Apparatus for roasting coffee beans

1. An apparatus for roasting coffee beans, the apparatus comprising:

a casing that defines an internal void;

a baffle for dividing said internal void into first and second zones that are in fluid communication with one another, said baffle comprising a printed circuit board having a first face that faces said first zone and a second face that faces said second zone;

a heater coupled to said second face of said printed circuit board, said heater being operable to heat air to temperatures suitable for roasting said coffee beans, and a roasting chamber in which said coffee beans are circulated and roasted by air that has been heated by said heater, said roasting chamber and said heater being located in said second zone;

a control system for controlling the apparatus, said control system comprising a plurality of electronic components and a fan motor located adjacent to one another and coupled to said first face of said printed circuit board so that said plurality of electronic components and the fan motor are located in said first zone; and

a fan configured to be controlled via the fan motor and operable to: (i) draw ambient air into said first zone, (ii) blow air that has been drawn into said first zone over said plurality of electronic components of said control system to cool said control system, (iii) drive air that has been blown over said plurality of electronic components from said first zone past said baffle into said second zone for heating by said heater, and (iv) drive air that has been heated by said heater into said roasting chamber to circulate and roast said coffee beans, whereby said first zone is cooler than said second zone when the fan is in operation.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the roasting chamber of said apparatus located in said second zone is separated from said casing by means of spacers of a low thermal conductivity.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said casing is of a material having a high thermal conductivity to draw heat from said second zone to said first zone, thereby reducing an external temperature of said casing.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a temperature in said first zone whilst the apparatus is being used to roast coffee beans is 60 degrees centigrade or less.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a temperature in said second zone whilst the apparatus is being used to roast coffee beans is several hundreds of degrees centigrade.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the temperature is about 300 degrees centigrade.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the fan is operable to drive air between the baffle and the casing from the first zone into the second zone.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the fan is operable to drive airflow through a circuitous path from said first zone to said second zone to thereby introduce perturbations in the airflow that promote mixing of heated air in said second zone.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1 , comprising a mixer that is operable to mix heated air.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein said mixer comprises plurality of vanes provided on said heater.

11. An apparatus for roasting coffee beans, the apparatus comprising:

a casing that defines an internal void;

a baffle for dividing said internal void into first and second zones that are in fluid communication with one another, said second zone being above said first zone when the apparatus is orientated for use, said baffle comprising a printed circuit board having a first face that faces said first zone and a second face that faces said second zone, said baffle having an area that is smaller than a lateral cross-sectional area of the internal void to thereby provide a gap around the baffle between the baffle and the casing through which air can pass from said first zone to said second zone;

a heater coupled to said second face of said printed circuit board, said heater being operable to heat air to temperatures suitable for roasting said coffee beans;

a roasting chamber in which said coffee beans are circulated and roasted by air that has been heated by said heater, said roasting chamber and said heater being located in said second zone, said roasting chamber being separated from said casing by means of spacers of a low thermal conductivity;

a control system for controlling the apparatus, said control system comprising a plurality of electronic components and a fan motor located adjacent to one another and coupled to said first face of said printed circuit board so that said plurality of electronic components and the fan motor are located in said first zone, said control system being connected to said heater through said printed circuit board; and

a fan configured to be controlled via the fan motor and operable to: (i) draw ambient air into said first zone, (ii) blow the air that has been drawn into said first zone over said plurality of electronic components of said control system to cool said control system, (iii) drive the air that has been blown over said plurality of electronic components from said first zone past said baffle into said second zone for heating by said heater, and (iv) drive air that has been heated by said heater into said roasting chamber to circulate and roast said coffee beans, whereby said first zone is cooler than said second zone when the fan is in operation, and said casing is of a material having a high thermal conductivity to draw heat from said second zone to said first zone, thereby reducing an external temperature of said casing.