Foods and beverages: apparatus – Beverage – Infusors
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-10
2001-01-09
Alexander, Reginald L. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Beverage
Infusors
C099S323300, C099S275000, C222S146500
Reexamination Certificate
active
06170386
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to improvements in and relating to the preparation of food, including drinks and beverages. The invention has particular application to hot food and/or drink preparation devices particularly, but not exclusively, to devices for assisting in the preparation of a bottle of “formula” milk for a baby or toddler.
Formula milk for a baby or toddler requires boiled water to be added to formula milk powder. Boiled water must be used to ensure that the water is sterilized. However, at the time of mixing the sterilized water with the powder the water should not be boiling; instead it should be at a reduced temperature. Clearly, when the made-up formula milk is fed to the baby or toddler it must be at an appropriate feeding temperature well below boiling, suitably 45-55° C.
In making up a bottle of formula milk it is conventional to boil water in a kettle or pan to help to sterilize it, wait for it to cool to approximately 50° C. and then add it to a baby feeding bottle. The formula milk powder may already have been placed in the bottle or else be added to the bottle following the addition of the hot, boiled water. Once the powder and water have mixed to form a bottle of formula milk the bottle may then be used to feed a baby or toddler, subject to it being cooled or heated to an appropriate feeding temperature if necessary. If, however, the bottle is being made in advance of being required, once it has cooled to room temperature it must be stored in a fridge and, when required, heated to an appropriate feeding temperature before being fed to the baby or toddler.
This procedure is not convenient. Furthermore, if a baby or toddler should wake during the night and require feeding, even if a bottle has been made up in advance it is necessary to retrieve it from the fridge and to monitor its warming to an appropriate feeding temperature before the baby or toddler can be fed.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a food preparation device comprising:
a water tank for holding water;
at least one bottle-receiving station for receiving a bottle which may contain dehydrated food preparation formulation and for the controlled discharge thereto from the tank of heated water;
first water heating means arranged to boil water in the tank;
second water heating means arranged to reheat to a predetermined maximum temperature below 100° C. tank water which has previously been boiled in the tank and which has then been allowed to cool to below said predetermined temperature;
selecting means for selecting operation of said water heating means either to boil tank water or to reheat it only to said predetermined temperature; and
regulating means for regulating the discharge of tank water from the tank to said at least one bottle-receiving station, said regulating means being arranged to permit the discharge of tank water reheated to said predetermined temperature.
Advantageously the first and second water heating means comprise a single heater positioned in the tank.
The device preferably comprises a plurality of bottle-receiving stations, each of which may have a bottle placed therein already containing an appropriate amount of a powdered beverage formulation. The selecting means may include a first user-activatable switching means to permit a user to operate the heater to boil water contained in the tank. The selecting means also advantageously includes a plurality of second user-activatable switching means, one for each bottle receiving station. By activating one or more of these second switching means the user can cause the heater to heat the previously boiled water in the tank to the predetermined, reduced temperature (for example, 45-55° C.) and to discharge the heated water at this reduced temperature to the bottle-receiving station or stations associated with the second user-activatable switching means selected and activated by the user. In this way, if the device for example comprises six bottle-receiving stations and has six second user-activatable switching means, if the user activates only two of those second user-activatable switching means, water at the reduced temperature can be discharged to bottles in two of the bottle-receiving stations only. In this way, a user can easily select the number of bottles of feed to be made up.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a preparation device comprising:
means for providing a supply of liquid to be heated;
means for boiling the liquid supply; and
means for re-heating the previously boiled liquid to a reduced temperature; and
means for discharging the re-heated liquid at said reduced temperature to a receptacle;
wherein said device is operable, according to user choice, either (i) in a boiling mode to boil the liquid supply or (ii) to re-heat the previously boiled liquid to said reduced temperature and to discharge it.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4191101 (1980-03-01), Ogawa et al.
patent: 4357861 (1982-11-01), Di Girolamo
patent: 4560455 (1985-12-01), Porta et al.
patent: 4791860 (1988-12-01), Verheijen
patent: 4978833 (1990-12-01), Knepler
patent: 5397031 (1995-03-01), Jensen
patent: 5671325 (1997-09-01), Roberson
patent: 31 10 060 A1 (1982-11-01), None
patent: 35 11 159 A1 (1986-10-01), None
patent: 0 510 863 A2 (1992-10-01), None
patent: 2 240 465 (1991-08-01), None
patent: WO 89/02239 (1989-03-01), None
patent: WO 93/18695 (1993-09-01), None
Searh Report Under Section 17(5) dated Aug. 16, 1996.
PCT Notification Of Transmittal Of The International Search Report dated Jun. 10, 1997.
Exhibit A—“Tiger”, 1994 No. 29, which illustrates a device referred to as an air pot.
Alexander Reginald L.
Harness & Dickey & Pierce P.L.C.
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