Foods and beverages: apparatus – Beverage – Infusors
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-03
2001-10-23
Alexander, Reginald L. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Beverage
Infusors
C099S305000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06305267
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to coffee brewers in general. More specifically to an automated coffee brewer that fills a reservoir upon demand at the beginning of a brew cycle.
BACKGROUND ART
Previously, many types of automatic coffee brewers have been developed for use in brewing coffee for commercial establishments. It is customary in many automated machines to maintain a reservoir full of water prior to staring the brewing process to eliminate the time it takes to fill the reservoir. Furthermore, in almost all cases prior art maintains the stored water at an elevated temperature to hasten the entire brewing procedure.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention, however the following U.S. patents are considered related:
U.S. Pat. No.
Inventor
Issue Date
5,875,703
Rolfes
Mar. 2. 1999
5,836,236
Rolfes et al
Nov. 17, 1998
5,404,794
Patel et al
Apr. 11, 1995
5,063,836
Patel
Nov. 12, 1991
Rolfes own U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,703 teaches an improvement on a coffee brewer and hot water dispenser which permits larger capacity by the use of a bypass hot water cycle adding a predetermined volume of water to the container and supplementing the control by expanding its capabilities using multiple sequencing of the brew cycle for increasing the volume of brewed coffee. Replacement water is introduced into the brewer from an outside city service source when the brew cycle draws all of the water from the reservoir making it available for the next cycle. This water is stored at the predetermined temperature as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,236, upon which this improvement is based.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,236 issued to Rolfes et al., in which the first named inventor is the present inventor, discloses a coffee brewer and hot water dispenser which brews both coffee and also dispenses hot water from a separate system. The invention fills the tank upon completion of a brew cycle and employs a pre-heater that is attached to the brew tank through interconnecting tubing. The pre-heater is electrically cycled on and off and maintains the water temperature within the brew water tank at 150 degrees F. (65.6 degrees C.). The electronic controller maintains this temperature within a 10 degree (F.) range. A second hot water tank fills in the same manner and likewise contains a heater identical to the pre-heater except it maintains the water temperature at 185 degrees F. (85 degrees C.). This hot water tank is used for dispensing preheated water for tea or other similar beverages.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,794 of Patel et al. discloses a coffee making machine having a reservoir connected to an external water supply via a valve which divides the water into separate hot and cold water tanks. Heated water from a boiler is fed into an expansion chamber and then discharged into the ground coffee through a spray head at the end of an expansion chamber. A heating element is in the hot water tank and is energized by the controller to maintain the water therein at a preselected temperature. If the heating element is on and the brew cycle is initiated, the controller disables the heating element until the brew cycle is completed.
Patel in U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,836 teaches a coffee making machine of the type adapted to be connected to city water supply. The device includes a reservoir having a level sensor controlling a water refill valve to the reservoir and a heating element which heats the water therein. A level sensor functions to permit automatic refill of the reservoir at the appropriate level for subsequent brewing of a full pot of coffee irrespective of the water pressure and the previous route of the water. A solid state circuit board controls the operational sequence and the functions of the machine. The electronically controlled thermostat allow only small decreases in temperature, i.e. 3 degrees F. before operation to reheat the water in the reservoir. The water may accordingly be stored at a temperature closer to the boiling point and delivered to contact coffee grounds for brewing purposes at temperatures of not less than 200 degrees F.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The problem that has arisen in the prior art field of automated coffee brewing is that if the conventional brewing apparatus were to be employed in applications where there is movement evolved, such as over the road or on water. This type of brewing equipment is not practical since the reservoirs are obviously vented and are subject to sloshing, splashing leading to overflowing in the event of shock, vibration or rolling movements. This problem limits the use of the presently designed equipment without some type of modification specifically protecting this feature. It is therefore a primary object of the invention to circumvent this problem with the least amount of change and arrive at a simple solution. By eliminating the pre-heater and not having a heated reservoir the brewing is accomplished by filling the reservoir upon demand rather than having the hot water continually available. Although the time to brew is extended it is not as important, because if the brewer were to be used on mobile applications, or on smaller boats, the demand would not be as great as if it were used in the usual commercial environment.
Another object of the invention is that the previously designed equipment may now be used in an expanded marketplace with little basic development required and utilization of existing tooling may be realized. While this may not seem to be particularly important to large investors, it is of prime significance to smaller companies where expansion into other fields may be accomplished with a minimum amount of effort.
Still another object of the invention is the savings of electrical power as the energy required to maintain a reservoir full of water at an elevated temperature is completely eliminated. In recreational vehicles this type of design is ideal as city power is only available when the vehicle is parked and connected to utilities. Further when this electric power source is not available auxiliary power and direct current power is normally limited in its overall capacity. Other portable vehicles and mobile homes and the like have similar problems which the invention easily overcomes.
Yet another object of the invention is that the system is self priming in that after the initial filling the reservoir is never completely empty as a small amount of water is still present at the bottom which feeds water to the boiler making it instantly available when the user energizes the brew switch and starts the filling procedure. It is also noted that this small amount of water is subjected to the prevailing ambient temperatures which are usually higher than the water temperature coming from the city water supply ultimately decreasing the overall brew time.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2641992 (1953-06-01), Clemens
patent: 3446937 (1969-05-01), Hugentobler
patent: 3459118 (1969-08-01), Hausam
patent: 3593649 (1971-07-01), Novi
patent: 4825758 (1989-05-01), Snowball et al.
patent: 5063836 (1991-11-01), Patel
patent: 5404794 (1995-04-01), Patel et al.
patent: 5836236 (1998-11-01), Rolfes et al.
patent: 5875703 (1999-03-01), Rolfes
Alexander Reginald L.
Anderson Gordon K.
LandOfFree
Automated fill before brewing coffee brewer does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Automated fill before brewing coffee brewer, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Automated fill before brewing coffee brewer will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2562462