MODULAR ASSEMBLY OF A BEVERAGE PREPARATION MACHINE

摘要

A process for manufacturing a beverage preparation machine comprises the following steps: (I) providing a group of components a) to f) that include: a) a brewing unit (500) for receiving an ingredient of said beverage and for guiding an incoming flow of liquid through said ingredient to a beverage outlet (510); b) an in-line heater (600) for heating said flow of liquid to be supplied to the brewing unit; c) pump (800) for pumping said liquid through said in-line heater; d) one or more fluid connecting members (5,200) for guiding said liquid from a source of liquid, such as a tank of liquid, to the beverage outlet; e) an electric control unit (2) for receiving instructions from a user via an interface (2a,2b) and for controlling the in-line heater and the pump; and f) one or more electric sensors (70,95) for sensing at least one operational characteristic and for communicating such characteristic(s) to the control unit; (II) connecting components a) to f) for assembling said beverage machine. The connecting of components a) to f) comprises pre-assembling at least two or three modules (500,600,2;5,800;2,800;200,600;200,800), each module being fully automatically assembled from at least two components of said components a) to f), the components of the fully automatically preassembled modules being so configured to be automatically seizable, orientable, positionable and fully connectable to each other in one or more automatic assembly steps.