6 , wherein the indication of the completion of the grinding operation is based on a weight of the capsule measured by an integrated force sensor of the capsule dock.
8 . The coffee brewing system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to cause the brewer to start a brewing process based on an indication that the capsule dock is at the second position under the brewer.
9 . The coffee brewing system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to receive instructions via a user interface configured to enable a user to specify a grind size, a water temperature, a water volume, or a coffee-to-water ratio.
10 . The coffee brewing system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to receive instructions via a user interface configured to present one or more brewing recipes for user selection, each brewing recipe specifying a predetermined brewing configuration for the coffee brewing system.
11 . The coffee brewing system of claim 10 , wherein the user interface is provided by an application on a user device separate from the coffee brewing system.
12 . The coffee brewing system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to receive instructions via a user interface configured to enable a user to specify brewing details associated with a plurality of pours to be used during a brewing process.
13 . The coffee brewing system of claim 12 , wherein the brewing details associated with each pour comprise a water temperature, a water volume, or a pouring pattern.
14 . The coffee brewing system of claim 1 , wherein the grinder comprises:
a burr assembly comprising an inner burr connected to a main shaft so as to rotate about an axis of the main shaft, and an outer burr encasing the inner burr; and
a motor configured to adjust a gap between the inner burr and the outer burr.
15 . The coffee brewing system of claim 14 , wherein the gap between the inner burr and the outer burr affects a coarseness of the coffee ground.
16 . The coffee brewing system of claim 15 , wherein the controller is configured to cause the inner burr to move upward so as to decrease the gap between the inner burr and the outer burr thereby decreasing the coarseness of the coffee ground.
17 . The coffee brewing system of claim 1 , wherein the capsule dock further comprises:
a capsule holder configured to receive the capsule; and
a connecting member configured to connect the capsule holder to the linear positioning stage.
18 . The coffee brewing system of claim 1 , wherein the linear positioning stage is further configured to selectively shake the capsule dock during a brewing process.
19 . The coffee brewing system of claim 1 , wherein the linear positioning stage comprises an integrated position sensor configured to detect whether the capsule is in a correct position for receiving the coffee grounds from the grinder or for receiving water from the brewer.
20 . The coffee brewing system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more electrodes include a plurality of electrodes surrounding the water stream.