MICROWAVE COFFEE-MAKER

CAFETIERE POUR FOUR A MICRO-ONDES

English Abstract

A coffee-maker to make coffee in a microwave oven consists of: a plastic
vessel having a
bottom with a hole into which is inserted a downward facing umbrella valve;
expression
vent holes covered by the valve; a side-wall; a plastic lid; and a plastic and
nylon mesh
filter basket with a flange on its bottom exterior, inserted into the vessel
to create a
shallow cavity above the valve and below the basket, and a larger cavity above
the basket
for ground coffee and water. The coffee-maker sits on a mug. When the water
boils,
steam opens the valve and hot coffee is expressed through the holes. If the
valve fails, an
upper umbrella valve relieves the pressure. The upper umbrella valve has a
handle to
open it manually, to equalize the pressure in order to remove the lid.

French Abstract

L'invention concerne une cafetière pour faire du café dans le micro-ondes, laquelle est constituée des éléments suivants : un récipient en plastique dont la base possède un trou dans lequel est inséré une valve parapluie faisant face vers le bas; des trous d'aération d'expulsion couverts par la valve; une paroi latérale; un couvercle de plastique, et un panier filtre à mailles de plastique et nylon avec une bride sous sa partie extérieure, insérée dans le récipient pour créer une cavité peu profonde au-dessus de la valve et sous le panier, et une plus grande cavité au-dessus du panier pour le café moulu et l'eau. La cafetière repose sur une tasse. Lorsque l'eau bout, la vapeur fait ouvrir la valve et le café chaud est expulsé par les trous. Si la valve fait défaut, une valve parapluie supérieure relâche la pression. La valve parapluie supérieure a une poignée pour être ouverte manuellement, pour égaliser la pression afin de retirer le couvercle.

Claims

CLAIMS
1. A coffee-maker comprising:
a vessel having a bottom wall and a fluid communication through the bottom
wall;
a side wall extending upwards from the bottom wall to form a cavity;
a lower valve attached below the vessel and covering the fluid communication;
a filter inside the cavity;
a lid with at least one vent hole that attaches to the vessel to form a seal
between
the lid and the vessel; and
an upper valve on top of the lid and covering the at least one vent hole,
wherein the
upper valve opens at a higher pressure than the lower valve.
2. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the fluid communication comprises two
or more
expression vent holes.
3. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the lower valve opens when water boils
in the
vessel.
4. The coffee-maker of claim 3, wherein the lower valve opens immediately as a
result of
steam pressure generated when water is just brought to boil in the vessel.
5. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the lower valve is an umbrella valve.
6. The coffee-maker of claim 5, wherein the fluid communication comprises two
or more
expression vent holes, wherein the expression vent holes are dispersed to
distribute
pressure against flexible flaps of the umbrella valve.
7. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the lower valve is a duckbill valve.
8. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the lower valve is a pressure-operated
one-way
valve.
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9. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein, when coffee grinds and water are
placed in the
filter and the coffee-maker microwaved, infused coffee is expressed through
the fluid
communication and lower valve when the water boils.
10. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the lid attaches to the vessel via
screw threads.
11. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the lid has a gasket that forms the
seal.
12. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the vessel is equal or larger in
exterior
diameter than a cup or mug onto which the coffee-maker is placed.
13. The coffee-maker of claim 12, comprising a flange extending downward from
the
bottom wall, the flange being smaller in diameter than the exterior diameter
of the vessel
and smaller in diameter than an interior diameter the cup or mug.
14. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein one or more grooves are located in an
outside
bottom edge of the vessel in order to release air from a coffee cup or mug
onto which the
coffee-maker is placed.
15. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the upper valve is an umbrella valve.
16. The coffee-maker of claim 15, wherein the umbrella valve has a pressure
release
handle and opens under less pressure than would be required to break the seal.
17. The coffee-maker of claim 15 comprising at least two vent holes, wherein
the vent
holes are dispersed to distribute pressure against flexible flaps of the
umbrella valve.
18. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the upper and lower valves are food-
safe and
replaceable.

19. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the filter has a downward facing
flange on an
outer, bottom surface thereof that creates a space between the filter and the
fluid
communication.
20. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the filter is a mesh filter basket.
21. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the filter basket maintains its shape
and
integrity in boiling water.
22. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the filter is a paper filter.
23. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the filter retains coffee grinds that
are placed in
the filter.
24. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the vessel is clear.
25. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the vessel is plastic.
26. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the filter comprises nylon.
27. The coffee-maker of claim 1 wherein the seal retains water for sufficient
time for the
water to be heated to boiling, and for the lower valve to open and express
infused coffee
from the filter through the fluid communication.
28. The coffee-maker of claim 11, wherein the gasket is food-safe.
29. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the vessel comprises handles attached
thereto.
30. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the lid comprises handles attached
thereto.
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31. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the lid is made entirely from
silicone.
32. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the lid is made entirely from rubber.
33. The coffee-maker of claim 1, having no metal parts.
34. The coffee-maker of claim 1, having no melting parts.
35. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the upper valve is attached to the
lid via a hole
in the lid.
36. The coffee-maker of claim 1, wherein the lower valve is attached to the
vessel via a
hole in the bottom wall.
37. A method for infusing coffee comprising the steps of:
placing a filter inside a cavity formed by a vessel having a bottom wall and a
side
wall extending upwards from the bottom wall;
placing water and coffee grinds in the filter;
sealing a lid onto the vessel wherein the lid has at least one vent hole and
an upper
valve on top of the lid and covering the at least one vent hole;
placing the vessel on a mug or cup;
microwaving the vessel with water and coffee grinds to bring the water to
boil; and
expressing infused coffee, via steam pressure generated by the boiling water,
through a fluid communication through the bottom wall and a lower valve
attached below
the vessel and covering the fluid communication, into the mug or cup, wherein
the upper
valve opens at a higher pressure than the lower valve.
38. The method of claim 37 comprising:
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after the expressing and after the expressed coffee begins to cool, opening
the
upper valve to equalize pressure in the cavity.
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Description

SWA001-CA
MICROWAVE COFFEE-MAKER
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention is directed to a novel coffee-maker that is
essentially a
pressure vessel with an umbrella valve in the bottom that releases an infusion
of coffee
under the steam pressure of water just boiled in a microwave oven, more
particularly a
microwaveable coffee-maker.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Easily-made, single-portion, freshly brewed coffee is very popular.
Typical
devices use disposable pods which have a negative environmental impact
(metal).
Individual servings are relatively expensive as they require a sophisticated
manufacturing
process beyond simply grinding coffee beans. The devices are not particularly
mobile.
The devices themselves are relatively expensive. The blends of coffee
available in pods
are restricted to those manufacturers choose to offer. There are multiple pod
standards.
There is limited flexibility as to the strength of the coffee made.
[0003] In view of the current state of the art, there is a need for a device
that can
quickly, conveniently and inexpensively brew a single cup of coffee; that
allows flexibility
as to the strength of the coffee; that can use any blend of coffee beans or
ground coffee;
and that is inexpensive to acquire.
[0004] Citations: US4577080A - Coffee maker adapted for use in a microwave
oven;
US8485089B2 - Microwave coffee maker; US5095185A - Microwave coffee maker
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0005] The present invention is directed to a quick and convenient method and
device
to freshly brew coffee in a microwave oven.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0006] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional drawing representing a microwave coffee-
maker
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
A. Reference numbers
[0007] Reference may now be made to the drawing which illustrates various
preferred
embodiments that the invention may take in physical form and in certain parts
and
arrangement of parts wherein:
1. Round container vessel consisting of a bottom wall and side walls
2. Screw on lid
3. Lid umbrella valve
4. Bottom umbrella valve
5. Nylon mesh filter basket
6. Nylon mesh
7. Pressure release vent holes
8. Expression vent holes
9. Vessel threads
10. Lid threads
11. Bottom-wall exterior flange
12. Lid gasket
13. Filter basket flange
14. Pressure release handle
15. Groove
16. Concave flexible flaps
B. Exemplary Apparatus
[0008] A coffee-maker that is used to make coffee in a microwave oven that
consists of:
a cup-like clear plastic vessel having a flat bottom-wall with a round hole in
its centre into
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which is inserted a downward facing food safe silicon umbrella valve plus 2 ¨
4
expression vent holes covered by the umbrella valve; a side-wall extending
vertically from
the bottom-wall with threads for a lid; a plastic inverted-U shaped lid with
an air-tight food
safe silicon gasket around its interior edge and shaped to press air-tight
against the lip of
the vessel with threads to allow the lid to be screwed tightly onto the
vessel, and with a
round hole in the center of the lid into which is inserted an upward facing
food safe
umbrella valve with a pressure release handle plus 1 or more pressure release
vent holes
covered by the umbrella valve; and a plastic and nylon mesh filter basket with
a small
flange on its bottom exterior to be inserted into the vessel and sit on the
bottom-wall to
create a shallow cavity above the bottom-wall umbrella valve and below the
basket, and a
larger cavity above the basket, into which are put ground coffee and water. A
flange
extends from the exterior bottom-wall of the vessel with a lesser diameter
than the vessel
to enable the coffee-maker to sit securely in a cup or mug.
[0009] In order to make coffee, the coffee-maker sits on and slightly into a
typical coffee
cup or mug. A nylon mesh filter-basket, ground coffee and a cup of water are
put into the
filter-basket and the lid is screwed on tight to create an air-tight seal
between the lid and
the vessel. Both umbrella valves also make the vessel air-tight. As result, no
water can
escape from the vessel prior to the opening of the lower umbrella valve.
[0010] Next the coffee-maker and cup are put into a microwave oven. The device
and
contents are heated in the microwave oven at the high setting for the length
of time the
microwave oven requires to boil a cup of water (approximately two to two and a
half
minutes) plus 5-10 seconds. When the water in the vessel boils, the steam
created
generates the pressure required to open the lower umbrella valve and the hot
coffee
infusion (freshly brewed coffee) is rapidly expressed through the expression
vent holes.
The nylon mesh prevents contamination of the coffee infusion with coffee
grinds. If the
lower umbrella valve fails to open, the upper umbrella valve opens to relieve
the steam
pressure in the vessel while the screwed on lid is designed to resist the
pressure.
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[0011] After the coffee has been made and the device removed from the
microwave
oven and begins to cool, the interior of the coffee-maker contains a partial
vacuum and
the upper umbrella valve has a small handle to enable it to be opened manually
to allow
air to enter the coffee-maker to equalize the pressure in order to easily
remove the lid. It
should be noted the device does not require metal or bi-metal parts, melting
parts or
essentially moving parts such as are typical with other patented or patent
applied for
microwave coffee-makers.
[0012] In one non-limiting aspect of the present invention, there is provided
a clear
plastic microwave coffee-maker that includes a round container vessel (1)
having a
bottom-wall with a downward facing exterior flange (11), a side-wall that
extends upwardly
from the bottom-wall to form a container cavity with threads around the lip
(9); a nylon
mesh filter basket (5) with a flange (13); and a screw on lid (2) with a
gasket (12) and
threads on the interior side wall (10). The bottom-wall includes a food safe
umbrella valve
(4) plus 2-4 expression vent holes (8) covered by the umbrella valve to enable
a hot
coffee infusion to be expressed from the container cavity. The lid is designed
to create an
air-tight seal with a food safe gasket around the interior diameter and has a
food safe
umbrella valve (3) with a pressure release handle (14) plus 1 or more pressure
release
vent holes (7) covered by the umbrella valve to allow for pressure release if
the lower
umbrella valve fails to open. The umbrella valves have concave flexible flaps
(16) that
become convex under sufficient steam pressure to allow venting. The nylon mesh
filter
basket is immersed in water and contains ground coffee. The nylon mesh (6) is
sufficiently
fine to prevent ground coffee granules from expressing out of the vessel
expression vent
holes and contaminating the freshly brewed coffee. There are one or more
grooves (15)
on the outside bottom of the coffee-maker to allow air to easily vent from the
cup being
filled with coffee. The vessel is made of clear plastic to visually monitor
boiling and
venting.
[0013] In another and/or alternative aspect of the present invention, the
coffee-maker
could be made of coloured plastic, ceramic pottery, glass or similar non-
metallic material.
Said aspect would require a method to maintain the airtight seal other than
threads such
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as making the lid heavy enough to resist the steam pressure generated in the
coffee-
maker or clamps to hold the lid tight against the lip. Visual monitoring might
not be
possible.
[0014] In another aspect of the invention the umbrella valves are made of food
safe
rubber or similar material in place of silicon.
[0015] In another aspect of the invention the lower umbrella valve could be a
duckbill or
similar pressure operated one-way valve.
[0016] In another aspect of the invention the lid is made entirely of food-
safe rubber or
silicon or similar material with an umbrella release valve that would release
at a higher
pressure than the bottom valve and designed to wrap around a lid similar to
the lid on
some travel mugs. The vessel would require an exterior facing lip for the lid
to wrap
around. Said lid would be ideal for a ceramic vessel.
[0017] In another aspect the present invention it could be used to brew tea or
an herbal
infusion.
[0018] In another aspect, milk could be used instead of water.
[0019] In another aspect of the invention milk and sugar could be added to the
water.
[0020] In another aspect of the present invention there are small handles on
the lid
and/or vessel.
[0021] In another aspect of the invention it uses a disposable paper filter
and would
include a plastic or ceramic device to help retain the integrity and shape of
the paper filter
in boiling water.
[0022] In another aspect of the invention it can use more or less than a cup
of water.
[0023] These and other objects of the present invention will become readily
apparent
upon further review of the following claims and drawings.
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C. Original Claim Support
[0024] A clear plastic coffee-maker that sits on and partially within a
typical coffee mug
or cup comprising: a vessel having a bottom-wall, a side-wall extending
upwardly from
said bottom-wall to form a container cavity; a plastic and nylon mesh filter
basket that
forms a small cavity below it and a larger cavity above it; and a lid with a
gasket and
threads; said bottom-wall including 2 ¨4 expression vent holes and an umbrella
valve that
covers the holes, said umbrella valve manufactured to immediately open under
the
pressure of steam generated by water in the vessel just brought to the boil
and that by
opening enables an infusion of hot, freshly brewed coffee to be expressed from
said
container cavities; said lid with a gasket that when screwed onto the vessel
forms a
locked, airtight seal over the top of said container cavities, said seal to
provide greater
resistance to the steam pressure generated by boiling water than an umbrella
valve; said
lid including 1 or more pressure release vent holes and an umbrella valve that
covers the
holes manufactured to open at slightly more pressure than the lower umbrella
valve
should the lower umbrella valve fail to open.
[0025] In an embodiment, the coffee-maker as designed in paragraph [0024] is
equal to
or larger in exterior diameter than the coffee cup upon which it will sit to
prevent the bulk
of the vessel from entering the coffee cup.
[0026] The coffee-maker as designed in paragraph [0024] has a flange extending
downward from the exterior bottom wall that is smaller in diameter than the
exterior
diameter of the main vessel and smaller in diameter than the interior diameter
of a typical
coffee cup or mug, so that the coffee-maker can snugly sit on and partially
within a typical
coffee cup.
[0027] The coffee-maker as designed in paragraph [0024] has one or more
grooves
engraved in the outside bottom edge to allow air inside the coffee cup to
freely escape
from the coffee cup.
[0028] The coffee-maker as designed in paragraphs [0024] and [0027] with the
lid in
position to create an airtight seal is so designed as to retain water for
sufficient time for it
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to be heated to the boil point in order to form a typical infusion with ground
coffee, and at
the boiling point for the lower umbrella valve to open and for the infusion of
coffee to
express rapidly through the expression vent holes into a coffee cup or mug.
[0029] The side-wall as designed in paragraph [0024] has at its exterior top
threads to
accommodate a screw on lid.
[0030] The screw on lid as designed in paragraph [0028] has a top-wall with a
food safe
gasket on the interior and a side-wall that extends downward, has a very
slightly larger
inside diameter than the outside diameter of the main vessel threads and has
its own
threads that allow it to be screwed tightly onto the exterior side-wall of the
vessel in order
to press the gasket tightly against the rim of the vessel in order to form an
airtight barrier
requiring significant steam pressure to break the air-tight seal. There is an
umbrella valve
in the center of the lid with a pressure release handle and with 1 or more
pressure release
vent holes that releases under less steam pressure than would be required to
break the
gasket seal and more steam pressure than is required to open the lower
umbrella valve.
[0031] The vent holes as designed in paragraphs [0024] and [0030] are
dispersed to
evenly distribute pressure against the concave flexible flaps of the umbrella
valve.
[0032] The coffee-maker as designed in paragraph [0024] with the lid in
position to
create an airtight seal is so designed as to retain water for sufficient time
for it to be
heated to the boil point in order to form a typical infusion with ground
coffee, and at the
boiling point for the lower umbrella valve to open and for the infusion of
coffee to express
through the expression vent holes.
[0033] The umbrella valves as designed in paragraph [0024] are food-safe and
intended to be replaceable.
[0034] The plastic nylon mesh filter basket designed in paragraph [0024] has
downward
facing flange on the interior of the bottom-wall to create a cavity above the
umbrella vent
and expression vent holes so as to not block the holes.
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[0035] The nylon mesh designed in paragraph [0034] is sufficiently fine to
prevent
coffee grinds from passing though it thereby contaminating the freshly brewed
coffee.
[0036] The nylon mesh designed in paragraph [0034] is strong enough when
sufficiently
supported by the plastic basket so as not to lose its shape or integrity in
boiling water.
[0037] The plastic nylon mesh filter basket designed in paragraph [0024]
allows a
sufficient volume of boiling water to pass through the ground coffee to create
an
acceptable coffee infusion before being expressed out of the expression vent
holes.
[0038] The expression vent holes designed in paragraph [0024] are intended to
enable
the vessel to express the coffee infusion as rapidly as possible to limit the
time the coffee
grinds are exposed to boiling water.
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