| 摘要 |
<p>An automatic espresso and cappuccino machine (10) comprises a number of individual filter units (34A-D) movable with respect to a coffee filling station (28), a coffee dispensing station (30), a filter cleaning station (32) and a filter washing station (33). Ground coffee is introduced into each filter unit (34) at the coffee filling station (28) and then the filter units are selectively rotated by a filter indexing device (36) to the coffee dispensing station (30) where they are moved into engagement with a water nozzle (174) which first compacts the coffee and then directs heated water through the ground coffee to form espresso. An emulsifier (38) is also located at the coffee dispensing station (30), which is effective to produce foamed milk for combination with the espresso to form cappuccino. After the brewing operation is completed, the filter units (34) are first transported from the coffee dispensing station (30) to the filter cleaning station (32) where the cake or layer of coffee grounds is removed and allowed to fall by gravity into a waste container (50), and then to the filter washing station (33) where a spray of water (336) removes any grounds remaining within the filter units.</p> |
