Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BEVERAGE MAKING CONTAINER FOR PLACEMENT ONTO A CUP
This invention relates to a beverage making container for placement
onto a cup with a valve operable to release the beverage after infusion into
the cup.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Beverage making containers of this type can be used for coffee, tea or
other tea type materials where the ingredients are placed in the container and
hot
water is added to infuse the active ingredients into the water allowing the
beverage
to be discharged while the ingredients remain trapped in the container.
Melitta manufacture a device of the type where the container supports
a paper filter and the water is poured onto the ingredients in the filter and
are
allowed to drip through the filter at a rate determined by the filter paper.
Devices of
this type are generally not suitable for tea and tea type materials because
the
ingredients must remain sitting in the water for a longer period to effect
steeping of
the tea.
Other device of this general type include a valve at the bottom which
actively holds the materials in the container until the steeping action is
complete.
Such a device is sold by Adagio teas under the trade mark "Ingenuitea". This
includes a plate at the bottom which sits on top of the top rim of a cup and
activates
the valve to release the beverage through a duct into the cup.
Examples of this type of device are also shown in the following patent
documents:
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US Patent 4,898,090 (Chan) assigned to Melitta discloses a filter
container arranged to be mounted on a specially adapted jug.
US Patent 5,826,493 (Lin Tien) issued October 27 1998 shows an
infusion urn of this type formed in two pieces fastened together including an
upper
container piece for the liquid and a bottom movable piece which is arranged to
sit on
a cup. A valve is formed by a stopper mounted on a pin carried by the bottom
piece. The stopper is moved upwardly with the bottom piece when the device is
placed on a cup so that the stopper moves from a seat at the bottom of the
upper
container piece to open the valve and allow discharge of the contents of the
infusion
urn. A filter is located in the bottom of the urn above the stopper so that
the
ingredients are collected in the urn while the liquid discharges.
US Patent 6,058,827 (Lin Tien) issued May 9 2000 discloses a similar
arrangement to that of the above patent.
US Patent 6,164,190 (Lin Tien) issued December 26 2000 discloses
further similar arrangement where a one piece urn has a bottom plate arranged
to sit
on the rim of the cup which pushes upwardly to distort a buckling disk to move
the
stopper upwardly.
US Patent 6,327,965 (Lin Tien) issued December 11 2001 and US
Patent D432,205 (Lin Tien) show further examples of devices of this type.
US Published Application 2009/0272276 (Lin Tien) published
November 5 2009 and US Published Application 2010/0212509 (Lin Tien) published
August 26 2010 show further examples of devices of this type.
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US Published Application 2009/0057348 (Pao-Wu Tien) published
March 5 2009 shows a further example of devices of this type using a different
type
of valve which has a through bore and is operated manually by a thumb wheel.
US Patent 6,343,542 (Shen) issued February 5 2002 discloses an
arrangement of this type which has a steel ball forming the valve activated by
a
manual trigger on the handle.
US Patent 6,805,040 (Chang) issued October 19 2004 discloses an
arrangement of this type which has a mushroom shaped valve activated by a
manual trigger on the handle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one object of the invention to provide an improved apparatus of
this general type.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided an
apparatus for brewing a beverage comprising:
a base having a bottom engagement portion for sitting on a planar
support surface;
an urn mounted on the base for containing a liquid and one or more
beverage ingredients for brewing the beverage in the urn;
a discharge opening at the bottom of the urn;
the base and the urn being separate components releasably
connected together;
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the base having a duct therethrough with a bottom discharge opening
such that beverage from the urn is discharged from the discharge opening at
the
bottom of the urn through the base to the bottom discharge opening of the base
when the beverage is brewed;
a filter at a bottom of the urn for filtering the beverage ingredients from
the beverage as the beverage is discharged through the discharge opening at
the
bottom of the urn;
wherein with the urn has a bottom connection portion which engages
into a receptacle in the base to provide a connection acting to hold the base
and urn
together;
wherein the urn has a bottom edge of the bottom connection portion
surrounding the discharge opening at the bottom of the urn which engages onto
a
flexible sealing disk in the receptacle of the base to provide a seal between
the urn
and the base;
wherein the sealing disk is integral with a tube which extends
downwardly from a hole in the sealing disk within said bottom edge to said
bottom
discharge opening of the base;
a valve for maintaining the liquid and the beverage ingredients in the
urn for brewing of the beverage and operable to allow the discharge of the
beverage
from the urn and through the base;
wherein the valve comprises a pinch member arranged to pinch the
tube to prevent said discharge;
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and a movable member mounted on the base for movement relative to
the base for operating said pinch member to release said discharge of the
beverage,
Preferably there is provided a threaded coupling between the bottom
connection portion of the urn and the receptacle of the base.
5 Preferably there is provided a snap coupling between the bottom
connection portion of the urn and the receptacle of the base.
Preferably there is provided a press coupling between the bottom
connection portion of the urn and the receptacle of the base.
Preferably the pinch member comprises a rotatable shaft with a cam
portion thereon for pinching the tube.
Preferably the pinch member is biased into a pinching action and the
movable member acts to move the pinch member out of pinching action.
Preferably the urn and the base are formed of dissimilar materials.
In one example, the urn is formed of glass and the base is formed of
plastic.
In another example, both the urn and the base are molded.
In another example, the urn is formed of stainless steel and the base is
formed of plastic.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided an
apparatus for brewing a beverage comprising:
a base having a bottom engagement portion for sitting on a planar
support surface;
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an urn mounted on the base for containing a liquid and one or more
beverage ingredients for brewing the beverage in the urn;
a discharge opening at the bottom of the urn;
the base and the urn being separate components releasably
connected together;
the base having a duct therethrough with a bottom discharge opening
such that beverage from the urn is discharged from the discharge opening at
the
bottom of the urn through the base to the bottom discharge opening of the base
when the beverage is brewed;
a filter at a bottom of the urn for filtering the beverage ingredients from
the beverage as the beverage is discharged through the discharge opening at
the
bottom of the urn;
the base having a receptacle at a top of the base with a top edge
surrounding the receptacle;
wherein with the urn comprises a molded body defining an integral
bottom connection portion which engages into the receptacle in the base to
provide
a connection acting to hold the base and urn together;
wherein the urn has a bottom edge of the integral bottom connection
portion surrounding the discharge opening at the bottom of the urn which
engages
onto a flexible sealing disk in the receptacle of the base to provide a seal
between
the urn and the base;
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wherein the urn is shaped such the urn has no surface butting the top
edge of the base so that the bottom edge of the integral bottom connection
portion
extends into the receptacle to a distance to engage the flexible sealing diski
and wherein the sealing disk is integral with a tube which extends
downwardly from a hole in the sealing disk within said bottom edge to said
bottom
discharge opening of the base;
and a valve for maintaining the liquid and the beverage ingredients in
the urn for brewing of the beverage and operable to allow the discharge of the
beverage from the urn and through the base;
wherein the valve comprises a pinch member arranged to pinch the
tube to prevent said discharge and a movable member mounted on the base for
movement relative to the base for operating said pinch member to release said
discharge of the beverage.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a brewing apparatus according to
the present invention.
Figure 2 is a top plan view of the brewing apparatus of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view along the lines 3-3 of Figure
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2 through a first embodiment of brewing apparatus according to the present
invention.
Figure 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view along the lines 4-4 of Figure
2 through the first embodiment of Figure 3.
Figure 4A is a vertical cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale of the
base of Figure 4.
Figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view along the lines 3-3 of Figure
2 through a second embodiment of brewing apparatus according to the present
invention.
Figure 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view along the lines 4-4 of Figure
2 through the second embodiment of Figure 3.
Figure 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view through a third embodiment
of brewing apparatus according to the present invention and showing a
different
mounting arrangement of the urn.
Figure 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view through a fourth embodiment
of brewing apparatus according to the present invention and showing a yet
further
different mounting arrangement of the urn on the base.
In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding
parts in the different figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The apparatus for brewing a beverage as shown in Figure 1 includes
a base 10 molded from a plastic material which is shown circular in plan but
can be
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any configuration moldable via conventional means with a bottom edge 12 for
sitting
on a planar support surface 11. The base has an outer wall 13 connecting to a
frusto-conical upper portion 14 with a circular top 15. A receptacle 16 is
recessed
into the top 15.
An urn 20 is mounted on the base 10 and is arranged for containing a
liquid and one or more beverage ingredients for brewing the beverage in the
urn.
The shape of the urn can vary in accordance with design requirements. A cover
(not
shown) may be provided on the open top 21 of the urn with a side lever and
hinge to
open the cover to allow access to load the urn. A handle 22 is located on one
side
to allow the urn and base to be Lifted. The bottom of the urn includes a
generally
cylindrical portion 23 extending to a bottom edge 24 with the bottom being
open at
the inside surface of the cylindrical portion 23 to the circular bottom
opening 25 at
the bottom edge. The open bottom 25 forms a discharge opening at the bottom of
the urn 20.
A filter 30 is provided at a bottom of the urn within the bottom portion
23 for filtering the beverage ingredients from the beverage as it is
discharged. The
filter is conical in shape to as to stand upwardly from the bottom of the
cylindrical
portion 23 to a top apex 31. A cylindrical bottom portion 32 of the filter is
a snap fit
or press fit into the bottom portion 23 so that the filter remains in place
during the
brewing and discharge process until removed by the user, for example for
cleaning.
The base and the urn are separate components releasably connected
together. Thus the urn 20 has the bottom cylindrical connection portion 23
which
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cooperates with the receptacle 16 of the base to provide a connection acting
to hold
the base and urn together. That is the bottom connection portion 23 and the
portion
16 of the base are shaped to cooperate to prevent, when engaged, separation of
the
portions by simple pulling, although of course they can be separated by the
user
5 when
required, by carrying out the required separation action depending on the type
of connection. Therefore the base 10 includes a generally cup shaped
receptacle 16
at the top into which the matching generally cylindrical bottom portion of the
urn is
inserted.
The connection between the components can be provided by any one
10 of a
plurality of different coupling methods in which the outer surface of the urn
is
connected into a receptacle of the base. These can include a threaded coupling
between the bottom portion and the receptacle, a snap coupling between the
bottom
portion and the receptacle or a press coupling between the bottom portion and
the
receptacle.
The coupling is located outside the urn on a peripheral surface of the
connection component so that there is no necessity to insert components such
as
removable nuts or screws into the urn. A resilient sealing disk 40 is provided
between the bottom edge 24 of the urn and the base. The receptacle 16 thus has
a
bottom surface or shelf 17 at the middle of which is provided an opening 18
connected to a duct 19 extending downwardly to the bottom surface 11 at or
adjacent the plane of the bottom edge 12. The sealing disk 40 is compressed by
engagement of the bottom edge 24 of the urn with the shelf 17 of the base. The
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sealing disk 40 is attached to or integral with a tube 41 which extends
downwardly
from the seal to a discharge opening 42 at the bottom of the base 10. The tube
thus
extends through a passage defined by the duct 19 formed in the base. Thus
liquid
escaping from the open bottom of the urn can pass through the tube to the
bottom of
the base to discharge into a cup or other receptacle such that beverage from
the urn
is discharged from the container through the base into the receptacle when the
beverage is brewed.
A valve 50 is provided for maintaining the liquid and the beverage
ingredients in the urn for brewing of the beverage which is operable to allow
the
discharge of the beverage into the receptacle. A movable member 51 is mounted
on
the base 10 for upward movement relative to the base for operating the valve
50 to
allow discharge of the beverage. The member 51 forms a flat plate or disk 52
with a
center collar 53 slidable on the duct 19 so that it is constrained to move
upwardly
and downwardly. it falls under gravity or under pressure of a spring 55 to a
lower
position when the edge 12 is supported on the surface 11. An outer edge 56 of
the
disk 52 runs just inside the inner surface of the outer wall 13 of the base.
The valve 50 comprises a pinch member 54 arranged to pinch the tube
41. The movable plate 52 is carried on the base for engaging a top of the cup
when
the base is placed on the cup, the movable member being movable upwardly in
the
base in response to contact with the cup so that movement of the movable
member
causes operation of the pinch member 54 to release the pinching action to
allow the
discharge of the liquid. The pinch member 54 is thus biased into a pinching
action
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and the movable plate acts through a linkage described hereinafter to move the
pinch member 54 out of pinching action.
As the urn and the base are formed separately, they can be formed of
dissimilar materials. Thus for example the urn can be formed preferably by
molding
of glass and the base is formed of injection molded plastic. As an
alternative, the
urn can be formed of stainless steel or ceramic.
In Figure 4A, the details of the linkage which operates the pinch
member is shown. Thus the member 51 slides up and down the cylindrical duct
19.
The spring 55 keeps the member 51 down when no upward pressure from a cup is
applied. The member 51 is prevented from being pushed completely out of the
cylindrical wall 13 of the base 10 by engagement of the edge 56 of the plate
51 with
molded plastic pimples 13A on the inside surface of the wall 13 at the bottom
edge
12. The disk or plate 51 can be forced upwardly during assembly to move past
the
pimples 13A.
The linkage 50 includes the collar 53 which moves with the plate 51.
The pinch member 54 carries two steel pins 50A, one at each end each of which
snaps into a respective slot 50B cut at the top pf the collar 53. As the plate
51 with
collar 53 moves upwardly, the slot 50A pushes on the pinch member 54 causing
it to
rotate out of the pinching position. The slot 50A allows for the position of
the pin 50A
relative to the collar 53 to change as pinch member 54 rotates, in the form of
the
known scotch yoke mechanism. The opening 50C at the top of the slot 50B allows
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the pins 50A to snap into the slot 50B during assembly of the plate 51 and
operating
mechanism to the base 10.
In Figures 5 and 6, an alternative linkage is provided which operates
the pinch member. Thus in this arrangement, the plate 52 slides a cam 58
upwardly
with a cam surface 59 which acts on a cam follower 60 to pull a rod 61
attached to
the pinch member 54A along its length in the direction of arrow D out of the
pinching
position. The rod and pinch member are biased into the pinching position by a
spring 62 surrounding and acting on an end plate 63 of the rod 61.
In Figure 3, the mounting of the urn on the base is shown where the
urn has a screw thread 70 on an outer surface 23A of the cylindrical portion
23
which cooperates with a female thread 71 on inner surface 16A of the
cylindrical wall
16.
In Figure 7, an alternative mounting of the urn on the base is shown
where the urn has a snap fastening ring 72 on outer surface of the neck 23
which
engages a recess in the inner surface of the cylindrical portion 16.
in Figure 8, a three-piece arrangement is shown which includes the urn
as shown in Figure 7 where the neck 23 and ring 72 cooperate with a
cylindrical
wall 81 of an insert piece 80. Thus the base 10 with the receptacle 16
receives the
insert piece 80 inserted into the receptacle 16 as a separately molded element
which
20 also carries the valve 50 as previously described. The insert piece
includes the
cylindrical wall 81, a circular base 82 and a duct 84. These receive the
flexible disk
40 and tube 41 as previously described. The three piece device allows the base
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also to be manufactured in different materials and in different shapes for
cooperation
with different urns with the operating mechanism provided by the valve and the
insert pieces which can be molded in plastic. This would allow for ornate
bases to be
made with a removable valve insert.
In Figure 9 a further alternative mounting of the urn on the base is
shown. In this arrangement the flexible element formed by the disk 40A and
tube
41A are attached to the neck 23 of the urn 20 by a cylindrical band piece 42A
around the neck 23. This neck and flexible element are then inserted as a snap
fit
into the annular wall 16 in the base 10. In this case therefore the flexible
element
defining the disk and tube is attached to the urn and remains with the urn
rather than
the tube.
