Modern Process Equipment, Inc.

Bunn-o-matic Corporation

Grinders, Inc.

Daniel R Ephraim

Philip C Ephraim

David F Ford

Christopher Martin Spatz

James H Anson

Charles A Nidiffer

Sam Lepper

Brian Willebrand

Max Ephraim

A coffee degassing device is disclosed and method. The coffee degassing device comprises a coffee bin and a hollow tree within the bin. The hollow tree has an opening in communication with the interior of the coffee bin. The tree provides an exit path for carbon dioxide off-gassing from the coffee. The device may have a diffusion gas supply conduit. The diffusion gas supply conduit is in communication with the hollow tree and is configured to supply nitrogen, or another diffusion gas, to the degassing tree for accelerating the degassing of coffee.

Coffee degassing device

A coffee densifier is disclosed. The coffee densifier comprises an elongated chamber, a densifier motor, a shaft, a plurality of densifier members, a discharge door actuator, a densifier motor load sensor, and a controller. The plurality of densifier members are fixed to the shaft and configured to polish a plurality of coffee particles of the ground coffee within the elongated chamber when the plurality of densifier members are rotated by the shaft through the ground coffee within the mixing chamber. The controller configured to signal the discharge door actuator to move the discharge door to increase or decrease a density of the ground coffee exiting the chamber through the discharge opening when the densifier motor load is outside a predefined densifier motor load operating range.

Coffee densifier

A method of controlling coffee density exiting from a coffee densifier is disclosed. The method includes the steps of feeding a ground coffee into a mixing chamber having a discharge door. A mixer motor load on a mixer motor driving mixing members agitating the ground coffee in the mixing chamber is measured. The discharge door is moved when the mixer motor load is outside a predefined mixer motor load operating range.

Method of densifying coffee

A grinder for grinding materials to produce a ground substance. The grinder includes a cabinet, a grinder motor retained in the cabinet, and a grinder mechanism coupled to the motor to grind the materials. A hopper is positioned in communication with the grinder mechanism to deliver materials for grinding. The container retainer is attached to the grinder for retaining a container in close proximity for capturing ground material dispensed thereby. An activation switch assembly is included with the grinder to selectively control the grinder and activate the grinder when a container is placed in a desired location. A substance settling assembly is included with the grinder for removing a container retained by the grinder to settle the substance as it is dispensed from the grinder to the container. A chaff retainer is provided for maintaining chaff included with the ground substance in mixture with the ground substance. A clean-out member is operatively attached to the grinder and selectively engageable with the chaff retainer for removing chaff from the grinder. A magnetic collection device is positioned in the hopper for capturing magnetic pieces which may be deposited in the hopper. An active ventilation system is also included with the grinder for actively and controllably removing heat from the grinder cabinet.

High volume grinder

A dispensing control assembly for use with a grinding apparatus to controllably dispense coffee beans therethrough. The grinding apparatus includes a hopper in gravity feed relationship with the dispensing control assembly and a grinder positioned below the dispensing control assembly for grinding material dispensed therethrough. The dispensing control assembly includes a slide plate retained between the hopper and the grinder for selective movement between an open and a closed position. A moving mechanism is provided and coupled to the slide plate for moving the slide plate between the open position and the closed position. A baffle is also provided which extends over a portion of the slide plate facing the hopper with the baffle creating a void therebelow to facilitate movement of the slide plate into the closed position and avoid trapping coffee beans.

Multiple hopper grinder

A novel process for grinding limestone to a predetermined particle size distribution is disclosed. The process comprises feeding a feedstock of limestone to a roll grinder having a pair of opposing rotating rolls having a smooth surface, the rolls being separated by a predetermined nip or gap and having a predetermined circumferential velocity, and grinding the limestone between the rolls to a particle size distribution including particles in a range of about 75% to about 90% by weight greater than 200 mesh to produce a limestone product. Optionally, particles larger than about 14 to 16 mesh are removed, in a separator, and refed to the roll grinder.

Process for grinding limestone to predetermined particle size

A grinder for coffee beans, comprising a hopper, two grinding burrs arranged for relative rotation about a vertical axis, and a chamber defined by walls including an outer wall and a lower plate, which has two outlets. At each outlet, a flexible blade mounted to such outlet closes such outlet until coffee grounds in the chamber are pressed downwardly with sufficient force to flex the blade. A rotor arranged to sweep in the chamber has portions having inclined faces whereby grounds being swept tend to be downwardly pressed. Each outlet is configured to direct grounds downwardly and radially. The outer wall is relieved to define two spiral configurations countering tendencies of the grounds to rotate as an annular mass.

Coffee grinder

A coffee grinder useful in business offices or small restaurants. A hopper for coffee beans has an outlet in its lower wall. A motor is mounted vertically within the hopper. A stationary grinding burr and a rotatable grinding burr, which is driven by the motor via a vertical shaft extending through the outlet, cooperate to grind such beans into smaller grounds and to expel such grounds radially and horizontally between the burrs. A wall having an aperture surrounds the burrs and prevents such grounds from being expelled except through the aperture. A deflector mounted to the wall, outside the aperture, deflects such grounds downwardly in a concentrated stream.

A grinding machine comprised of adjustable grinding mechanism for grinding material into preselected sized grounds. The grinding mechanism includes a stationary grinding burr and a grinding burr affixed to an axially adjustable rotor assembly. The rotor assembly includes on its face opposite to where the grinding burr is located a vane assembly which is designed to insure that any of the ground material that seeks to move into the cavity in which the vaned portion of the rotor and other adjustable mechanisms are located is evicted from said cavity to prevent fouling of the adjustable mechanisms located therein.

Grinding machine

A discharge chute unit is provided for attachment to a coffee grinder which has a discharge opening in the underside of a grinding chamber. The upper end of the discharge chute unit is mounted under the discharge opening and provided with de-chaffing the de-plugging means. A baffle is pivotally mounted in the upper end of the chute unit below the de-chaffer and de-plugger and normally biased in a position to deflect the flow of ground coffee and chaff toward the back side or rear wall of the chute member. The free discharge of chaff into the chute unit is prevented by a de-chaffer having reed-like de-chaffing members which yieldably obstruct the inlet opening into the chute unit without overly interfering with the discharge and flow of ground coffee from the grinding chamber into the chute unit. The pivotally mounted baffle carries on a support rod one element for depressing the reed-like members so as to provide a de-plugging opening and another element which is located in the discharge opening of the grinding chamber for knocking or breaking up ground coffee that has become lodged and caked in the opening. Manual pivoting of the baffle actuates both the element which depresses the de-chaffer reeds and the de-plugging or knockout bar.

Discharge chute unit for coffee grinders

A coffee grinder-mixer assembly and method for alternatively producing high yield coffee and regular yield coffee comprising a grinding head, an elongated mixer box, a first elongated shaft mounting auger means and supported for rotation in the mixer box, second elongated shaft concentric with the first shaft for rotation relative to the first shaft, a plurality of paddles mounted on the second shaft, and means for alternatively co-rotating and counter-rotating the first shaft and the second shaft, relative to the other, thereby alternatively to produce high yield and regular yield coffees.

Growing community of inventors

Glencoe, IL, United States of America

Daniel R Ephraim